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| Devils Lake Guide Wins PWT Event on First Try |
 |  |  | Jason Feldner - pumped after his first PWT tournament |
Jason Feldner, fishing his first In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail tournament as a pro, claimed the victory on Devils Lake. This North Dakota lake, now about 130,000 acres, has grown four-times since the mid-1990's, and all of this former marsh and farmland is great walleye habitat.
Felder, a fishing guide who lives on the west side of the lake in Minnewaukan, ND, said, "Walleyes are everywhere, and people love fishing here." That was the sentiment of the contestants as they crossed the PWT stage at Graham's Island State Park, May 24-26. The Outdoor Channel/Berkley Pro-Am was the second stop on the Regional Series presented by MotorGuide. Feldner won a $53,000 prize, including a Lund boat, Mercury outboard and an E-Z Loader trailer for weighing 75.18 pounds(15 total fish).
Feldner, like many of the anglers, watched slip bobbers in and among the thousands of standing, dead cottonwoods. Depths ranged from 4 to 7 feet. When the wind came up following a cold front, he left some slips out, but dragged jigs slowly to give walleyes another chance. "They liked the change-up," he said, as his amateur partners really got in the act by catching many walleyes.
 | | Day Two Leader Gazvoda held on to second |
Second-place angler Ron Gazvoda, Lakewood, Col., won $15,000, and said he and his partners caught as many as 80 fish some days. Third went to pro Gary Maher, a rancher from Menoken, ND. He won $13,000. The top amateur, Brad Hedstrom, Wilton, ND, won a $15,000 Lund/Mercury walleye boat.
Special awards included the E-Cell Heavyweight $1,000 award to pro Keith Carlson, Goodhue, Minn., for his first day catch of 32.80 pounds. The Coleman Big Fish winners were Rick Zachowski, Milwaukee, Wis., and Greg Pregorki, Libertyville, Ill. They won $1,000 and $500 respectively. Pro Jim Carpenter won the Coleman Cool Under Pressure award by advancing 88 places. Amateur Steve Gineris, Oshkosh, Wis., advanced 93 places to win.
Leading the Tommy Docks Regional Championship race is pro Tom Gatzke, Merrill, Wis., who won the previous Regional event. Second is Tom Kemos, Oconomowoc, Wis. Gazvoda is third. Pro Jeff Edwards, Shoreview, Minn., is at the top of the Aqua-Vu Rookie of the Year standings.
Two groups were recognized by the PWT on stage. Dick Horner accepted the PWT Superior Achievement award on behalf of his Graham's Island State Park staff. The Devils Lake Chamber of Commerce was also a recipient of the Superior Achievement award for their many months of details and managing the event with volunteers.
The final two Regional series tournaments take place in late July (Mobridge, SD) and August (Escanaba, Mich.). Amateur/co-angler openings remain; to enter call PWT headquarters, 218-829-0620.
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. PWT promotional partners include: 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, Tommy Docks, Smooth Moves Seat Mounts, E-Village, Kwik Pfyt, Raymarine, Rapala, Pflueger, Ram rod holders, Gerbing's Heated Clothing, Aqua-Vu, Plano, Stowmaster.net, Navionics, Yellow Bird, Beckman, Drift Control, Gemini Sport Marketing, 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 and Devils Lake Chamber of Commerce, 701-662-4903. |
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| Veteran Ron Gazvoda Leads Day Two at Devils |
Veteran In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail angler Ron Gazvoda, Lakewood, Col., took over the day two lead at Devils Lake, ND. They were competing in the Outdoor Channel/Berkley Pro-Am, which runs through Friday, May 26.
Gazvoda has been fishing the PWT since 2002, and has a $66,000 victory on Bay de Noc at Escanaba, Mich., in 2004. He weighed 25 pounds on day one and 31 pounds today. He leads second place pro and Devils Lake guide Jason Feldner, Minnewaukan, ND, by two pounds. Third place pro Brian Bjorkman, Fargo, ND, is 11 pounds behind Feldner. Day one pro leader Keith Carlson, Goodhue, Minn., dropped to ninth place.
After two days of this tournament, one of the Regional Series events presented by MotorGuide, 92 pros of the 119 have landed 5-fish limits each day. The average weight is nearly three pounds.
The Coleman Big Fish of the tournament pushed the scales over 10 pounds. Pro Rick Zachowski, Milwaukee, Wis., and amateur partner Greg Pregrocki, Libertyville, Ill., weighed a 10.08-pounder.
Amateur/co-angler Dallas Marchus, Fessenden, ND, extended his lead to three pounds over second place amateur Tony Omit, Elk River, Minn. If he holds onto his top position, Marchus will win a Lund/Mercury walleye boat valued at $15,000. The winning pro collects a first place prize of $55,000.
After a cold front during the night, heavy over-cast greeted the field. By 1 p.m., the sun nudged temperatures from the low 60-degree range to the mid-70's. Walleye fans enjoyed the fish stories from stage, the Berkley fishing experience, and several manufacturers' exhibits.
Day three begins at 7 a.m. Friday, with the weigh-in and stage ceremonies starting at 3 p.m. All activities take place at Graham's Island State Park just west of the city of Devils Lake.
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. PWT promotional partners include: 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, Tommy Docks, Smooth Moves Seat Mounts, E-Village, Kwik Pfyt, Raymarine, Rapala, Pflueger, Ram rod holders, Gerbing's Heated Clothing, Aqua-Vu, Plano, Stowmaster.net, Navionics, Yellow Bird, Beckman, Drift Control, Gemini Sport Marketing, 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 and Devils Lake Chamber of Commerce, 701-662-4903. |
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| PWT Heads to Devils Lake for Early Walleyes |
Mike Gofron, one of the walleye world's all-stars, and 2005 Johnsonville Angler of the Year said, "Devils Lake is one of the most versatile and challenging systems the PWT fishes. I can hardly wait to see it in the spring."
The full field of 120 pros fishing the In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail's Regional series, presented by MotorGuide, shares his sentiment. They compete head-to-head with the walleyes May 24-26 (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday), each trying to catch the largest 5-fish limits for the 3-day tournament.
Bragging rights and more than $50,000 goes to the winner. The PWT Berkley/Outdoor Channel Pro-Am involves amateurs/co-anglers who share boats and gear and fish as partners with the pros. Devils Lake resident, guide and touring pro Johnnie Candle said, "Fishing and learning while riding with the pros is a great experience. I look forward to showing off 'my lake' to my co-anglers." He would also like to show off some giant walleyes and win in his adopted hometown.
Daily weigh-in activities take place at Graham's Island State Park, west of the city of Devils Lake. The afternoon weigh-ins (beginning at 3 p.m. and running to about 6 p.m.) are informative and free of charge. Pros share their secrets, especially on day three. They talk about where they fished and what worked best. They describe their tactics. And, the stage show is fun to watch.
Pro anglers and their partners will explore every inch of water they can access with their boats. That water has expanded from about 40,000 acres in the early 1990's to more than 130,000 acres now. The rising water (there's no outlet to the lake) swept over homes, farms, roads and everything in its path.
Winner of the last two PWT trips to Devils Lake, Bruce "Doc" Samson, said, "Even though I won in deep water, this will be an entirely different system in May. It will be new to all of us this year."
The Regional series tour events following are at Mobridge, SD, and Escanaba, Mich., where amateurs may still enter.
Devils Lake Chamber, 701-662-4903 |
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