For Immediate Release
Fox Chain of Lakes Next Stop for Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup
By Steve Weisman
GNWC Publicity Director
The third qualifier for the Illinois Circuit of the Grand National
Walleye Cup is set for the Fox Chain of Lakes, Sunday, May 23. With three
teams within two points of each other in the race for the Illinois Regional
Team of the Year, the Fox Chain tournament is very crucial.
Currently, the teams of Ron Mason and Jim Wahl and Rob Roush and Mike
Heller are tied for the lead with 11 points. However, Bob and Jasen Schine
are close with 13 points.
Gander Mountain GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer believes the
Fox Chain tournament is a pivotal one for the Illinois Region. “Not only do
we have a dog fight for the Team of the Year, we also have several teams
positioning themselves to make a run at the Regional Championship on the
Mississippi River in early August. That leaves only one tournament left
after the Fox Chain.”
Last year’s tournament was won by John Mannerino and his partner Greg
Myer who gambled that one big fish would make the difference. Will that
happen in 2004? Barringer noted, “It could, but we are here in May rather
than April this year, so a lot has changed in regard to fishing locations
and presentations. I look for the anglers to probe all angles of this lake.
There are a lot of options to explore. It’ll be fascinating to see how these
angler dissect this system!”
Openings still exist for the Fox Chain tournament and Barringer
encourages interested anglers to contact him at 1-800-890-FISH (3474), or
email the GNWC at [email protected]. The tournament director will have the
trailer at the Haling Marina area, which is located on Grass Lake Road, from
6-8 p.m. the evening before the tournament to take late entries and answer
questions.
Teams are to meet at Haling Marina between 6-6:30 the morning of the
tournament for registration and mandatory boat check. Host bait shop is
Triangle Sports.
Take-off is at 7 a.m. with the weigh-in commencing at 3 p.m. sharp. “I
look for this to be a very exciting weigh-in. I encourage the public to come
and see the fish these teams bring to the scales. It is also a great way to
learn what presentations are working the best to trigger the walleyes to
bite,” added Barringer.
Title Sponsor for the GNWC is Gander Mountain. Other major national
sponsors include Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, the Sportsman Channel,
Berkley, Aqua Innovations, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, VIB”E” Lure
Company, TowTector Shield and UpNorthOutdoors.com.