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| Fournier and Olson Win Leech Lake Title; MWC End of Year Titles Announced |
Walker, MN - Paul Fournier and Ryan Olson of Andover, MN overcame a strong field of veteran anglers to win the Cabela's Masters Walleye Circuit central division finale, held September 18-19 on Leech Lake at Walker, MN. They weighed the heaviest basket each day of the Ranger Boats titled tourney-five fish at 15.99 lbs. on day one and four on day two at 16.52 lbs. Their 32.51 pound total earned them their first circuit victory and $20,000.
Olson explained, "We figured the tournament would be a shootout because the fishing was tough. We worked hard and stuck with our game plan and it paid off. We beat a lot of good teams. It's our first win. I'm still shaking a bit." An emotional Fournier continued, "We've been close so many times, now we won one. I can't begin to tell you how great this feels."
The pair fished an area near Goose Island-trolling number 5 and 7 firetiger colored Cotton Cordell Wally Diver crankbaits at depths to 13 feet. Fournier stated that boat speed was a critical factor to their victory-1.4 to 2.7 m.p.h. against the wind and 2.7 to 3.3 m.p.h. with the wind.
Second place finishers were Gordon Schwarz (New Holstein, WI) and Brett Wilkens (Kiel, WI) with eight fish weighing 25.46 lbs. worth $10,000. They anchored over small rock humps between 12 and 15 feet they located between Grass Point and the Big Rock Resort. They cast 1/8 oz. chartreuse jigs tipped with large leeches or crawlers. Part of their second day catch, a 5.51 lb. walleye, was good for big fish honors and $745.
Third place went to father/son team, Ken Bjorkman (Marshfield, WI) and David Bjorkman (Fargo, ND). Their ten fish limit weighed 22.94 lbs., earning them $7,500. They worked Lindy slip-sinker crawler rigs through the weeds between 9 and 20 feet in the Cabacona Bay area. They pocketed an additional $1,000 for the highest placing Ranger Boats team in the Ranger Cup series. The top 26 teams shared the $72,100 cash purse.
An additional $3,724 was awarded in tournament big fish prize money. Michigan anglers Gerald Arnold, Jr. (Norway) and David Koller (Kingsford) took day one big fish honors and $745 for their 7.39 lb. walleye.
Tournament teams donated $2,235 to the MWC Conservation Fund which will be used for fishery related projects in states where MWC tournaments are held. Volunteers from the Walker Rotary Club hosted the event and assisted the MWC with tournament operations.
Central Division Crowns Team of the Year
Dean Nathe (Sartell, MN) and Paul Thompson (Wallace, MI) earned the most tournament points to take top honors in the Cabela's MWC Central Division. Three hundred thirty two teams entered the race, competing for 2005 MWC World Walleye Championship qualification and various teams of the year honors and cash bonuses. Nathe/Thompson were awarded $6,474 and trophies for their fine effort.
First to fourth place runners-up were: William and Joseph Babe (Silver Lake, WI), Kevin Dahl and Steve Stack (Muskego, WI), Donald and Michael Olson (Andover, MN) and James Pestka and Todd Wilde (Wausau, WI). Each team received $872 in bonus prize money.
The Babes also captured the central division Father/Son Team of the Year title, while the Husband/Wife Team of the Year award went to Chris and Gina Gasser of Random Lake, WI. Both teams were presented trophies.
Circuit Team of the Year Honors
Rob Manthei (St. Germain, WI) and Rick Zachowski (Milwaukee, WI) won the overall MWC Team of the Year honors that is derived from the MWC Challenge venue. A team must fish all three tournaments within a division, plus one more event in another division in order to compete in the Challenge. The duo was awarded trophies and rings, along with $13,000-their share of the $20,000 Challenge purse.
Manthei beamed, "We didn't catch a legal fish until 3:30 this afternoon (final tournament day). We just kept pounding. Man, I can't believe this. What a thrill."
Zachowski added, "We just kept running and gunning. This is just awesome. We got together at the Ranger Boats annual anglers meeting and decided to team-up and look what happened. MWC Team of the Year-wow!"
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| Wind a factor on Day Two at Leech |
"Oh the wind, see how it does blow..."
Day two. As the sun waits just below the horizon, the anglers in the Leech Lake MWC event are busily launching their boats and making final preparations for the last day of competition in the regular MWC season.
The day has brought with it winds that have not abated since last evening and are forcast to be 20 to 25 miles an hour out of the south. This should make a bumpy day for the anglers. However Leech Lake, though big and sprawling, does offer many good fishing locations with some protection from the wind and waves.
How will this wind effect the anglers today? Will it spur fish to become active on points and reefs? What techniques will prevail.
As Shakespere said, "Ah then, there is the rub..." |
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| Leech Lake MWC begins Today |
As Dawn breaks on Day one of the Masters Walleye Circuit tournament on Leech Lake, it offers the promise and anticipation of success. The general feeling among the anglers is the same as every event. Some are relating they are on fish, some on good fish, some saying they have a thin thread to go on and some claiming they are not pleased with what they have going on. But as with any event, the ones you have to watch are the anglers that just greet your question on the matter with a wry, quiet smile and say, "Oh I don't know, we''ll see."
This years event, the final championship qualifier in the MWC circuit, is being held in Walker Minnesota, on the south shore of Leech Lake. The anglers face favorable weather conditions as they head out this morning. The tournament oprganizers and the area hope for a favorable catch and weigh in as well.
Anglers at this event are also faced with something new, an on water boat inspection. Normally the boats are inspected on the trailers prior to launch. For this tournament however, all boats will be inspected at a central location after launching. In the words of Kristine Houtman, "A little different, I know." With a roster of 151 teams, the launch and weigh in process should go smooth as in any MWC event.
The participating teams will leave, starting with the 1st flight, at 7am each day. The weigh in will begin at 3pm each day at City Park in Walker MN. Each team will be able to weigh a 5 fish limit with each fish being 15 inches or longer.
Stay tuned for pictures information and the LiveLeaderboard here on WalleyeFIRST.
For more information-
www.masterswalleyecircuit.com http://walleye.outdoorsfirst.com/tournaments/mwc/2004/ |
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| Mixed Bag on Day One at Leech Lake MWC |
 |  |  | Ralph Muccilli Photo Dave Schmidt and Mark Zillges bag up their third place limit on Day One at Leech |
"Will this wind, be so mighty...."
Yes it was. The day dawned a little cool but soon warmed to comfortable temperatures and brought brisk winds with it. How did the wind effect the fishing? For some anglers it didn't seem to cause a negative effect, but for anyone that was not in the top 70 teams, the wind was little help.
The day one weigh in is completed and 70 teams out of the 150 plus brought fish to the scales. But don't let the number of teams weighing fish fool you. Leech lake showed what she was capable of with several walleyes in the 6 to 7 lb class.
One can assume that with the sunny skies and wind anglers adept at drift bags, lindy rigging and slip bobers did well. Being as it was day one, only tomorrow will tell. Anglers were typically tight lipped on presentation, though one angler alluded that his partner was one of the best "Lindy-Riggers" out there. Bet you can guess what one of the teams with a limit was doing today!
What was the anglers perception of todays fishing? That depends on who you talk to. Paul Fournier and Ryan Olson may have a decidedly different opinion than some of the other teams in the tournament. Fournier and Olson lead the pack with a 5 fish limit of 15.99 pounds.
Details will flow tomorrow and several anglers expressed renewed determination with tomorrow's fishing. Steve Pennaz commented, "We caught a lot of fish today, just not enough keepers." Pennaz and Partner Rick Rundquist rounded out the field of anglers who brough fish to the scales. |
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