| |
| VanderWeide Team wins Cabelas MWC East Finale as Kemery and Baumgardner Earn First MWC East Division Team of the Year |
Linwood, MI - In a most improbable finish, the father/son team of Tom and Josh VanderWeide of Jenison, MI skyrocketed from 111th place to first, to win the Cabela's Masters Walleye Circuit East Division finale, held August 7-8 on Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay.
After weighing one walleye at 1.41 lbs. the first day, the VanderWeides tipped the scales on day two with the heaviest weight of the tournament, a five fish team limit totaling 37.05 lbs. Emcee, Bob "Kaz" Kaczkowski declared, "This must be the MWC's all-time comeback." The winners total of 38.46 lbs. earned them $20,000. They pocketed an additional $1,000 for the highest placing Ranger boat owner in the Ranger Cup series and $918.75 from the big fish pot for a 9.22 lb. lunker.
"It's warm out, but I was really shaking when I weighed-in today." beamed proud papa Tom. He continued, "This is a great feeling, doing something like this with your son. Josh needs a new car and this will work out just fine."
The pair fished an area approximately 14 miles northeast of tournament headquarters, Hoyles Marina. According to Josh, "We trolled nightcrawler spinner rigs from in-line planer boards in 20 to 25 feet of water. The boards were set from 50 to 100 feet from the sides of the boat, with leads 30 to 60 feet behind the boards. We used several colors of number five and six Colorado blades-chartreuse, silver and gold. We went through about 200 crawlers."
Tom added that the heavy basket of fish came from a spot that didn't produce the first day. He explained, "The wind blew hard for a while and clouded-up the water, so we went back there and landed two nine pounders back to back. We fished hard and stuck with our game plan. It really paid off."
Second place finishers were Mike Kelly (Freeland, MI) and Pete Studders (Sault Saint Marie, MI) with nine fish weighing 36.73 lbs. worth $10,000. They trolled crawler spinner rigs from one-ounce in-line keel weights at depths of 28 feet between buoys one and two near Point Au Gres.
Third place also went to a Michigan team, Bert Murlick and Bill Shovar of Saginaw. Their eight fish weighed 36.24 lbs., earning them $7,500. They also trolled crawler rigs in the Au Grie area.
The top 26 teams shared the $72,700 cash purse. An additional $5,400 was paid to the top five point accumulating teams in the MWC East Division Team of the Year race and $5,250 was awarded in tournament big fish prize money. Michigan anglers Don Solis (Perronville) and Bert Wilson (Gladstone) took day one big fish honors and $1,050 for their 11.42 lb.walleye, while Jerrod Gillman (Freeland) and David Kolb (Riverview) collected the same amount on day two with a 10.0 lb. walleye. Tournament teams donated $2,265 to the MWC Conservation Fund which will be used for fishery related projects in states where MWC tournaments are held.
Staff from Hoyles Marina and the Saginaw Bay Area Convention and Visitors Bureau assisted the MWC in tournament operations.
New East Division crowns first Team of the Year
Paul Kemery of Russell, PA and Alan Baumgardner of White Hall, MD earned the most tournament points to take top honors in the new Cabela's MWC East Division. 180 teams entered the race competing for World Walleye Championship advancement and various Team of the Year honors and cash bonuses.
"We are thrilled for the anglers of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Michigan and surrounding states that a premiere tournament format has been established for them to compete in," stated Kristine Houtman, Director of Events & Sponsorships for the MWC. "Paul and Alan worked hard in these three tournaments to get the job done - as did the 18 teams, or 10% that will advance to the Championship next fall." The no entry fee tournament pays out $100,000 in purse with a guarantee payout for all invitees. Tim Fields of Clarendon, PA and Charlie Brant of Russell, PA and Mike Kelley of Freeland, MI and Pete Studders of Sault Saint Marie, MI took 1st and 4th Runners Up respectively.
Second Runners Up William and Linda Greczyn of Tully, New York clinched the Husband/Wife Team of the Year Honors; while winners of the Saginaw Bay tournament, the VanderWeides, gained enough points to grab the 3rd Runner Up spot along with Father & Son Team of the Year honors. A $3510 cash bonus was presented to Kemery and Baumgardner while the following four teams each received at $472 cash bonus.
Tournament Statistics
Number of teams: 151 Number of fish: 546
Total cash and prizes: $84,350 Total weight: 1,834.08 lbs.
Water temp: 69 to 71 degrees Big fish: 11.42 lbs.
Water level: Two feet low Winning pattern: Trolling crawler rigs
Water clarity: Four feet Inside tip: Fishing murky water |
Back To Top
|
| CABELA'S MWC EAST CLOSER AUGUST 7 & 8 ON LAKE HURON TOURNEY TO DECIDE DIVISION TEAM OF THE YEAR WINNERS |
Minnetonka, MN-Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay will be the setting for the Cabela's Masters Walleye Circuit east division third and final tournament of the year. The Lowrance Electronics titled event takes place August 7 & 8 and will be headquartered at Hoyle's Marina in Linwood, MI.
Kristine Houtman, Director of Events & Sponsorships for the MWC, states, "The east division team of the year title is up for grabs. It's a tight race and won't be decided until the last team weighs in. It's going to be a real shootout."
Teams are awarded points according to their finish at each tournament. Alan Baumgardner (Whitehall, MD) and Paul Kemery (Russell, PA) are tied for the east division team of the year race with Pennsylvanians Ed Engler (Salladasburg) and Tim Waltz (Williamsport) with 56 points. The top five point-accumulating teams will share the division team of the year purse, which is based on the total number of teams fishing a division. Currently, 176 teams are competing for $5,280 in east division team of the year prize money.
Kemery, who serves on the MWC anglers advisory panel, commented, "My partner and I are as nervous as cats going into this tournament. There's a lot riding on it-team of the year, the Challenge and qualification to next year's championship. Of course we'd like to win, and we're glad the MWC expanded this year. It's given us eastern anglers the chance to compete and match our skills with some of the best walleye sticks in the country. The MWC is a first class operation."
In addition to the east and central division team of the year races, a team completing a division is eligible to take the $20,000 MWC Challenge by fishing a fourth tournament. Challenge winners will be awarded $13,000 and the overall MWC Team of the Year title. Second to fifth place Challenge finishers will each receive $1,750. The top 20 percent of the Challenge field along with the top ten percent from each division will qualify for the no entry fee 2005 MWC World Walleye Championship with a payout of over $100,000.
Nearly 150 teams representing nine states and Canada have already entered the tournament. Jim Diedrich of Hoyle's Marina will serve as tournament director. He, his staff and the Saginaw Bay Area Convention & Visitors Bureau will assist the MWC with tournament operations. Two flights of boats will leave the launch site at 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. daily. The public is invited to attend the weigh-ins, which begin at 3:00 p.m.
MWC sponsor, The Outdoor Channel, will televise the Saginaw Bay tournament, allowing teams to receive national media recognition. Tournament coverage and related articles will also appear in the North American Fisherman magazine, the official publication of the MWC. All MWC tournaments serve as qualifying events to the 2005 Cabela's National Team Championship. Each team donates $15 to the MWC Conservation Fund which is used for fishery related projects in tournament areas.
Tournament openings still exist. Further circuit information including entry forms or website registration can be obtained at www.masterswalleyecircuit.com, or by calling the MWC toll-free at 877-893-7947.
|
Back To Top
|
|
|
