For Immediate Release
Lafontaine, Hanser Cash $1400 Check at Petenwell Tournament
By Steve Weisman
Gander Mountain GNWC Publicity Director
Devil’s Elbow was the place to be if you wanted to finish near the top
at Sunday’s Petenwell Tournament on the Gander Mountain Grand National
Walleye Cup (GNWC). On top of that, the top three teams all found their fish
in 3-6′ of water.
Taking the first place check of $1400 was the team of Jon Lafontaine
from OshKosh, WI and Scott Hanser from Beaver Dam, WI with five walleyes
weighing 9.33 pounds. They also won the Berkley Trilene Big Fish Award of
$400 in Berkley products for their 2.53 pounder.
Second place and a check for $700 went to David Keisow and David Ehlke
from Oshkosh, WI with four fish weighing 7.85 pounds.
The team of Craig Swatek from Wisconsin Rapids, WI and Scott Swatek from
Lone, WI took the third place check of $550 for five fish weighing 7.80
pounds.
According to GNWC Tournament Director Dean Higgins, the bite was tough
because of recent heavy rains. “The water levels really raised and the
pre-fishing got really tough by Friday. A lot of the teams echoed the same
sentiments. The fishing is usually much better than this. Still, you have to
admire the way in which these teams worked to trigger those neutral fish
into biting.”
As mentioned earlier, Devil’s Elbow was the area to be. Plus, pulling
Wally Divers outperformed all other baits. Lafontaine and Hanser trolled
orange/red and perch colored Wally Divers in 4-6′ of water. They let out 13′
of Fireline behind the boat and went with 19′ of monofilament on planer
boards off to the side of the boat. Both felt that the Petenwell system is a
good fishery and “we had lots of fun and a good time fishing the
tournament.”
Keisow and Ehlke pulled orange Wally Divers in 4-5′ of water, but also
had some luck jigging and using slip bobbers.
Finally, the Swatek duo trolled green Wally Divers in 3′ of water at 3
mph to catch their five walleyes.
The “Yo So Close” award of a Yo Net folding net valued at $80 went to
the three teams that placed just out of the money. They include Joel Tinker
and Chuck Valentine in 11th place; William and Ed Eggers in 12th place;
Scott and Ryan Sengbusch in 13th place.
Richard Jorandby and Jesse Quale were the winners of the Gander Mountain
“Need More Stuff” drawing of $200 for a Gander Mountain Shopping Spree.
According to Gander Mountain GNWC Tournament Director Dean Higgins, the
Adams County Park was an excellent place to hold the weigh-in. “The
facilities were awesome. This is definitely a place to bring the family.
This is the second tournament in Wisconsin, and I can’t say enough about the
sportsmanship shown by these GNWC teams.”
After two tournaments, Craig and Scott Swatek are in the lead for the
Wisconsin Team of the Year honors with 10 points, followed by lafontaine and
Hanser with 14 points.
For complete results, check out the Gander Mountain GNWC website at
http://www.walleyecup.com.
The Wisconsin teams are back in action on Sunday, June 13 at Lake Dubay.
Anglers interested in signing up for a future qualifier or simply
wanting more information on the GNWC circuit can call 1-800-890-FISH (3474),
or they can email the GNWC at [email protected].
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 UpNorthOutdoors.com.