Iowa Teams Prepare for Championship of Walleye Fishing on
Okoboji
By Steve Weisman GNWC Publicity Director
A $5000 first place purse is on the line for the qualifiers
of the Iowa State Championship of Walleye Fishing to be held
at the Okoboji Chain on September 17-18. In addition, the winners
will receive the Lowrance "YOU WIN!" award of two Lowrance LMS-332C
color sonar/GPS units valued at $1400, putting the total first
place winnings at $6400. It's showdown time for these top teams
on the Iowa Region of the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC),
and leading the way will be the Iowa Region Team of the Year,
Jack Davis and Rob Funk from Mason City, who easily won the
2005 honors by 26 points. GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer
looks forward to seeing what the teams can do on Okoboji. "The
Okoboji chain of lakes offers anglers all kinds of fishing opportunities
from the deep water structure of West Lake to the shallower
waters of the other connected lakes. I think that is what makes
this chain such an intriguing and unique fishery." John Grosvenor,
a former GNWC angler and a guide for the past five years, believes
that extended pre-fishing will play a major role in determining
the winners. "With its water clarity, depth and incredible structure,
West Okoboji is not like the typical bowl-like structure of
the normal Iowa lakes," said Grosvenor. "I look for fishing
to become more consistent as the water temperatures cool. Right
now, the fish seem to be relating to the deep weeds in water
up to 30 feet deep. Another key will be if the teams can find
those subtle humps and bottom transitions where the bottom goes
from muck to sand to gravel or to rocks. Those fish will be
right there. Those are the kinds of things that aren't marked
on the lake maps. When I find a spot on a spot like that I like
to hover right over it and work it with live bait." Grosvenor
also believes that the rest of the chain of lakes will also
be possibilities. "I'm sure there will be walleyes caught on
East Okoboji. Although I stay on West Okoboji most of the summer,
I worked crankbaits there the other day and caught several fish."
Although the tournament competition begins on Saturday, September
17, the activities for the Iowa teams actually begin on Friday
evening with the Championship banquet sponsored by Kentucky
Fried Chicken of Spirit Lake at the Community Center in Milford.
The Iowa State Championship competition headquarters for take-off
and weigh-in will be at the State Pier at Arnolds Park. "We
have had a tremendous response from our Iowa sponsors. Triggs
Bay Resort, AMFYOYO, Towtector, Carlson-Sanderson Real Estate
and Motor Inn, Inc., have been on board all season long, and
now we have Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pepsi joining us to help
make this a tremendous Championship," said Barringer. Saturday's
action begins at 7 a.m. with the opening ceremonies and take-off.
Weigh-in will be at 3 p.m. Sunday follows the same time frame
with the weigh-in festivities beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday's weigh-in
will determine who will walk away with the Iowa State Championship
of Walleye Fishing title. "We hope to have a good crowd at each
day's weigh-in. It is a great way for the public to witness
some great fishing action," noted Barringer. "Weigh-ins begin
at 3 p.m. each day. The first day will be a day of positioning,
but the second day will be for the title. Plus, on the second
day, we will find out from the top teams what strategies they
used to catch their fish." Special awards will be give out at
the Championships including the Cabelas Big Fish Award of a
$200 shopping spree for the team that catches the largest walleye
during the two-day Championships. In addition, an optional Big
Fish Pot will go to the team catching the overall big fish during
the Championships. Skeeter Boats is offering an additional $3000
above their GNWC winnings to any owner of a Skeeter boat who
wins the Iowa Championship of Walleye Fishing while fishing
in the Skeeter. In addition, the top-finishing Skeeter owner
will receive $1000. This extra $1000 is above the $3000 for
winning. YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO will offer the Yo So
Close Award of an $80 folding net to the three teams finishing
just out of the money. TowTector, maker of the premium boat
protector for towing vehicles, will offer the Towtector Comeback
Award of a Towtector Shield valued at $269 for the team advancing
the most places from day one to day two. The FoodSource Lure
Company is sponsoring $200 in FoodSource Lures for the top placing
family team. Those interested in checking out the standings,
reading the releases about any of the seven regions or simply
learning more about the circuit can access the GNWC website
at www.walleyecup.com. Major national sponsors for the GNWC
include Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Lowrance Electronics,
YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, Aqua-VU, Aqua Innovations, Cabela's
and UpNorthOutdoors.com. National championship sponsors are
Towtector Shield and the FoodSource Lure Corporation, while
Iowa Region sponsors include Carlson-Sanderson Real Estate,
Motor Inn, Inc., and Triggs Bay Resort
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