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| Benson, Edlund Nail Down Mercury Team of the Year Honors at Lake Vermilion |
With 10 teams weighing 5-fish limits, the walleye bite on Lake Vermilion was definitely hot at the Grand National Walleye Cup's (GNWC) final qualifier on the Minnesota Circuit, Sunday, July 20.
Leading the way with 12.04 pounds was the team of Gary Nordlie from Owatona and Lee Mendenhall from New Richland. They pocketed $1500 for their winning effort.
Cashing the second place check of $750 was the team of Chad Benson and Joe Edlund from Bemidji with 10.83 pounds. Benson and Edlund finished an incredible GNWC season with two first place finishes, a second place finish and a third place finish.
"What a year these two guys had," said GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer. "In all my years of involvement with tournament angling, I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. They definitely deserve the title of Mercury Team of the Year for the state of Minnesota."
Third place and a check for $500 went to Bob Steinhoff from Lake Shore and Kevin Benz from Shokopee with 10.46 pounds.
Gene Johnson from Side Lake and Tim Rasch from Hibbing took fourth place with 9.22 pounds and also captured the Abu Garcia Big Fish Award of two 6500 Linecounter reels for their 5.16 pound walleye.
The Berkley Family Angler Award for the top placing family team went to Wes Loeckle from Mason City, IA and Troy Loeckle from Floyd, IA with a sixth place finish. They earned $250 in Berkley product for their efforts and also a check for $225 for placing sixth.
The Lake Vermilion qualifier was definitely the tale of two lakes: the west and the east. "The top teams all fished the west side of the lake and were able to come up with the bigger fish. The teams who fished the east side were actually distracted by the huge numbers of fish being taken. Teams on the east side caught as many as 40 walleyes. The numbers were not nearly as great on the west side, but the size of the fish made the difference," said Barringer.
Barringer noted that the competing teams were impressed with Lake Vermilion. "Lake Vermilion is a terrific walleye fishery that offers walleye fishermen both incredible fishing opportunities and the beauty of a classic Canadian Shield lake."
The top presentation was working Lindy Rigs and crawlers along the breaklines in 14-18 feet of water.
Next up will be the State Championship at Gull Lake, September 6-7. "As we get closer to September, we will release all the details for the State Championship. One thing is for sure-these teams will put on a great show just as they have all year long."
Anglers can call 1-800-890-3474, email the GNWC at [email protected] or check out the official GNWC website at walleyecup.com for all of the latest in GNWC information.
Major sponsoring partners for the GNWC include Ranger Boats, Mercury Outboards, Berkley, Abu-Garcia, The Sportsman Channel and UpNorthOutdoors.com.
Those who do not get the Sportsman Channel and want to see the GNWC's television series Walleye Wisdom are encouraged to contact their cable or satellite provider and ask for the Sportsman Channel to be added to their program line-up. |
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