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| MWC Eastern Divsion Heads to the Detroit River |
Minnetonka, MN -- Cabela's MWC anglers will be shaking the proverbial "dust off their sandals" for the next tournament, April 21st and 22nd - or maybe it will be more like mud. After the flood conditions on the Illinois River, everyone is ready to leave Spring Valley behind for a nice stable tournament. Yet Lake Erie is known for anything but nice and stable. That's one of the reasons that the tournament is held where it is - at Elizabeth Park in Trenton - so that the River can be a foul weather boundary if need be.
"One year we didn't get on the lake at all - it rained and snowed horribly - we even built snowmen on the stage," shared Kurt Beckstrom, Editor of North American Fisherman magazine and emcee for the MWC East Division events. "But last year we got on the lake both days and three Circuit records were broken, for biggest single fish, 5-fish basket and 10-fish basket. It was incredible what that fishery is capable of producing."
Unfortunately, the records will be safe this year. "There won't be as big of fish or as big baskets as we had last year," shared David Kolb. He and his partner Dan Byers won the tournament last year setting two of the three records noted above. "The previous boundaries allowed us to spread out, but this year I predict we'll all be stacked up, fishing very close to one another. And the cold front has shut things down." Byers agreed. "The jig bite may be more effective this year and the river will play a more important role," added Byers. "Due to the cold water a slow presentation will be important. The fish just aren't very aggressive right now - some warm weather would sure help that turn on. Wish there was something in the upcoming forecast, but it doesn't look like a big warm up is coming."
The original boundaries were changed to Michigan only, river and lake, due to the APHIS Federal Order regarding the spread of Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS).
Currently, 78 teams are registered, although there is still space available for additional teams to get in.
Payout is planned for the top 13 places - with first place at $14,480 and a total payout of $43,680.
1st - $14,480
2nd - $5,790
3rd - $3,756
4th - $3,130
5th - $2,676
6th - $2,494
7th - $2,292
8th - $1,920
9th - $1,730
10th - $1,540
11th - $1,402
12th - $1,310
13th - $1,160
Cabela's and Lowrance Electronics along with other MWC and NPAA sponsors have stepped up to the plate to help host Youth and Family Fishing Clinics. Frank Pilney, NPAA #920 and Alan Baumgardner NPAA #549 are leading the effort with fellow MWCers helping with the kids onsite. Nearly 60 kids attended at Spring Valley. Fifty kids at each tournament will be lucky enough to walk away with their own tackle box and basic terminal tackle for slip-float fishing, and take home their very own new rod and reel after attending the clinic. A new bike, geared with rod holders and a tackle box will be a door prize for the kids in attendance.
"This is a great way for professional anglers to share our skills with the next generation," shared Pilney. The Youth & Family Fishing clinic in Trenton will be held on Saturday, April 21st immediately following the day one weigh-in at Elizabeth Park Boat Launch. Scout Troops or other clubs are encouraged to attend as a group. Please contact the MWC office for more details.
Cabela's is the title sponsor for the Masters Walleye Circuit. Official Sponsors are Ranger Boats, Mercury Motors, MotorGuide, Lowrance Electronics, Toyota Trucks, North American Fishing Club and Versus (Vs.). Associate sponsors are Tommy Docks, The Inhibitor, Food Source Lures, Ice Armor and Farm & City Insurance Services.
For more information contact Cabela's MWC Club headquarters by email at: [email protected] or toll-free by phone at 877-893-7947. More information is available on the Cabela's MWC website at: www.masterswalleyecircuit.com |
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| Kolb and Byers Win MWC Detroit |
Trenton, MI -- Four new Cabela's MWC circuit records were broken during the Cabela's MWC East tournament on the Detroit River and Lake Erie, April 22nd and 23rd. One stood for only a brief half-hour, as Lake Erie showed her ability to produce amazing fish in spectacular abundance. The Grand Rapids, Michigan area team of David Kolb (Ada) and Dan Byers (Cedar Springs) accomplished two of them. This was the team's first Cabela's MWC victory, which netted the duo $14,302, plus the Ranger Cup $1,000 bonus, for a weekend prize of $15,302.
The winning team broke the single largest one-day basket with their day two weight of 43.52 pounds. New Yorkers Dave Waldeck and Nate Capton set the previous record in May 2005 at the Henderson Harbor, New York, tournament on Lake Ontario at 43.45 pounds. They also set the two-day largest record basket of ten fish with 82.23 pounds, skyrocketing 10.7 pounds past the record set on the Eastern side of Lake Erie last August. Jay Janny & Kim "Chief" Papineau captured the previous honor in their successful run for 2005 Team of the Year.
The record winning presentation was trolling spinners with planer boards. When asked about the details of the presentation, David Kolb replied "pretty much everything was working. We used size 6 and 8 blades, both gold and silver. Pretty much whatever we put out there they were hitting." The key, according to this team, was in their practice time during pre-fishing. "We worked hard marking fish with our Lowrance 104 sonar unit during our pre-fishing. That really was key to finding fish and narrowing down our options. I don't think a lot of fishermen know how to work their sonar as well as they should to really know where the fish are. We did that during the week and it really paid off. Both in sending us to the right spots, and ruling out others that weren't as productive."
The team essentially worked just three spots over the two-day tournament, all in the Gull Isle Shoals area to Northwest of Rattlesnake, staying closer to the Canadian border than many of the other boats in the area. First thing on Saturday morning, even before the team had all their boards out, the fish started biting in a flurry. "At first we were a little nervous because the hits were coming so fast and furious that we missed buttoning up a couple." shared Dan Byers. The team weighed 38.71 pounds for five fish on Saturday, which put them in 3rd place.
That night the team talked about the possibility of putting a winning program together, and Dan made a promise. Byers was so impressed with pre-fishing in Kolb's Ranger 621, that he committed to selling his Triton and shop for a new Ranger Boat if they won. With that, Byers' half of the winnings on Sunday were already spent.
Tournament boundaries included the Detroit River all the way to Kelly Island on Lake Erie, putting the traditional river fishermen at a bit of a disadvantage, with the big fish having moved out of the river and into the lake. Erie, known for weather challenges, can make for "iffy" tournament planning. The river gives confidence that the tournament will get two full days in. The question will be..where. And who is versatile enough to succeed in either situation.
Kolb and Byers enjoy two-person team fishing formats the best, as it allows trust and confidence in what your partner can do in the boat. The team also wanted to recognize their Most Important Sponsors, wives Marnie Byers and Patty Kolb. "We couldn't accomplish big things like this without the support of our families." shared Kolb, and seconded by Byers. This was Byers' first MWC tournament and third for Kolb. David admitted he has enjoyed quite a bit of success in just the three MWC tournaments, with a 6th place finish at Saginaw Bay in 2004, 9th place last year in the "snowfest" on the Detroit River and now this amazing win.
The second place team of the same Grand Rapids area of Michigan, Mike Bringedahl (Twin Lake) and Tod Conner (Hopkins) had also broken the 10-fish circuit record with their 75.56 pounds, but it only lasted an hour until Kolb and Byers weighed in behind them. Bringedahl and Conners cashed a check for $6,303 plus $1,000 for big fish award for Sunday, for a total of $7,303.
The fourth record that was broken during the tournament occurred on Saturday for record big fish, weighing in at 12.65 pounds. Wisconsonites Terry Mayhall (Madison) and Tony Dowiatt (Stevens Point) broke the 12.34 pound record weight that has held since 2000, netting the team not just honors of the new MWC title, but also $1000 in big fish money. With the next MWC East tournament just a month away in Henderson Harbor, New York, perhaps Lake Ontario will give the new record short shelf-life. Known for really massive walleyes, Lake Ontario is rumored to have plenty of 13 and 14 pounders. It just hasn't happened on a tournament day..yet. |
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