GNWC Iowa Little River Tournament Results

Coolicn, Nelson Take GNWC Qualifier at Little River
>
> By Steve Weisman
> GNWC Publicity Director
> One walleye made a $2000 difference for the team of Jon Coolicn and
Wade
> Nelson as they captured first place at Little River on the Iowa Circuit’s
> first leg of the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC), Sunday, April 13. The
> Mason City duo’s lone walleye was a 6.49 pounder that also gave them the
Abu
> Garcia Big Fish Award of two Abu Garcia 6500 Linecounter reels.
> The husband-wife team of Barbara and Richard Wiltening from Davenport
> took second place with two walleyes weighing 3.69 pounds. They took home
> $800 plus the Berkley Family Angler Award worth $250 in Berkley product.
> Third place and a check for $600 went to Troy Loeckle of Floyd and
> Wesley Loeckle of Mason City for their two fish weighing 2.34 pounds.
> Meanwhile, Joe Kalvig from Nora springs and Don O’Tool from Clear Lake
took
> fourth place ($500) with two walleyes weighing 2.32 pounds.
> Of the 49 teams competing, a total of 20 teams weighed walleyes.
Payback
> went to the top 12 teams. Even though the bite was tough, Tournament
> Director Dean Higgins was pleased with the opener. “There is no doubt it
was
> tough fishing, but the teams really hung in there. There were lots of
> positive comments about the GNWC and that most of the teams said they were
> going to take a shot at both the State Championship and were also entered
as
> National teams for the National competition.”
> Although there was no one hot pattern, there seemed to be two
> predominant strategies: jigging the channel or casting jigs into the
> shallows. Coolicn and Nelson popped their big fish about 8:30 Sunday
morning
> on a chartreuse Twister Tail working the edge of the channel in about
20-25
> feet of water. As they would learn later, that definitely would take the
> pressure off of them for the rest of the day.
> The Wiltenings, meanwhile, cast small jigs tipped with a minnow up
into
> the shallows, while the Loeckle team caught both of theirs using big
minnows
> beneath slip bobbers in the shallower water.
> Higgins added, “As so many times happens, more than one presentation
> will take fish on tournament day. I’d like to also thank the volunteers
who
> helped with the weigh-in and release of the fish. They did a super job.”
> Higgins noted that the Iowa teams now take a couple weeks off before
> they hit Clear Lake on Sunday, May 4. “Clear Lake is a tremendous
fishery,
> and traditionally we really have a great tournament there.”
> Interested anglers can call 1-800-890-3474, email the GNWC at
> [email protected] or check out the official GNWC website at
walleyecup.com
> for all of the latest in GNWC information.
> One last bit of news on the GNWC circuit is the addition of The
> Sportsman Channel as a major sponsoring partner. Executive Director Bernie
> Barringer had this to say about the Sportsman Channel. “The Sportsman
> Channel will air all of our state championships. It is a new and upcoming
> channel that I think outdoor enthusiasts will really like. From the
research
> I have done, I think they will offer a top quality product. For those who
do
> not get the Sportsman Channel, I encourage you to call your local cable
> company or satellite television provider and ask for it.”
> Major sponsoring partners for the GNWC include Ranger Boats, Mercury
> Outboards, Berkley, Abu-Garcia, The Sportsman Channel and
> UpNorthOutdoors.com.
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