Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup Kicks Off South Dakota Region on
Lake Sharpe
By Steve Weisman
GNWC Publicity Director
Teams competing in the South Dakota Region of the Gander Mountain Grand
National Walleye Cup (GNWC) are gearing up for the Lake Sharpe opener at
Pierre, Sunday, April 18.
GNWC director Bernie Barringer shared his excitement about the South
Dakota Region. “There is a lot of enthusiasm here in South Dakota for the
GNWC. We have great fisheries at each of our tournaments, so I know there
will be a lot of exciting action this year. Obviously, Lake Sharpe is prime
walleye spot in South Dakota, and I look forward to seeing what our teams
will bring to the scales.”
Openings still exist for the Lake Sharpe qualifier and Barringer
encourages interested anglers to contact him at 1-800-890-FISH (3474), or
email the GNWC at [email protected].
According to Barringer, competing teams should be at Down’s Marine
between 6-6:30 Sunday morning to sign in and participate in mandatory boat
inspections. However, the tournament director will have the GNWC trailer at
the check-in site from 6-8 p.m. on Saturday evening to answer questions and
to take any late registrations.
The tournament hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Weigh-in begins precisely at 3
p.m., with awards to follow. “I hope we get a good turnout from the general
public at the weigh-in. It is an exciting time when the baskets are brought
to the scale and the teams share the presentations they used to trigger the
fish,” added Barringer.
Barringer shared his excitement about the 2004 season for the
eight-region partner circuit. “This is the second year for the GNWC, and we
are looking forward to more and more teams joining what we think is the most
exciting partner walleye circuit in the country. We are also very excited
about the enthusiasm of the sponsors. It’s been great to see the way top
national fishing companies have cast their support behind Gander Mountain
GNWC walleye tournament anglers.”
Another important part of the circuit is the GNWC website
(www.walleyecup.com), which offers detailed information for both Gander
Mountain GNWC members and Internet browsers. The site includes detailed
scheduling information on locations and host communities, tournament results
and highlights, how-to articles, along with a message board and free
classifieds for members.
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.