• Press Release
• Final Standings
• Ranger boat Owners Award
• Comeback Award
• Big Basket Award
• Overall stats
• Proud Sponsors

(Photo courtesy of the MWC) 

OCONTO, WIS. – 

Brothers  Mark Keenan (Appleton, Wis.) and   Tom Keenan (Hatley, Wis.) won the Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC)  Team Walleye Tournament held July 17-18 on Lake Michigan’s Green Bay at Oconto, Wis.
This just after Tom Keenan won $50,000  the In-Fisherman PWT  Lake Winnebago  Central Pro-Am. Results
The reigning MWC Team of the Year titleholders weighed an eight fish MWC limit totaling 50.30 lbs., a 6.29 lb. average. They collected $13,000 for the win plus an additional $1,000 for being the highest ranking Ranger boat owner team.
It was the first circuit victory for the veteran team, who has fished over 60 MWC tournaments, garnering five second place finishes.
According to Tom, "We wanted to win one on Kaz’s watch before he retired." (MWC Executive Director, Bob "Kaz" Kaczkowski, is retiring at the conclusion of the current MWC season.)
Mark told a huge weigh-in audience, "We fished the Monument Shoals area of the Bay both days with a side trip to the Menomonee River the first day. We took our fish in depths between 15 to 31 feet, with the best bite being between 11 a.m. and noon.
 Tom added, "We trolled  Hatchet Harness nightcrawler rigs from in-line planer boards and bottom bouncers between 1 and 1-1/2 MPH. We used the large number six and eight gold- or silver-colored Hatchet blades. The Hatchet blades give off a sound totally different than any blade on the market. They’ve been a big part of our fishing success."
Mark concluded, "We spooled our reels with ten pound test  XT line, with 14 pound XT leaders. You need strong leaders because of the sharp zebra mussels which cling to the rocks on the shoals."
Second place finishers were Minnesotans Tom Albrecht (Coon Rapids) and Rick Stange (Blaine). They weighed six walleyes, 44.20 lbs., earning $7,500. They also pocketed $1,100 for a 9.42 lb. lunker, which was the heaviest fish caught the first tournament day. 

Third place, worth $5,000, went to the Wisconsin team of Jay Brindle (Manitowoc) and Pat Schuette (Two Rivers), whose eight fish weighed 43.84 lbs. After blanking out the first day, two-time MWC Father/Son Team of the Year titleholders Jim (Randolph, Wis.) and Tim Minnema (Markesan, Wis.) struck walleye gold with a whopping four fish final day catch of 32.30 lbs. (an 8 lb. average), which included the biggest fish of the tourney weighing 11.30 lbs.
The Minnemas finished in 18th place, $700; advanced 136 places to win the Comeback Award, $450; won the final day Big Basket Award, a pair of Big Jon downriggers valued at $500; $1,100 for the second day Big Fish Pot prize; and the  Outboards $1,000 engine rebate big fish award.
First day leaders, Neil Hammargren and Doug Newhoff of Waterloo, Iowa, were awarded a Panther auxiliary motor lift valued at $500 for their first day four fish catch of 24.56 lbs. They finished 8th, winning $1,250. 

The 200 team field caught 846 walleyes weighing 3,081.61 lbs. (3.64 lb. average) in the MWC catch and release format. The top 35 teams shared a cash purse of $52,000, plus added cash awards, totaling $59,000. 

Each team contributed $10 to the MWC Conservation Fund. The $2,000 plus $170, a percentage from MWC clothing sales, a total of $2,170, was donated to the Oconto Sportsmen’s Club for habitat improvement on the Oconto River to add wing dams and large boulders to enhance walleye spawning. To date the MWC Conservation Fund has donated more than $30,000 to Wisconsin fishery projects, part of the nearly $200,000 donated to similar programs in states where MWC tournaments are held. 

MWC Executive Director, Bob "Kaz" Kaczkowski, stated, "The support of the tournament by the residents, merchants and service organizations of the Oconto community was overwhelming. Signs welcoming the MWC were everywhere. It was a tremendous show of support, and the anglers are already looking forward to next year’s Oconto tournament."

The next circuit stop is the Quantum/MotorGuide MWC Team Tournament, August 28-29 on Lake Michigan’s Little Bay de Noc at Gladstone/Escanaba, Mich. The 200 team field is already filled. For further information, contact the MWC, 414-761-0657, or the Delta County Chamber of Commerce, 906-786-2192. 

Proud Boat owners award for the highest ranking Ranger Team

Mark Keenan (Appleton, Wis.) and   Tom Keenan (Hatley, Wis.)

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