Up against classic cold front conditions that shut down a good pre-tournament bite, the team of John Clark from Dayton, OH and Marc Colwell from Springfield, OH made the most of their 5.84-pound walleye to win the Ohio Region's first qualifier as the Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) kicked off its 2004 season at Indian Lake on Sunday, April 4.
In addition to cashing the first place $1000 check, Clark and Colwell walleye was also the big fish of the tournament and earned them the Berkley Trilene Big Fish Award of $400 in Berkley products.
Second place and a check for $500 went to Chris and Matt Sands from Union, OH with one fish weighing 2.59 pounds.
Mike and Tom Defibaugh from Bellefountaine, OH took third place and a check for $400 with a weight of 2.54 pounds.
The "Yo So Close" award of a Yo Net folding net valued at $80 went to the team of Charles Hill and John Hill from Exenia, OH for being the team that just finished out of the money.
A special series of awards came from David Calhoun, owner of Boat Boys, the official Ohio Regional Skeeter Boats sponsor. Calhoun handed out $2500 in Skeeter Boats certificates to the top placing teams toward the purchase of a new Skeeter boat or toward accessories. "This is really an exciting opportunity for our Ohio GNWC teams because Boat Boys will be giving out these certificates at all four Ohio qualifying tournaments," said Gander Mountain GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer.
Meanwhile, the Gander Mountain "Need More Stuff" drawing of $200 for a Gander Mountain Shopping Spree went to Todd Kunk from St. Henry, OH and Adam Harlament from Cold Water, OH.
"This was a walleye tournament for the hardy!" exclaimed Barringer. "The teams showed great determination to scratch together a few fish under very difficult circumstances. Everybody had a fear that this might happen. Indian Lake is a very good walleye fishery, but it is also a shallow basin and a cold front like we experienced today totally shut the fish down."
With temperatures plummeting into the 30s and strong northwest winds, the teams worked extremely hard to trigger the neutral walleyes. Clark and Colwell felt the need to cover water and trolled Reef Runner Rip Shads, while the Sands duo caught their fish vertical jigging with a chartreuse jig and minnow combination by Orchard Island. The Defibaugh team also used a jig and minnow, but spent their time slowly dragging the bait in 12 foot of water.
The Ohio teams now have two weeks to prepare for their second qualifier, which will be held on Sunday, April 18 Alum Creek.
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, VIB"E" Lure Company, TowTector Shield and UpNorth Outdoors.com. The Ohio Regional Skeeter Boats sponsor is Boat Boys out of Newark, OH. |
