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MWC WALLEYE TEAM TOURNAMENT
Big Stone Lake Ortonville
Minnesota
May
15-16, 1998
Results
ORTONVILLE, MINN. – Scott Allar (Welch, Minn.) and Tom Diercks (Hager
City, Wis.) collected their first Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC) win at
Big Stone Lake in Ortonville, Minn. last year by weighing a ten fish MWC
limit totaling 32.52 lbs. The team is looking to repeat their success May
16-17 at the /Wille
Products MWC Team Tournament. They’ll face stiff competition
from the remaining 199 teams, which include the reigning MWC Team of the
Year, Iowans Chad Kinkade and Tommy Skarlis. At last year’s Big Stone tourney,
Allar and Diercks fished the Shady Beach area of the lake, trolling crawfish-colored
crank baits tied to 18 lb. test lead core line with a 30 foot 
FireLine 14-6 leader in 16 feet of water. Big Stone Lake (headwaters of
the Minnesota River) is located in west central Minnesota and borders Milbank,
So. Dak. Though somewhat shallow, having a maximum depth of 16 feet, the
lake has one of the highest walleye populations per acre in the state.
Its 26 mile length encompasses nearly 13,000 surface acres and contains
more than 30 fish species. According to tournament director Sonny Arndt,
”We’ve had a normal winter and spring, so the walleyes should be chomping
by tournament time.” A variety of presentations will catch Big Stone’s
walleyes. The Big Stone winners in 1996, Kinkade-Skarlis, trolled  Shadling
lures near the surface from in-line planer boards. Most of their fish were
caught from the lake’s north end in five feet of water. The lures were
set 30 feet behind the boards, with their Ranger 690 boat moving in an
"S" pattem at 3 mph. The fish struck when the boards changed direction,
which also changes the speed of the lures. Casting
crank baits amongst the many rocks found along Big Stone's shoreline
is another favorite tournament technique, as is the use of Thill slip-bobber
rigs baited with nightcrawlers, leeches or minnows. Two of the favorite
crankbait colors anglers use are firetiger and blue/chrome. Toumament teams
will be competing for $52,000 in prize money, with $13,000 going to the
winners. Weigh-ins will take place in Ortonville's Lakeside Park beginning
at 3:00 p.m. May 16th and 2:30 p.m. May 17th. The public is invited to
attend-admission is free. All MWC tournaments are catch and release. For
further information, contact Sonny Arndt, Big Stone Lake Area Tourism Association,
436 S. Minnesota St., Ortonville, Minn. 56278, tel. 320-839-3306, or the
MWC, 3137 W. Hilltop Ln., Franklin, Wis. 53132, tel. 414-761-0657. Big
Stone Lake will also be the site of the MWC World Walleye Championship'
set for May 28-29-30. The top 50 point accumulating teams who fished the
circuit last year will compete for more than $73,000 and the coveted title
of World Walleye Champions. The MWC is a nonprofit corporation which conducts
a series of professionally operated fishing tournaments at which family
participation and conservation of fishery resources are stressed. To date
the MWC Conservation Fund, the only fund of its kind in professional fishing,
has contributed more than $183,000 to fisheries programs in states where
MWC tournaments are held. MWC means walleye conservation . MWC sponsors
are Berkley Trilene, Lindy Little Joe, Mariner Outboards, MotorGuide, North
American Fishing ClubllVorth American Fisherman, Quantum, Ranger Boats
and Wille Products.FRANKLIN, WIS. Big Stone Lake at Ortonville,
Minn. will be the site where 100 of North Arnerica's finest professional
walleye anglers will compete for the coveted title of Masters Walleye Circuit
(MWC) World Walleye Champions. This fishing spectacular will take place
May 28-29-30, highlighted by indoor weigh-ins at Ortonville's Lakeside
Park. The public is invited to attend, including the ProlAm event on May
27th; admissvw is free. The Championship field consists of the top 50 point
accumulating teams who competed on the MWC last year. (1,000 teams fished
the MWC in 1997). Championship qualifiers will vie for a $73,000 purse,
with $20,000 being awarded the World Champions. All of the teams share
in the prize money, which is funded by the MWC sponsors. No entry fees
are paid by the contestants. A Pro/Am event (May 27th) will precede the
Championship competition. An amateur angler will be assigned to each of
the 50 teams, providing them the thrill of tournament fishing with one
of the top pro-walleye teams in North America. There's a $100 fee to fish
the Pro/Am. Interested anglers should contact the Big Stone Lake Area Tourism
Association/Big Stone Lake Chamber of Cornmerce, ten BOQ- 568-5722 or 320-839-3284.
Heading the Championship field are the reigning MWC Team of the Year, Chad
Kinkade (Cedar Falls, lowa) and Tommy Skarlis (Waterloo, lowa), For further
information, contact the MWC, 3137 W. Hilltop Ln., Franklin, Wl 53132-9119,
tel. 414-761-0657.The MWC is a nonprofit corporation which conducts a series
of professionally run fishing tournaments at which family participation
and conservation of fishery resources are stressed. MWC sponsors
Results
SCHOMMERS COLLECT FIRST MWC WIN AT
/ WALLEYE TOURNEY
________________________________________________________________________________________
ORTONVILLE, MINN. -- Father and son, Jim and Bob Schommer of Fond du Lac,
Wis., won the Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC)
/ Team
Tournament held May 16-17 on Big Stone Lake at Ortonville, Minn.The circuit
veterans weighed a ten fish limit totaling 39.98 lbs., earning their first
MWC win and $13,000. They also pocketed $1,000 in big fish prize
money, bringing their total tourney winnings to $14,000.The winners fished
rocky mid-lake points with slip bobber rigs. According to Bob, "We used
plain hooks and chartreuse-colored jigs tipped with leeches or large minnows.
The key to our presentation was the 4 lb. test Berkley FireLine we fished
with. It's super sensitive and very strong."Dad Jim added, "We caught
about 40 walleyes over 21 inches on Saturday. I had to take a rest
because of recent shoulder surgery. The bite was slower on Sunday;
our last fish came at 2:30 p.m., just before the weigh-in started."Second
place and $7,500 went to Brent Hasslen (Ortonville, Minn.) and Ritchie
Seidell (Big Stone City, So. Dak.) with 29.18 lbs. They fished the
north end of the lake, casting firetiger-colored crankbaits along the shoreline
in two feet of water.Brothers Mark and Tom Keenan (Appleton and Hatley,
Wis.) took third place, 28.91 lbs., worth $5,000. They trolled perch-colored
crankbaits in the lake's deeper sections.A total of 824 walleyes weighing
1,991 lbs. were caught by the 200 team field in the MWC catch and release
format. Average fish weight was 2.42 lbs. Only 14 teams failed
to weigh a legal 15 inch fish.The top 35 teams shared the $52,000 cash
purse. An additional $5,500 was paid out in big fish prizes.
Dan Bodinger, Chilton, Wis., was awarded a $1,000 Mariner Outboards rebate
and a MotorGuide electric trolling motor for the tourney's largest walleye,
9.31 lbs. He teamed with Larry Propson, also of Chilton. They
finished fifth with 28.01 lbs., netting $2,500.The MWC World Walleye Championship,
featuring indoor weigh-ins, will also take place on Big Stone Lake May
28-29-30. The top 50 point accumulating teams from the 1997 MWC season
will be competing for $73,000 in prize money.A Pro/Am event is scheduled
for May 27th. An amateur angler will be paired with each Championship
team, providing them the thrill of tournament fishing. Interested
fishermen should contact Sonja Pinkert at the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber
of Commerce, tel. 1-800-568-5722 or 320-839-3284 for more information.The
next regular circuit stop is the North American Fishing Club MWC Team Tournament,
August 1-2, on Little Bay de Noc at Gladstone, Mich. Openings still
exist. For more information, contact the MWC at 414-761-0657 or the
Delta County (Mich.) Chamber of Commerce, 906-786-2192.The MWC is a nonprofit
corporation which conducts a series of professionally run fishing tournaments
at which family participation and conservation of fishery resources are
stressed. MEDIA NOTE: If you wish to attend the MWC World Walleye
Championship, fish the Pro/Am event or desire dailyChampionship results,
contact Sonja Pinkert at the Big Stone Lake Chamber of Commerce, tel. 1-800-568-5722
or 320-839-3284.
FINAL STANDINGS
MARINER OUTBOARDS / WILLE PRODUCTS MWC WALLEYE TEAM TOURNAMENT
BIG STONE LAKE, ORTONVILLE, MN -- MAY 16-17, 1998
TOP 35 TEAMS
Place 1st Partner
City
State 2nd Partner
City
State Lbs. Winnings
1
Bob Schommer Fond
du Lac WI Jim Schommer
Fond du Lac WI
39.98 $13,000
2
Brent Hasslen
Ortonville MN
Ritchie Seidell Big Stone City
SD 29.18
7,500
3
Mark Keenan
Appleton WI
Tom Keenan Hatley
WI 28.91
5,000
4
Bill Bommersbach Wahpeton
ND Craig Erickson Wahpeton
ND 28.68
3,500
5
Dan Bodinger
Chilton
WI Larry Propson
Chilton
WI 28.01
2,500
6
John Kolinski, Jr. Menasha
WI Blane Poulson Dousman
WI 25.11
1,500
7
Carol Chenier
Gladstone
MI Glenn Chenier
Gladstone
MI 24.97
1,350
8 Scott
Strangstalien Coon Valley
WI Steve Tauscher Holmen
WI 24.88
1,250
9 Wayne
Siegfried Beaver Dam
WI Salty Walter
Mayville
WI 23.42
1,150
10 Clay
Boyum
Sioux Falls
SD Mike Boyum Sioux
Falls
SD 23.04
1,000
11 Adrian
Biewer Wahpeton
ND Mark Jean
Wahpeton
ND 22.80
900
12
Jim Gregory Big Stone
City SD
Todd Kuefler Big Stone City
SD 22.09
900
13 Dan
Anderson Sioux Falls
SD Deb Anderson Sioux
Falls
SD 22.06
900
14 Mike
Nagel
Battle Lake
MN Chuck Ross
Battle Lake MN
21.92
900
15 Todd
Oman
Spicer
MN John Pulsifer New London
MN 21.90
900
16 Tom
Kemos
Pewaukee
WI Quin Papp
West Allis
WI 21.29
700
17 Joey Christopherson Big Stone City
SD Daren Mendenwald New Effington SD
21.04
700
18 Bill Leonard
Estherville
IA Wayne Stensrud
Madison MN
20.29
700
19 Jerome Jakobson
Spicer
MN Curt Olson
Willmar MN
19.96
700
20 Gale Mount
Rochester
MN Steve Sherry
Rochester MN
19.65
700
21 John Oakes
Ortonville
MN Terry Oakes
Ortonville MN
19.49
500
22 David Henning, Jr.
Fond du Lac WI
Gary White
Fond du Lac WI
19.43
500
23 Randy Schaefer
Madison
SD Todd Steffensen Watertown
SD 19.41
500
24 Dave Tellock
Omro
WI Todd Tellock
Omro
WI 18.44
500
25 David Fox
Brooklyn Center MN Terry
Sjoberg Tower
MN 18.08
500
26 Scott Duncan
Spring Grove
IL Vince Rizzo
Round LakePark IL
18.01 400
27 Bob Newton
McFarland
WI Mike Schnettler Sartell
MN 17.93
400
28 Dave Bjorkman
Fargo
ND Ken Bjorkman Marshfield
WI 17.76
400
29 Jim Carlson
Escanaba
MI Steve Towns
Escanaba MI
17.15 400
30 Kim Papineau
Escanaba
MI Glenn Wangerin
Escanaba MI
17.09 400
31 Marty Mack
Watertown SD
Doug Zillman Watertown
SD 16.19
350
32 Brad Berger
Plover
WI Jim Hughes
Oshkosh
WI 16.10
350
33 Lonnie Fonder
Milbank
SD Jim Forrette
Milbank
SD 15.98
350
34 Larry Hanen
Ghent
MN Randy Viessman Marshall
MN 15.84
350 35
Tony Kellin
Grand Rapids MN
Eric Olson
New Brighton MN
15.75 350
CASH PAYOUT = $52,000
Big Fish Pot (Three daily prizes: $1,000; $900; $850)
TOTAL CASH PAYOUT = $57,500
Stats
Teams Entered:
200
Fish Caught:
824
Weight:
1,991.19 lbs.
Award
- $1,000 Engine Rebate 
Trolling Motor Award Dan Bodinger, Chilton, Wis. - 9.31 lbs.
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Tyler Fishing the In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Circuit, Masters
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1999/2000
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