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| Osborn, Kasak Take Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup Opener at Detroit River |
Sticking to a traditional Detroit River presentation, the team of Dennis Osborn from Warren, MI and Kevin Kasak from Sterling Heights, MI weighed a six-fish limit of 22.47 pounds to take first place at the Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup's Michigan Region opener, Sunday, April 25.
According to Gander Mountain GNWC Tournament Director Gary Bowman, walleyes were caught on the Detroit River tournament in three distinctly different areas. "We had teams catch walleyes on the American side and the Canadian side of the Detroit River and even on a portion of Lake Erie. That's what is so great about this fishery. We are in close proximity to such great fishing areas that it allows anglers the privilege of being able to catch quality fish almost any time of the year."
Using a chartreuse 5/8-ounce jig and a 3" Detroit River Rubber Worm, Osborn and Kasak worked their magic to capture the $1400 first place check. According to Osborn and Kasak, they worked the south end of the Detroit River vertical jigging off a drop in 16-30 foot of water. Kasak said, "We just had a ball, and just caught lots of fish."
Second place and a check for $700 went to Steve Carlson from Oak Harbor, OH and Jim Stebke from Wapak, OH with four fish weighing 20.28 pounds. However, they made a 70-mile round trip run to fish between Lake Erie's Lucky Point and Kelly's Island. "It was definitely a gamble," noted Bowman, "but it paid off with four quality fish. I knew that they had been on big fish during pre-fishing, but last night's storm shut down their big fish."
Carlson and Stebke pulled blue/silver, green/silver and red/silver Reef Runners 35-50 feet behind planer boards. However, the key was to pull the Reef Runners between .8 and 1.2 mph.
Hand-lining #7, #9 and #11 Rapalas on the Canadian side of the Detroit River helped the team of Mike Jurik from Saginaw, MI and Paul Curmi from Belleville, MI weigh a 6-fish limit of 18 and a half pounds to take the third place $520 check. They used a 30-foot top lead with a 15-foot bottom lead and worked into the current at less than 1 mph in 18-25 foot of water to catch their fish.
"Three different presentations in three different areas," added Bowman. "That is what makes this area such a great fishery."
Meanwhile, Bert Murlich and Bret Bremer from Saginaw, MI took the Berkley Trilene Big Fish Award of $400 in Berkley products for their 7.09-pound walleye taken vertical jigging with a Detroit River Rubber Worm.
The "Yo So Close" award of a Yo Net folding net valued at $80 went to the three teams that placed just out of the money. Tim Brewer and Steven Slivoski placed 11th; Bert Murlich and Bret Bremer finished 12th; and Ryan and Robert Lescoe finished in 13th place.
John Fletcher and Frank Madjecke were the winners of the Gander Mountain "Need More Stuff" drawing of $200 for a Gander Mountain Shopping Spree.
For complete results of the Detroit River tournament, check out the Gander Mountain GNWC website at www.walleyecup.com.
Next up for the Michigan teams will be a trip to Muskegon to fish Lake Muskegon and the waters of Lake Michigan on Sunday, May 23.
Anglers interested in signing up for a future qualifier or simply wanting more information on the GNWC circuit can call 1-800-890-FISH (3474), or they can email the GNWC at [email protected].
Title Sponsor for the GNWC is Gander Mountain with other major national sponsors including Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, the Sportsman Channel, Berkley, Aqua Innovations, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, VIB"E" Lure Company, TowTector Shield and UpNorth Outdoors.com. |
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| Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup Opens Michigan Region at Detroit River |
The Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) will hold its first Michigan qualifier on the Detroit River on Sunday, April 25.
Gander Mountain GNWC Executive Director had this to say about the Michigan Region. "The GNWC is glad to be able to offer this type of walleye circuit to the Michigan walleye angers. We are responding to the need for a circuit that appeals to the weekend warrior, and I think that the GNWC is the perfect ticket. We offer the experience of competitive tournament angling in a wholesome atmosphere.
Barringer also thinks the Michigan teams will like the fishing waters for 2004. "We start out on the Detroit River. The Detroit River is a world class fishery with the potential for some eye-popping catches this time of the year. A lot of anglers are really champing at the bit to get a piece of the action."
The tournament director will have the trailer at Elizabeth Park from 6-8 p.m. the evening before the tournament to take late entries and answer questions.
Teams are to meet at Elizabeth Park the morning of the tournament for registration and mandatory boat check. Host bait shop is the Bottom Line Bait and Tackle.
Take-off is at 7 a.m. with the weigh-in commencing at 3 p.m. sharp. "We hope that a lot of people will turn out for the weigh-in. The weigh-ins are exciting and most importantly for the crowd, it's almost like a mini-walleye seminar as the teams describe the presentations that worked best during the tournament."
Openings still exist for the Detroit River qualifier and Barringer encourages interested anglers to contact him at 1-800-890-FISH (3474), or email the GNWC at [email protected].
Barringer shared his excitement about the 2004 season for the eight-region partner circuit. "This is the second year for the GNWC, and we are looking forward to more and more teams joining what we think is the most exciting partner walleye circuit in the country. We are also very excited about the enthusiasm of the sponsors. It's been great to see the way top national fishing companies have cast their support behind Gander Mountain GNWC walleye tournament anglers."
Another important part of the circuit is the GNWC website (www.walleyecup.com), which offers detailed information for both Gander Mountain GNWC members and Internet browsers. "We've worked very hard to make the GNWC website an important site to visit on the Internet. With a click of the mouse you can see how the action is going in eight different regions across the Midwest," added Barringer.
Title Sponsor for the GNWC is Gander Mountain with other major national sponsors including Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, the Sportsman Channel, Berkley, Aqua Innovations, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, VIB"E" Lure Company, TowTector Shield and UpNorth Outdoors.com. |
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