When the "cane turns green..." That was the key for the team of Jon Genal and Bob Wegner from Oshkosh, WI as they won the third qualifier on the Wisconsin Region of the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) held at Lake Winnebago on Sunday, June 5.
Genal and Wegner, who brought a six-walleye limit weight of 20.79 pounds to the scales to take the $1800 first place check, found their fish on Lake Poygan, the largest of the upriver lakes on the Winnebago System.
"The bite was a good one, considering the strong winds the teams had to battle today," said GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer.
Second place and a check for $900 went to Rick Stadler from Oshkosh, WI and Dave Stadler from Omro, WI with a six-fish limit weight of 20.16 pounds.
Andrew Kroll and Matthew Deringer from Oshkosh, WI took the third place check of $600 with a six-fish limit weight of 15.62 pounds. They also took the Cabela's Big Fish Award of a $200 Cabela's shopping spree and $440 in cash for winning the optional Big Fish pot with their 6.76-pound walleye.
For the winners, the green growth on the cane meant the walleyes would be there. So, even though they had to battle three-foot waves, Genal and Wegner stayed with their game plan and headed to the cane, where they anchored and cast slip bobber rigs and nightcrawlers. Genal noted that they were pretty confident when they made their first few casts. "When our bobbers hit the water, we saw all kinds of tiny minnows on the surface."
They knew the walleyes would be there, too. However, the battle with the wind had only begun. "We had to reposition ourselves several times," said Genal.
Wegner agreed. "The waves made it tough, but we caught three fish in the first 10 minutes. There were times during the day when we thought about leaving, but we knew the fish were there so we just stuck with our game plan."
For most of the tournament, they had the cane to themselves, but the Stadlers showed up later in the day. "They were quite a ways away, but I saw them pull out the net a couple of times, and I began to get worried," said Wegner. "When I saw their weight was over 20 pounds, I knew it was going to be really close."
The Yo So Close Award, provided by AMFYOYO, manufacturer of the innovative stowable folding landing net, went to the four teams just finishing out of the money. They include the team John Lafontaine from Oshkosh and Scott Hill from Beloit, WI and the team of Michael McDermott from Fond du Lac, WI and Scott McDermott from Beaver Dam, WI, who tied for 13th place; and the team John Ohnesorge from West Bend, WI and Kevin Behrens from Loyal, WI and the team of Bill Neider from Grafton, WI and Scott Moore from Hartford, WI, who tied for 15th place.
Next up on the Wisconsin Region will be the Green Bay Oconto Tournament on Sunday, July 31. With only one tournament remaining, the team of Michael Gengalo, Jr. from Wausau, WI and Michael Gengalo, Sr. from Pelican, WI has taken the lead in the race for the Wisconsin Region "Yamaha Team of the Year" honors with 24 points. The team of Luke Leanna from Oakfield, WI and Ed Goehring from Wisconsin Rapids, WI is in second place with 38 points.
For those interested in entering the Green Bay Oconto Tournament, call 1-800-890-FISH (3474), or email the GNWC at [email protected]. Barringer added, "I encourage people to check out our website at www.walleyecup.com.
We have exciting races going on in all seven regions of the GNWC."
Major national sponsors for the GNWC include Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Lowrance Electronics, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, Aqua-VU, Aqua Innovations, Cabela's and UpNorthOutdoors.com. National championship sponsors are Towtector Shield and the VIB"E" Lure Company. |
