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| Wyoming Pro Wins $64,000 PWT Tournament |
With a great final day catch, Wyoming pro Terry Wilson won his first In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail tournament and $64,000.
With nearly 49 pounds for the 3-day Lund/Outdoor Channel Pro-Am, Wilson topped the elite field of PWT pro anglers. He did it by fishing about 35 miles south of Sault Ste. Marie on the St. Mary's River.
Anglers fished all of the river, bays and lakes including in front of the PWT stage in town. Many found walleyes relating to weeds in Lake George, while the main channel edges in 24 to 30 feet produced also. Some anglers found fish very shallow in 7 to 8 feet. Most dragged some form of bottom bouncers and livebait. Tony Puccio hooked Gulp! nightcrawlers from Berkley so they were weedless, and ran spinners and Gulp! through the weeds. He won his second Berkley Artificial Intelligence $500 award for his innovative tactics.
This is Wilson's third check of the season, for a total of $70,000 in earnings. He is one of the 52 anglers headed to the Mercury Championship in Kansas. Leading the parade of anglers to Kansas is Johnsonville Brats Angler of the Year Mike Gofron, Antioch, Ill. This is his second Angler title, among his many accomplishments, including 31 top 10-place finishes, a PWT record. He won $25,000 from Johnsonville Brats, plus $10,000 from Mercury Outboards.
At Sault Ste. Marie, pro Ernie Olson, Foley, Minn., won $20,000 for second place. Olson won the Gerbing's Hot Pro award for his strong finish. The Gerbing's heated foul weather suit ($500) will keep this 4-season angler warm. He also won $500 cash. Pro Ken Zmudzinski, Jenison, Mich. was third, for $13,000. Both were personal bests. The top amateur was Chuck Warner, Goetzville, Mich. about 45 minutes away on Raber Bay. He won a $17,000 Lund/Mercury boat on an E-Z Loader trailer. Amateurs fished three days, with a different pro each day, using the pro's gear and tackle, for a combined boat-weight. They could bring five walleyes to the scales each day.
Pro Rick Franklin, Park Rapids, Minn., and amateur/co-angler Steve Graham, Harbor Springs, Mich., caught the Coleman Big Fish of the tournament, 6.14 pounds and split $1,000. Pro Mark Sak, Imlay City, Mich., won the Navionics Spot on the Spot $500 award for anchoring and fishing a key spot for limits on the final two days. He also advanced 73 places to win the Coleman Cool Under Pressure award. Shannon Kehl, Menoken, ND won the Dave's Ka-Boom "Close Call" award of $500 for finishing 41st.
Amateur Mike Johnson, Niagara, Wis., placed highest in the MotorGuide East Division and won the Pflueger Top Stick award of two matched President spinning reels and rods. He also won a trip to the Mercury Championship representing all amateurs who competed this season. He will captain his boat and fish against the pros who taught him all season long. He won a Mercury 9.9-hp outboard valued at $2,500. He had first, 12th and
20th place finishes.
Pro Tom Kemos, Oconomowoc, Wis., driving the Optima Batteries boat, won the MotorGuide East Division. He earned a $1,500 MotorGuide trolling motor and a $2,000 SnowSport snowplow. He will lead the East Division top 10 pros to Kansas. The complete list of pros invited to the Championship will be posted on www.professionalwalleyetrail.com. The schedule for the activities will also be posted. The public is invited to join the best tournament anglers when they fish Milford Lake near Junction City, Kansas, Sept. 16-18.
Rookie pro Chase Parsons cashed checks in five of six tournaments and earned PWT Rookie of the Year honors. The PWT television series will begin airing the final week of September and run through March 2006. It runs three times per week on the Outdoor Channel.
Quality Inn & Suites (906-635-6918), Sault Convention Bureau (800-647-2858), Kewadin Casino (906-632-0530) and these business partners: Mercury Marine, Lund, The Outdoor Channel, Berkley, Optima Batteries, Realtree, MotorGuide, Lowrance, MinnKota, Trilene, Frenzy, Blue Fox, Powerbait, Johnsonville Brats, Northland Fishing Tackle, Lindy Legendary Fishing Tackle, GULP!, Coleman, Storm, Boat Buckle, Smooth Moves Seat Mounts, Kwik Pfyt, E-Z Loader, Raymarine, Rapala, Matzuo, Pflueger, Ram rod holders, Gerbing's Heated Clothing, Aqua-Vu, Save Phace, Plano, Stowmaster.net, Navionics, Access Roll-up Cover, Yellow Bird, DOW Chemical, Dave's Lures, The State Bank Group, Yo-Zuri and Reef Runner. The PWT is an integral element of the In-Fisherman Communications Network headquartered in Brainerd, Minnesota, and PRIMEDIA, America's leading producer of targeted media. |
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| North Dakota Pro Maintains PWT Top Spot at Sault Ste. Marie |
After a strong finish on day one, Aaron Abaurrea, Fargo, ND, limited again to maintain his top spot after two days. With a 5-fish limit each day, his total of 36.55 pounds, gives Abaurrea a one-half pound lead over Jim Muzynoski, Bozeman, Montana. This is the final $300,000 qualifying event for the In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail 2005 tour.
Abaurrea and Muzynoski crossed three and four states respectively before
entering Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Like the best walleye tournament
anglers in North America, they traveled to Sault Ste. Marie to catch walleyes. They were competing in the Lund/Outdoor Channel Pro-Am on the St.
Mary's River, which empties from Lake Superior and flows to Lake Huron.
The third and fourth place anglers remained the same, with Mark Martin, Twin Lake, Mich., in third, and Tom Backer, Fargo, ND in fourth. The top four are within one and one-half pounds. Friday's weights will determine the Mercury Championship invitations and year-end awards.
All activities take place beginning at 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26, at Aune Osborne Park, just downstream from the Soo Locks. The top amateur/co-angler is Peter Straton, Lyons Falls, NY. The winning amateur on Friday will tow home a $20,000 Lund/Mercury boat on an E-Z-Loader trailer.
Most anglers fished the main river channels from a few miles below Sault Ste. Marie to Munuscong Bay. They also found fish in Lake George. Many tactics revolved around bottom bouncers and spinner rigs, dragged at specific spots and depths.
The Coleman Big Fish of the day, 5.53 pounds, went to rookie pro Scott Cain, Midland, Mich., and amateur/co-angler Kim Schmidt, Clayton, Ind. They split $1,000. All eyes are on the Johnsonville Brats Angler of the Year race.
Mike Gofron, Antioch, Ill, and Martin are only three points apart for the top spot, with the advantage to Gofron. Final results will determine the winner, with many pros in the running.
Quality Inn & Suites (906-635-6918), Sault Convention Bureau (800-647-2858), Kewadin Casino (906-632-0530) and these business partners: Mercury Marine, Lund, The Outdoor Channel, Berkley, Optima Batteries, Realtree, MotorGuide, Lowrance, MinnKota, Trilene, Frenzy, Blue Fox, Powerbait, Johnsonville Brats, Northland Fishing Tackle, Lindy Legendary Fishing Tackle, GULP!, Coleman, Storm, Boat Buckle, Smooth Moves Seat Mounts, Kwik Pfyt, E-Z Loader, Raymarine, Rapala, Matzuo, Pflueger, Ram rod holders, Gerbing's Heated Clothing, Aqua-Vu, Save Phace, Plano, Stowmaster.net, Navionics, Access Roll-up Cover, Yellow Bird, DOW Chemical, Dave's Lures, The State Bank Group, Yo-Zuri and Reef Runner. The PWT is an integral element of the In-Fisherman Communications Network headquartered in Brainerd, Minnesota, and PRIMEDIA, America's leading producer of targeted media. |
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| St. Mary's River Treats PWT Pros to Exciting Catches |
A sunny day on the St. Mary's River produced a banner catch for the In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail touring anglers. They were competing in the $300,000 Lund/Outdoor Channel Pro-Am in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
The top pro walleye tournament anglers fished from the famous Soo Locks downstream to DeTour Passage, and all the bays, river channels, lakes and hotspots in-between. Aaron Abaurrea, Fargo, ND, found his fish in a secluded spot and bagged 22.18 pounds for his tournament limit of five walleyes.
Abaurrea's partner was Matt Guzzo, Sault Ste. Marie. Montana pro Jim Muzynoski and his amateur/co-angler Jerry Emery, Walker, Minn., hold second place with 21.73 pounds. The third place partners, pro Mark Martin, Twin Lake, Mich., and amateur/co-angler John Matchinski, Manistique, Mich., weighed 20.53 pounds. Pro Tom Backer and amateur Peter Straton, Lyons Falls, NY are 5/100ths back in fourth place. Forty-two percent of the boats brought in limits; with an average weight of 2.42 pounds.
The Johnsonville Brats Angler of the Year race tightened. On day one, leader Mark Brumbaugh, Arcanum, Ohio, placed 10th, while Martin with five more pounds made a major move. The points race will be determined after Friday's weigh-in. The Johnsonville Brats Angler of the Year will win $35,000; with Mercury adding $10,000 to the $25,000 prize.
The largest walleye, winning the Coleman Big Fish $1,000 money, went to Muzynoski and Emery for their 5.49-pounder. Walleye fans interested in learning more about how to fish the scenic waterway connecting Lake Superior with Lake Huron are encouraged to attend the free stage show and weigh-in festivities. The Thursday and Friday, Aug. 25-26 weigh-in starts at 3 p.m.
at Sault Ste. Marie's Aune Osborne Park, right on the river.
Quality Inn & Suites (906-635-6918), Sault Convention Bureau (800-647-2858), Kewadin Casino (906-632-0530) and these business partners:
Mercury Marine, Lund, The Outdoor Channel, Berkley, Optima Batteries, Realtree, MotorGuide, Lowrance, MinnKota, Trilene, Frenzy, Blue Fox, Powerbait, Johnsonville Brats, Northland Fishing Tackle, Lindy Legendary Fishing Tackle, GULP!, Coleman, Storm, Boat Buckle, Smooth Moves Seat Mounts, Kwik Pfyt, E-Z Loader, Raymarine, Rapala, Matzuo, Pflueger, Ram rod holders, Gerbing's Heated Clothing, Aqua-Vu, Save Phace, Plano, Stowmaster.net, Navionics, Access Roll-up Cover, Yellow Bird, DOW Chemical, Dave's Lures, The State Bank Group, Yo-Zuri and Reef Runner. The PWT is an integral element of the In-Fisherman Communications Network headquartered in Brainerd, Minnesota, and PRIMEDIA, America's leading producer of targeted media. |
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| PWT Tour Returns to Michigan's UP With Walleye Action at Sault Ste. Marie |
They're heading to Michigan's Upper Peninsula from all corners of the Walleye World. The pros with their $40,000 boats and thousands of fishing lures, will be driven to Sault Ste. Marie by visions of giant walleyes flopping in their nets.
These are the In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail touring pro anglers who will fish the Lund/Outdoor Channel Pro-Am on the St. Mary's River for more than $300,000 in cash and merchandise prizes. The top 40 win a share of the purse with the first-place pro prize set at $64,000. The PWT Pro-Am format means the winning amateur/co-angler will tow home a Mercury-powered Lund walleye boat on an E-Z Loader trailer (a $17,000 prize). Forty amateurs also win prizes.
The partners fish in the pro's boat with the pro's gear and at the pro's spots. Each amateur/co-angler draws a different partner each tournament day, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Aug. 24-26. Not only are they gunning to win the big prizes, but this is also the final qualifier prior to the prestigious Mercury Championship, which caps the 2005 season.
Only a limited field will be invited, and the new champion will win $119,000, at Milford Lake in Kansas.
At Sault Ste. Marie, the contestants will fish the St. Mary's River and all it's connecting waters. This scenic waterway flows from Lake Superior to Lake Huron. The most popular PWT pro boat is a 20-foot Lund walleye boat, which will be shadowed by freighters exceeding 1,000 feet in length, and towering hundreds of feet in height. The anglers in the Lund will be searching for one more walleye, while the ship will be on course for it's next port.
All eyes will be on Johnsonville Brats Angler of the Year leader Mark Brumbaugh. This Ohio angler has cashed a check at every PWT tournament this season, and is the only angler to have done so. He is a past PWT Champion and a tournament winner, but does not own an Angler title. With
341 points, Brumbaugh is only two points ahead of Illinois pro Mike Gofron.
New York pro Todd Frank is seven points back. The Angler of the Year race is the tightest it's ever been. The Angler title would be worth $35,000 to any of these Mercury pros ($25,000 from Johnsonville and $10,000 from Mercury Marine).
Local pro Mike McMaken, Cedarville, Mich., reports there are more
walleyes from 15 to 22 inches in the St. Mary's River than ever before. He said, "They're healthy and in all the traditional places. Boat control will be critical (as usual), and I expect some really big fish to show themselves."
The Aug. 24-26 event will occur about a mile below the Soo Locks in Aune Osborn Park. Walleye fans are welcome to the free stage spectacle beginning at 3 p.m. daily. Contestants weigh their catches, which are then released. On Friday, the pros "tell all." They reveal where they fished, how they fished, and any tricks they learned on the river. The fishing action will be captured by the award-winning In-Fisherman TV crews, and aired from October 2005 through March 2006 on the Outdoor Channel.
Updated results the instant the pros weigh their catches are available on the PWT website www.professionalwalleyetrail.com. Tune in and follow the Mercury Real-time scoring action.
Quality Inn & Suites (906-635-6918), Sault Convention Bureau (800-647-2858), Kewadin Casino (906-632-0530) |
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