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| Stier, Deyarmond Take Sunday's Lake Houghton Title |
From runners-up to tournament champs! That's what happened at the regularly scheduled Houghton Lake on Sunday as the team of Steve Stier and Scott Deyarmond from Bath, MI took the $1200 first place check on the Michigan Region of the Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC).
Stier and Deyarmond weighed a six-fish limit weight of 15.08 pounds to outdistance the team of Cal Stier and Cal Stier, II, from Bath, MI, who weighed a six-fish limit of 12.73 pounds. The second place team cashed a check for $600.
"Today was a reversal of Saturday's tournament," stated Gander Mountain GNWC Tournament Director Gary Bowman. "Yesterday we had the make-up tournament scheduled for Muskegon on May 23 here at Houghton Lake, and the Stier team won by .01 of a pound over Stier and Deyarmond. However, today Steve and Scott made sure that wouldn't happen again and won by over a two pound margin."
Third place and a check for $500 went to the team of Victor Schwab, III, and George Huyghe from Vassar, MI with a six-fish limit weighing 11.46 pounds.
Meanwhile, Jim Schaeffer from Swartz Creek, MI and Mike Gildersleve from West Branch, MI captured the Berkley Trilene Big Fish Award and $400 in Berkley products for their 3.91-pound walleye. They caught the big fish on a crawler harness especially rigged by Schaeffer. "There's a story to this one, too," noted Bowman. "It was Jim's 27th birthday today, and so they ran the harness back 27 feet! I'd say winning the Berkley Trilene Big Fish Award is a pretty good birthday present!"
Once again, as in the first Houghton Lake Tournament held on Saturday (yesterday), the top two teams used a technique called snap jigging in and around the weeds. However, with both tournaments now completed, they shared more about the technique. They used a bullet weight and a three-foot snell tipped with a pumpkinseed colored three-inch plastic worm. The key is to then snap the rig through the weeds to trigger a strike.
"Both of these teams fish Houghton Lake regularly, so they really know the lake well. They moved around a lot and worked the little weed clumps and weed beds that the average person wouldn't know about," added Bowman.
Additional awards were also given. 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. They include Alan Szoke from Grosse Ile, MI and Andy Kurlovich from Dearborn, MI in 9th place; Michael Hammel from Auburn, MI and Christopher Smith from Saginaw, MI in 10th place; and Ed Peck from Swartz Creek, MI and Tom Coulter from Mt. Morris, MI in 11th place.
Ron and Chris Merbler from Canton, MI were the winners of the Gander Mountain "Need More Stuff" drawing of $200 for a Gander Mountain Shopping Spree.
After three tournaments, the team of Bert Murlick and Bret Bremer from Saginaw, MI leads in the race for the Michigan Region Team of the Year.
For complete results of the Houghton Lake tournament held on Sunday, check out the Gander Mountain GNWC website at www.walleyecup.com.
Anglers interested in signing up for the fourth qualifier at Saginaw Bay on Sunday, July 25or 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 UpNorthOutdoors.com. |
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| Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup Goes Back to Back Tournaments at Houghton Lake |
Teams on the Michigan circuit of The Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) have a back to back opportunity! The previously postponed Muskegon Lake tournament has been rescheduled and moved to Saturday, June 26 at Houghton Lake. This will be followed on Sunday by the regularly scheduled June 27th Houghton Lake tournament, making back to back single day tournaments.
According to Gander Mountain GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer, this switch makes it a unique opportunity for the Michigan teams. "Weather forced us to cancel the Muskegon Lake tournament, and other dates just didn't work out. By running the two tournaments back to back, we can offer our Michigan teams a unique and, I think, an exciting opportunity. We�ll have the first tournament on Saturday and then come back on Sunday with the second tournament."
Gary Bowman, who is the Gander Mountain GNWC Site Director for the Michigan Region, shared his thoughts on Houghton Lake. "Houghton Lake is one of my inland lake favorites in Michigan. It is relatively shallow but has an excellent walleye population. The weed growth has been suppressed, so the walleyes are roaming and on the move. Like Bernie mentioned earlier, I think the back to back opportunity will be something the Michigan teams will like."
Openings still exist for the two qualifiers at Houghton Lake and Barringer encourages interested anglers to contact him at 1-800-890-FISH (3474), or email the GNWC at [email protected].
The tournament director will have the trailer at the West Shore Boat Launch from 6-8 p.m. the evening before the Saturday tournament and again the evening before the Sunday tournament to take late entries and answer questions.
Teams are to meet at the West Shore Boat Launch between 6-6:30 each morning for registration and mandatory boat check. Host bait shop is Lyman's on the Lake.
Take-off each day is at 7 a.m. with the weigh-in commencing at 3 p.m. sharp. "I hope that a good crowd shows up to not only see the fish brought to the scales, but to also learn what presentations worked the best. It should be very educational! It is also a unique opportunity for the crowd to witness two tournament weigh-ins-one on Saturday and one on Sunday," said Barringer.
Anglers interested in checking out the standings, reading the releases about any of the eight regions or simply learning more about the circuit can access the Gander Mountain GNWC website at www.walleyecup.com.
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