Two tournament wins in a row! That's right! Sunday's win at Okoboji has propelled the team of Randy Mumm and Jim Juhlin from Clear Lake, IA into a whopping 15 point lead in the race for the Iowa Region Team of the Year on the Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup circuit.
Mumm and Juhlin's winning weight of 7.72 pounds for five fish garnered them a check for $1600. Even more amazing, the Clear Lake duo used basically the same presentation they used in their previous win two weeks ago at Clear Lake.
When asked, Juhlin noted, "We're jig and slip bobber fishermen. Fishing crankbaits, now that's another story. It feels good, but we also feel pretty lucky to have this happen two times in a row."
Second place and a check for $800 went to Dan Schnetzer and Ben Thoresen from Ruthven, IA with two walleyes weighing 7.58 pounds. However, it was their 4.99-pound kicker fish that not only helped them notch second place but to also earn the Berkley Trilene Big Fish Award of $400 in Berkley products.
Wes Rose from Terril, IA and Todd Hough from Graettinger, IA took the third place check of $550 with a five-fish weight of 6.79 pounds.
Although 20 teams in the 48-team field brought fish to the scales, the tournament was a story of sorting and persistence. Mumm attested to that. "We caught one fish early in Millers Bay but got frustrated catching all kinds of northern pike. So, we left and headed to Haywards Bay." It wasn't long before they returned to Millers Bay and according to Mumm it was the right decision. "Between 1:30 and 2:30 we caught four nice walleyes." As mentioned earlier, they drifted with jigs and minnows and slip bobber rigs and a plain red hook tipped with a minnow.
Mumm added, "Every time we came to one little hump, we caught fish." It was a spot they had found during Saturday's pre-fishing with their Aqua Vu Underwater Camera.
The second place team, however, used a different approach. It was all or nothing. They had tried West Okoboji but only had one fish. So they gambled and headed back to drift blue chubs and two-ounce slip weights in front of Parks Marina on East Okoboji. They popped their 4.99 pounder in 15'of water.
Slip bobbers were also the key for Rose and Hough. However, they had little luck with minnows and caught all their fish on a red hook and leech. They found their fish in Emerson Bay on a 15' shelf along a weed edge.
Other awards were also presented. 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 went to Troy Loeckle and Wes Loeckle in 13th place; Paul and Gene Rosenberg in 14th place; and Bob Mortenson and Roger Berkland in 15th place.
Meanwhile, Richard Bindel and Donna Bindel were the winners of the Gander Mountain "Need More Stuff" drawing of $200 for a Gander Mountain Shopping Spree.
Gander Mountain GNWC Tournament Director Greg Liebel was amazed at the back-to-back win pulled off by Mumm and Juhlin. "That's really something. They are doing what they do best, and so far it is really paying off." Liebel continued, "This is a great fishery. I know there were lots of sub-legal fish taken, but we know that there is also a healthy population of legal fish. The trouble is that many of the fish caught this time of year are taken at night."
For complete results of the Okoboji tournament, check out the Gander Mountain GNWC website at www.walleyecup.com. Next up for the Iowa teams will be Lake Rathbun on Sunday, May 23.
Anglers interested in signing up for a future qualifier or 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. Other major national sponsors include Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, the Sportsman Channel, Berkley, Aqua Innovations, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, VIB"E" Lure Company, TowTector Shield and UpNorthOutdoors.com. Iowa Regional sponsors include Carlson-Sanderson Real Estate, Motor Inn, Inc., and Triggs Bay Resort. |
