For Immediate Release
Webster, Riddick Overcome Heat to Take Great Plains Team of the Year Honors
and the Harlan Reservoir Tournament Title
By Steve Weisman
Gander Mountain GNWC Publicity Director
The team of Ted Webster from Hutchinson, KS and Robert Riddick from
Wakefield, KS used a first place finish at Sunday’s Harlan Reservoir
Tournament to capture the Great Plains Team of the Year honors on the Gander
Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) circuit.
Hutchinson and Riddick’s first place weight of 11.67 pounds earned them
a check for $1000.
JD Baker from Hoxie, KS and Greg Mekelberg from Yuma, CO took the second
place check of $500 for their six-walleye limit weight of 9.48 pounds.
Third place and a check for $200 went to David and Shannon Walker from
Piqua, KS for their two walleyes weighing 8.19 pounds. They also collected
the Berkley Trilene Big Fish Award of $400 in Berkley products for their
5.47 pounder.
Gander Mountain GNWC Tournament Director Greg Liebel was impressed with
the competitive drive of the teams. “These teams were just great. The
temperatures went to 100 degrees today, and by about 1 p.m. it went flat
calm. It was the same way yesterday, and the bite really deteriorated, but
these teams just kept working at it. The top teams found the fish hugging
the bottom of the breaklines and worked them until they got them to bite.”
The top three teams all headed toward the same breakline areas on the
west end of the lake. Hutchinson and Riddick worked chartreuse jigs tipped
with nightcrawlers or leeches and found the key depth to be 18′, while Baker
and Mekelberg worked jigs and nightcrawlers in 13′ to 17′.
Meanwhile, the third place team also worked jigs and nightcrawlers on
the breaklines but found their best depth at 8′ to 10′.
“You know,” said Liebel, “we had some real heat out there, but our
volunteer help at the weigh-in was tremendous. We had over a dozen
volunteers from the area resorts who really helped make the tournament go
smoothly. I can’t thank them enough.”
Special awards were also presented during the weigh-in. The “Yo So
Close” award of a Yo Net folding net valued at $80 was awarded to the three
teams that placed out of the money. Those teams include Mark Joslyn from
Hoxie, KS and Blake Arnsberger from Colby, KS in 5th place; Dennis and
Shelby Vance from Seldon, KS in 6th place; and Wayne Hyman and Kecia
Shellito from Athol, KS in 7th place.
The Gander Mountain “Need More Stuff” drawing of $200 for a Gander
Mountain Shopping Spree went to Tim Stuhmer from Alma, NE and Brian Brinkman
from Holdrege, NE.
Complete results of the Harlan Reservoir tournament can be found at
http://www.walleyecup.com.
Next up on the Great Plains Region will be the Great Plains Championship
of Walleye Fishing on August 14-15 at Wilson Lake in Kansas.
Anglers 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. 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.