For Immediate Release
Game Plan Pays Off for Farmer, Duncan at Great Plains Championship of
Walleye Fishing
By Steve Weisman
Gander Mountain GNWC Publicity Director
Match the forage fish and get down to the walleyes! That game plan paid
off big time for the team of Rich Farmer and Doug Duncan from Wichita, KS
this past weekend.
They rode that plan to victory at the Gander Mountain Grand National
Walleye Cup’s Great Plains Championship of Walleye Fishing Tournament held
at Wilson Lake near Russell, KS. Farmer and Duncan were the only ones to
bring a six-fish limit to the scales each day.
With the walleyes feeding on massive schools of white perch, Farmer and
Duncan chose to go with prism colored Shad Raps and to work the 40-42′
depths close by the dam. They used downriggers with 8-pound downrigger balls
and ran the Shad Raps 60′ behind the downrigger weights. The result was a
two-day weight of 14.83 pounds and a check for $2500 to go along with the
Great Plains Championship of Walleye Fishing title.
Although Farmer and Duncan were in second place and a little over a
pound back after the first day’s action, they stuck with their game plan and
ended up winning by almost four pounds.
“What an effort by Rich and Doug. Their consistency and strategy put
them over the top. Everybody knew it was going to be a tough bite because of
the schools of white perch. They definitely deserve and have earned the
Great Plains Championship title,” said Gander Mountain GNWC Executive
Director Bernie Barringer.
Second place and a check for $1000 went to David and Shannon Walker from
Piqua, KS with a two-day total weight of 10.85 pounds. They moved from 5th
place on Saturday to the runner-up position on Sunday.
Ted Webster from Hutchinson, KS and Robert Riddick from Wakefield KS,
who had the Day I lead at 7.97 pounds, managed only one walleye on Sunday
and slipped to third place with a total of 9.60 pounds. They cashed a check
for $750.
“We had a really strong wind on Sunday after a relatively calm day on
Saturday. We definitely knew we were in Kansas!” joked Barringer. “In all
seriousness, this was a very competitive tournament, and I’m proud of the
effort these teams gave this year. Even though the second day didn’t go so
well for Webster and Riddick, they are to be congratulated for their Great
Plains Team of the Year honors.”
Several other special awards were presented at Sunday’s weigh-in. The
Berkley Big Fish Award of $400 in Berkley product for the largest walleye of
the two-day tournament went to Dennis and Shelby Vance from Selden, KS with
a 1.88-pound walleye.
The “Yo So Close” award of a Yo Net folding net valued at $80 went to
the teams that placed just out of the money. They include David Thurman from
Kech, KS and Paul Hovorak from Wichita, KS in 6th place; Wayne Human and
Kecia Shellito from Athol, KS in 7th place; and [censored] Bacon and Cliff Doty
from Lincoln, NE.
The VIB”E” Lure award of two six-piece lure sets valued at $40 went to
the two teams who finished behind the Yo So Close award. They include Dennis
and Shelby Vance from Selden, KS in 9th place; and Randall and Randy Horine
from Minden, NE in 10th place.
The Towtector Comeback Award of a Towtector boat protector valued at
$250 went to the team advancing the most places from day one to day two.
This award went to Randall Horine and Randy Horine from Minden, NE. They
drew a blank on Saturday but came back with 4.07 pounds on Sunday to move up
five places in the standings.
The winner of the Gander Mountain “Need More Stuff” drawing of $200 for
a Gander Mountain Shopping Spree went to JD Baker from Hoxie, KS and Greg
Mekelburg from Yuma, CO.
“There is no doubt that Wilson Lake is a great place to hold a
tournament. It’s a beautiful lake with its steep, rock bluffs. The community
of Russell and the Russell County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau were just
great. They made our stay very enjoyable,” noted Barringer.
The Walleye Wisdom camera crew was also on hand to film footage of the
Championship. “The Walleye Wisdom camera crew is at all of the State
Championships to capture the excitement of the tournament action. The
highlights of these State Championships and the National Championships,
along with some great walleye fishing tips will appear on our 13-week
Walleye Wisdom television program,” added Barringer.
Those interested in checking out the standings, reading the releases
about any of the eight regions or simply learning more about the circuit can
access the Gander Mountain GNWC website at http://www.walleyecup.com.
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.