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| Marx and Marx Win Lake City MWC |
Lake City, MN - There were no knock-knock jokes or head butts between these two Marx brothers, but rather tons of smiles and high-fives. Minnesotans Don Marx (Rockford) and Joe Marx (Clearwater) fished their first Cabela's Masters Walleye Circuit tournament and captured the win on Lake Pepin on September 16 & 17th. The duo brought in 8 fish over two days totaling 40.33 pounds and cashed $24,884. They showed a field of 192 teams "a thing or three." They won with over a fifteen pound margin.
"This is unreal," shared Don. "Part of what feels so good in accomplishing this is going up against such a large field -- full of great local anglers as well as big names in fishing." Joe piped in that he hoped it would be a fishing career stepping stone for them - which is just getting going. "We've fished smaller tournaments and had some success, but we wanted to put a slice of our winnings into a major tournament and give something a lot bigger a try." Don agreed. "We hope this will open some doors for us for more things. We probably had the smallest boat with the smallest engine in the entire field - yet we got it done!" The size of the field and the professionalism of all the anglers overwhelmed the young guys - but they felt ready to step up to the challenge. They promised to be back next year now that they have had a big tournament experience.
The key to the team's success was working their number one spot very strategically, trolling in the Vermillion River at the head of the lake; and also stopping to cast specific spots in the same area. In both cases they used jointed crank baits for their presentation. Purple was the key color and worked in a number of color combinations while trolling; particularly purple/green and purple/yellow. Finesse casting seemed to be most effective with green chartreuse shads, rolling the baits over the rocks and logs. "You can lose a lot of baits with this strategy, but the fish really responded to this presentation," shared Don.
On day one the brothers probably had an 11-plus pound walleye in the basket; weighing three fish totaling 15.89 pounds. We don't know the exact amount because only teams in the "big fish pot" are allowed to weigh a fish in contention for the angler-organized cash bonus. They didn't get in because they arrived early for registration before the big fish pot was even open - no one was there to take their entry. They came back for the meeting but thought they could still get in after the meeting was over - but circuit policy is to close the big fish pot after the meeting starts. "Now that we know -- we won't let that happen again," said a chagrinned Joe. The big fish pot paid $1,105 for the biggest fish each day; gone with a rookie error. Their five-fish 24.44 pound basket on Sunday propelled the team from 4th place to first..their nearest competitor 15.09 pounds behind them.
Paul Fournier of Andover, MN & Ryan Olson of Cambridge, MN received a $200 additional cash bonus from Lindy for being the top finishing team using a drift sock during the tournament along with two new Lindy Drift Control products. Fournier & Olson finished in sixth place and cashed a check for $4808.
The $1000 Ranger Cup bonus was awarded to Jeremy Goddard of Green Bay, WI. Goddard and partner Steve Zegers also cashed the $100 Panther Marine Tech bonus. They finished in 4th place and cashed in $8573.
A $500 Tommy Docks Comeback Award for moving up 65 places from day one to day two was awarded to another set of brothers - Dan and Dean Krukow from Rochester, MN. The Krukow brothers also caught the biggest recorded fish of the tournament - at 9.69 pounds - which landed Dan and Dean another $1105.
Inhibitor Tough Times cash bonus of $100 was awarded to Ed Mucha of Shabbona, IL and Todd Maas of Johnston, IA.
MWC sponsor Ice Armor awarded Mark & Cathy De Deker of Larsen, WI with two sets of new Ice Armor cold-weather outer wear.
Farm & City Insurance Services drew the Van Dyne, Wisconsin husband and wife team of Ron and Vickie Goldapske for two new inflatable PFDs. FCIS also assisted at least one team with required safety equipment to pass morning inspection. The Goldapskes went on to take 2nd place in the tournament - cashing in $11,981. They were the only team in the entire 192 field to bring in 5-fish limits both days for a total of ten fish.
Food Source Lures paid out cash and "real food" in a game for the anglers awarding $100 to Wisconsinites Mike Schaeffer (Fond du Lac) and Chuck Wenzel (Brillion).
Frontenac Sportsmens Club did their usual stellar tournament operations work with the MWC. A dedicated walleye conservation fund of $2880 has been sent to the Club for their efforts in improving this spectacular river fishery.
Tournament Statistics
Number of Teams: 192 Number of Fish: 497
Total cash and prizes: $132,844 Total Weight: 1156.12 pounds
Water Temp: 62 degrees Big Fish: 9.69 pounds
Average Weight: 2.32 pounds
Water Clarity: Green with algae
Winning Pattern: Casting and trolling jointed crank baits in an area full of big rocks and tree stumps
Inside Tip: Purple color combinations for trolling, chartreuse green for casting, and finessing the bait to roll over the rocks and logs |
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| MWC Ends 2006 on Mississippi River in Lake City |
Minnetonka, MN - September 16th and 17th will host the grand final of the regular season for the Cabela's Masters Walleye Circuit, returning to Minnesota/Wisconsin Border Waters on Lake Pepin, Pool 4 of the Mississippi River. The community of Lake City, Minnesota, and the local Frontenac Sportsmens Club will host the event, currently at 191 registered teams. Two-hundred teams is considered a full roster, although regulations do allow up to 10% over, for a maximum of 220 teams. The anglers will travel from several states to compete, with the majority of the field from Wisconsin and Minnesota, but also Illinois, Iowa and the rest coming from Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, Indiana, Ohio and Colorado.
"Even though this tournament isn't full, we are quite pleased with the size of the roster," indicated Kristine Houtman, Director of the MWC. "The last tournament of the year usually lags in size, and most years we've seen rosters in the 160 to 170 range - so 191 is a substantial increase."
With low-water conditions heading into the tournament, anglers are aware that anything is possible - and that the bite will not be predictable. "Somebody will probably put that nice 5-fish basket together, and I hope it's us," chuckled Jim Trow, a very good river fisherman. He and partner Scott Aydelotte, both from Iowa, won the World Walleye Championship last year on Pools 9 and 10 of the Mississippi River; and they are sitting in first place for Central Division Team of the Year Points. "The bite will probably be tough. There won't be the current flow we usually hope for, which means the wing dam bite will probably suffer. And the fish are migrating because of the unseasonable conditions. The teams that are versatile and ready to change up from the wing-dams, to trolling lead-core and 3-way live bait rigs will be in the best position to bring in a 5-fish basket," shared Champion Trow.
The race for points is heating up. At stake are both the Central Division Team of the Year as well as the MWC Challenge overall Team of the Year. Greg Yarbrough of Port Clinton, OH and Jeff Manz of Vanderbilt, MI captured the East Division Team of the Year title at Saginaw Bay last month with a 10th place finish. With that, they put themselves in a near shoe-in for MWC Team of the Year. Because that race is based on "lowest" points (like golf); it doesn't look like anyone in the Central Division has the chance to unseat them.
Manz and Yarbrough have already fished 5 of the 6 events of the year; and done quite well in all of them. However, they could be working toward a trifecta; looking to grab the Central Division Team of the Year title as well. Aydelotte and Trow are in the lead with a 2nd place finish at Spring Valley and a 9th place finish at Bays de Noc, but they know that with a big field, anything can happen. "It's gonna be a dog fight!" shared Trow. "We know some of the teams nipping at our heels and they are good fishermen . and they have notified us that they are ready to do battle." Manz and Yarbrough are only ranked 3 places behind Aydelotte and Trow in the standings, with a 36th at Spring Valley and 4th at Bay de Noc. Their East division finishes were 9th at Detroit River/Lake Erie, 3rd at Henderson Harbor and 10th at Saginaw Bay. In second place are Don Solis and Bert Wilson and 3rd place Brad Bull and Wes Rose.
Based on 191 teams the first place prize money will be $24,754; paying out 33 places to the field totaling $92,274. Additionally, sponsor prizes and bonus money will be paid accordingly:
Ranger Boats Ranger Cup: Top finishing Ranger Cup Boat owners receive $1,000
Tommy Docks Comeback Award - for the team that moves up the most from day 1 to day 2 -- $500
Ice Armor: Two new Ice Armor outwear gear suits; plus if the lucky team that is drawn for the new suits wins the tournament; $1000 bonus.
Lindy Drift Control Award: $200 cash plus two new Lindy Drift Control socks for the team that finishes the highest and uses any drift sock during the tournament.
Food Source Lures & Cabela's have onsite games that anglers and fans can win cool prizes including cash and Cabela's gift cards.
The Inhibitor Tough Times Award: $100 bonus to the team that weighs the smallest basket of fish (but not a zero.)
Panther Marine Tech: $100 cash bonus for top finishing team with Panther or ElectroSteer products
The last stop for the MWC is the 2006 World Walleye Championship, October 4-7 in Prairie du Chien, WI. The sixty teams that earned their way to the World Walleye Championship last year will fish for $100,000 in prize money. Boundaries are Pools 9 and 10 on the Mississippi River and the weigh-in festivities will be in the Cabela's Store, North parking lot.
Cabela's is the title sponsor for the Masters Walleye Circuit. Official Sponsors are Lindy Legendary Tackle, Mercury Motors, Outdoor Life Network (OLN), Ranger Boats, MotorGuide, Lowrance Electronics and the North American Fishing Club. Associate sponsors are Salmo Performance Lures, Panther Marine-Tech Products, Tommy Docks, The Inhibitor, Food Source Lures, Ice Armor, Pennzoil Marine, Farm and City Insurance Services and Walleye Central. |
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