This past weekend the Illinois Walleye Trail concluded the 2011-12 season on the Mississippi River in Albany, Il.
Despite low water conditions and warm water temperatures the Miss give up some very respectable fish to our 22 teams that competed in this final two day event.
Due to slot restrictions you may only keep walleyes from 15″ to 20″ and one fish per angler or two per team over 27″ per day. Many teams spoke of those heart breaker fish at the upper end of the slot that must be released. Which speaks well for the quality of walleyes in this section of the river. Unfortunately at this event there were no overs brought to the scales.
A variety of tactics were used at this event from pitching plastics, cranks, one eyes and trolling lead core. However, the winning tactic was pulling live bait on 3-way rigs on the upstream side of the wing dams. The “Dubuque Rig” seemed to be what most of the successful teams were using. This rig generally consists of 3-way swivel tied to your main line which braid is preferred in this instance. Then for the dropper line a 6″ to 8″ lead of monofiliament to a 1/2 to 1oz. jig depending on the amount of flow. The jig is then dressed with a shad body, ring worm or a variety of Fluke style baits. Then to finish the rig off another mono lead is tied to the 3-way leading to a hook with live bait or a minnow imitating stick bait. The length of the leader is also determined by the amount of flow. Generally a good length to start with is 3-4 foot, however in low current situations like we had longer leaders seem to work better.
I would like to congratulate Max Actis and Mike Stuckert for winning this years State Championship. Max and Mike weighed a two day total of 20.79 pounds earning them a check for $1,325. In addition to their 1st place finish the duo took home big fish honors on day one for $220. As well as a $500 check for the highest finishing Lund Boats Team of this event!! Congrats!
Also congratulations to Tom Giachetto Sr. and Tom Giachetto Jr. for placing second with a total weight of 20.07 pounds earning them $875 and a $100 courtesy of Hennepin Marine for the second place Lund Boats Team!! This Second place finish moved the Giachetto’s into the points race lead, earning them the IWT Team of the Year title worth $825. The Giachetto’s also run a Lund Boat making them eligible for the $2,500 Lund Boats Team of the Year!!! Congrats!
Placing second in the IWT points race was the team of Gary Merkel and Jason Wrosch who earned $205 for this years efforts. Congrats!
1st Place- Max Actis and Mike Stuckert 20.79 $1325, $500Lund Bonus, $220 for big fish
2nd Place-Tom Giachetto Sr. & Jr. 20.07 $875, $100 Lund Bonus, AOY Title $825 and $2,500 for Lund Boats Team of the Year
3rd Place-Don Pape and Paul Pankowski 16.79 $650
4th Place-Mica and Steve Killinger 16.04 $470
5th Place-Steve Tyszko and Kenny Lookingbill 13.57 $200
6th Place-John Dalzot and Joe Perez 12.77 Big Fish 3.29-$220 and Doc’s Custom Jig Bonus!
7th Place-Mike Hanson and Dave Tackett 12.71
8th-Dave Kleszyk and Dave Zurawski 12.42
9th-Gary Merkel and Jason Wrosch 11.06
10th-Dave Hall and John Smith 9.79
11th-Jerry Oberlocking and Tim Ware 8.42
12th-Brian Mazur and Mark Mazur 6.80
13th-Steve Lotz and Dave Daughenbaugh 6.33
14th-Jim Melton and Rick Funcannon 6.29
15th-Clayton Freiburger and Brian Swartz 6.07
16th-Ken and Dawn Dage 5.80
17th-Randy Carroll and Shawn O’Malley 5.08
18th-Scott Anzulas and Bob Jones 4.60
19th-Steve Jones and Nick Mankos 2.75
20th-Bob Apple and Brad Linton 1.55
21st-Ryan Vecchia and Bill Elliott 1.43
22nd-Steve Sandor and Paul Durdan
A big thanks to all of our anglers who support the Illinois Walleye Trail and make the circuit a success! Also thank you to all of my family who help operate the IWT, it is a lot of work and could not be done without you!
Finally I would like to thank our sponsors without them this would not be possible!! Thank you Hennepin Marine, Lund Boats, Mercury Marine, Doc’s Custom Jigs, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Woodstock Line and Stabil Mount.
Our next event is the Fall Classic, October 7th in Hennepin, Il. For all the details and next years schedule please visit http://www.ilwalleyetrail.com/
Or contact Adam Sandor at [email protected]
Thanks again for all of your support and we look forward to this upcoming season!
Adam Sandor
