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| Wisconsin Pro Takes Mercury Championship Day 2 Lead |
In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail pro angler David Andersen moved into the second day lead of the Mercury Championship. The Amery, Wis. pro was fishing for a first place prize of $115,000 against the top 52 PWT anglers on Milford Lake near Junction City, Kansas.
The final Championship day on Sunday, Sept. 18, will prove interesting, with Bill St. Peter, Bay City, Mich., in second place with
13.17 pounds. Day one leader Scott Fairbairn, Hager City, Wis., slipped to third with no fish on day two. Canadian John Butts weighed 8,46 pounds and jumped to fourth place. Tommy Skarlis, Waukon, Iowa stayed in fifth, and has a two-day total of 9.25 pounds.
On Milford Lake, walleyes must be 18 inches, and with the PWT 4-fish limit, and billions of shad in the lake, the catches have not been representative of the walleye population. As Andersen and many other anglers said, "We're all on the same lake."
Most anglers remained positive, and commented on stage and to the 2,000 walleye fans on hand to witness the first PWT event in Kansas, that they could win the Mercury Championship in one day if they caught big fish like they did in practice. The Coleman $1,000 big fish on day two belonged to Jim Carroll, Minot, ND. It weighed 6.49 pounds.
The largest fish to the stage was 19.36 pounds, caught by Colorado pro (and 2-time Mercury Championship winner) Ron Seelhoff. However, it was a flathead catfish, and represented what many anglers have been catching all week. Milford contains flatheads, channels and blue catfish. Pros were also catching lots of white bass, wipers (cross between white bass and stripers), smallmouth bass and panfish.
As a special incentive, the first 250 youngsters into the huge structure erected at Milford State Park, received Plano tackle boxes. On Sunday, the first 1,000 youngsters in the doors (open at 3 p.m.) will receive Shakespeare rods and reels, presented by Westar Energy. The big marine, tackle, and sport show in an adjacent structure was well received.
The show will run all Sunday, with the weigh-in ceremonies (video, color guard, lights, music and more) starting at 4 p.m.
The Mercury Championship is made possible by the Geary County CVB (785-238-2885; junctioncity.org) 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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| Wisconsin Pro Wins 2005 Mercury Championship |
Catching double the number of walleyes of any other In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail competitor, Wisconsin pro David Andersen, netted $117,000 at the Mercury Championship. He did it the old-fashioned way, working hard and paying attention to details.
Andersen weighed 10 walleyes from Milford Lake in Kansas over three days. They weighed 24.51 pounds, or $4,774 per pound. This is his second Mercury Championship appearance, and first PWT victory. He trolled a key break and on the final day caught his fish within a 20-minute window on a specific breakline (trolling purple Rapala #5 Shad Raps).
Andersen's big catch electrified the 2,000 walleye fans at Milford State Park. The Champ won $65,000 cash, a Lund/Merc walleye boat on an E-Z Loader trailer, a Kwik-Pfyt mudflap, a diamond ring from Richardson Jewelers and a SnowSport snowplow. With this win, he has racked up three top-10 finishes this season. He also won the Navionics "Spot on the Spot"
Award of $500.
Rookie of the Year Chase Parsons, the youngest Championship qualifier at 21 years old, from Appleton, Wis., claimed the second place $44,000 award. He also won two Coleman Big Fish awards of $1,000 each. His total PWT winnings were $64,500 this season. Third place went to Terry Wilson, Powell, Wyoming, with 15.91 pounds. He won $34,000 and also won the Gerbing's Hot Pro award of $1,000 for a PWT victory three weeks ago and this third place finish. He's pocketed more than $100,000 this season.
The largest walleye brought to the stage weighed 62 pounds. It was a huge 62-pound flathead catfish caught by Sheldon Meidinger, Bismarck, ND.
It didn't count in the Championship, but showed once again the magnitude of the Milford Lake fishery.
The Mercury Championship contestants qualified by being the top 51 pro anglers on tour this season. They were joined by Mercury Top Amateur Mike Johnson, Niagara, Wis. Photos and news about the qualifiers, the Championship, and other data is posted on the PWT web, professionalwalleyetrail.com. The 2006 schedule, dates and format will soon be announced on the site. The TV series begins the week of Sept. 26, and runs through March 2006. The Championship shows will air the final two weeks of September.
The Mercury Championship is made possible by the Geary County CVB (785-238-2885; junctioncity.org) 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 Pros Start Unraveling Kansas Walleye Secrets; Fairbairn Leads |
The Mercury Championship on Kansas' Lake Milford brought the best In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail pro anglers together for their final competition of the year. Day one leader Scott Fairbairn, Hager City, Wis., caught a PWT 4-fish limit weighing 11.26 pounds.
His catch brought the crowd to its feet. Walleye fans had a great time in the huge Walleye-dome, built especially for the Mercury Championship at Milford State Park. An adjacent facility is filled with boats, tackle and outdoor gear for a Saturday and Sunday Sport Show (Sept. 17-18), beginning at 10 a.m.
The final two days of competition occurs in all corners of Milford Lake, the largest lake in Kansas at 17,000 acres. The light-show, music, big screen and weigh-in takes place at 4:30 p.m. The field could "flip-flop," as pro anglers should receive two and one-half hours more fishing time on day two. They were delayed that amount of time due to fog Friday morning.
Some of Milford Lake's secrets were in deep water, while others were right against the bank. The details of what Fairbairn did to coax a limit will be revealed Sunday afternoon. David Anderson, Amery, Wis., finished day one in second place with 9.76 pounds. Rookie-of-the-Year Chase Parsons, Appleton, Wis., scored the Coleman $1,000 big fish, 6.70 pounds, and placed third with 9.17 pounds.
Bay City, Mich. pro Bill St. Peter weighed 8.94 pounds for fourth,
and Tommy Skarlis, Waukon, Iowa, was fifth with 6.93 pounds. Half the
field caught at least one fish. The lake has more shad than the biologists and local anglers can ever remember. The pros all applauded the many species of cats-blues, flathead and channels-as well as every bass ever invented, and loads of panfish. "It's a great place to fish," Fairbairn said.
After three days of competition, the winner could pocket $125,000 if running a Mercury outboard, or $115,000 otherwise. Three Lund/Mercury walleye boats on E-Z Loader trailers will be given away, also for about a $400,000 payday Sunday. |
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