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Updated: 04/21/04
Father-son Team Take Gander Mountain Grand
National Walleye Cup Opener at Winneconne
By Steve Weisman
Gander Mountain GNWC Publicity Director
The father-son team of Russell and Steve Wagner
from Pewaukee, WI took
home both the $1200 first place check and the Berkley Trilene Big Fish
Award
at the Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup's opening tournament
of
the Wisconsin Region held on Winneconne's Lake Winnebago chain and
the Wolf
River on Sunday, April 18.
The Wagners, with a winning weight of 10.94
pounds, were the only ones
to bring a six-fish limit to the scales. They found success by drifting
the
rocky areas of the Wolf River, vertically jigging leadheads. Russ noted,
"We
lost a lot of jigs in the rocks, so we're definitely going to need
to
restock." They both agreed, however, that losing a few jigs was a small
price to pay for taking the Winneconne title and the Berkley Trilene
Big
Fish Award of $400 in Berkley products. Their big fish weighed 4.41
pounds.
Taking second place and cashing a check for $600
was the team of Dale
Helgeson from Elkhorn, WI and Michael Sigl from Black Creek, WI with
four
fish weighing 6.25 pounds. They found that the strong south winds hampered
them as they trolled baby Thundersticks to catch their four walleyes.
Third place and a check for $500 went to Doug Sasse
from Winneconne, WI
and Jeff Graves from Oshkosh, WI with four fish weighing 5.72 pounds.
They
caught their fish working Wolf River rigs and minnows upstream against
the
current.
The "Yo So Close" award of a Yo Net folding net
valued at $80 went to
the three teams that placed just out of the money. They include Brad
Davis
from Jackson, WI and Joe Palmer from Manitowoc, WI in 8th place; Robert
Blosser from Lodi, WI and Gary Tomlinson from Poynette, WI in 9th place;
Dan
Gosenheimer from Wild Rose, WI and Adam Hackbarth from Oshkosh, WI
in 10th
place.
Erik Potter from Fort Atkinson,
WI and George Meris from Beloit, WI
were the winners of the Gander Mountain "Need More Stuff" drawing of
$200
for a Gander Mountain Shopping Spree.
According to Gander Mountain GNWC Tournament Director
Dean Higgins, the
bite was tough. "The wind really hampered the teams, so it was quite
an
achievement for the Wagners to put together a six-fish limit the way
they
did. In spite of the wind, this is a great fishery, and the teams showed
good sportsmanship throughout the tournament." Higgins went on to say,
"The
volunteer help was outstanding. Doug and his crew of volunteers really
helped make everything go smoothly."
The Wisconsin teams are back in action on Sunday,
May 16 at Petenwell.
Anglers interested in signing up for a future qualifier
or simply
wanting more information on the GNWC circuit can call 1-800-890-FISH
(3474),
or they can email the GNWC at info@walleyecup.com.
Title Sponsor for the GNWC is Gander Mountain with
other major national
sponsors including Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, the Sportsman Channel,
Berkley, Aqua Innovations, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, VIB"E" Lure
Company, TowTector Shield and UpNorth Outdoors.com.
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