Iowa Teams Prepare for State Championship of Walleye Fishing on Big Spirit
Lake
By Steve Weisman
Gander Mountain GNWC Publicity Director
A $5000 first place purse is on the line for the qualifiers of the Iowa
State Championship of Walleye Fishing to be held at Big Spirit Lake on
September 11-12.
It’s showdown time for these top teams on the Iowa Region of the Gander
Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC), and leading the way will be the
Iowa Region Team of the Year, Randy Mumm and Jim Juhlin from Clear Lake, IA.
They ended up four points ahead of the second place team of Jesse Roush from
Clive, IA and Cory Batterson from Pleasant Hill, IA.
Gander Mountain GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer looks forward
to Spirit Lake. “Spirit Lake has an excellent walleye population, and
September is the month that these fish begin to go on feeding sprees. Each
year we have had a championship here, we have had excellent weights brought
to the scales.”
According to DNR fisheries biologists, Big Spirit has a strong year
class of 12-14 inch fish coming through the system. So, expect a lot of
sorting when it comes to these aggressive fish. However, there is also a
good supply of healthy bigger fish including a solid year-class of 18-20+
inch walleyes.
Barringer expects the teams will work all the presentations during
pre-fishing. “These guys will definitely be looking for any edge they can
get. So, I know they will try everything from live bait rigging to trolling
crankbaits.”
Although the tournament competition begins on Saturday, September 11,
the activities for the Iowa teams actually begin on Friday evening with the
Championship banquet at the Spirit Lake Expo Building just north of Hy-Vee.
Championship banquet sponsors include Kentucky Fried Chicken of Spencer and
Pepsi Americas of Estherville.
The Iowa Championship competition headquarters for take-off and weigh-in
will be at Marble Beach Boat Ramp on the west side of Big Spirit Lake. VW
Docks will be providing additional docking space to accommodate the teams
during the weigh-ins. “We have had a tremendous response from our Iowa
sponsors. Triggs Bay Resort, AMFYOYO, Towtector, Carlson-Sanderson Real
Estate and Motor Inn, Inc., have been on board all season long, and now we
have Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pepsi Americas and VW Docks join us to help
make this a tremendous Championship,” said Barringer.
Saturday’s action begins at 7 a.m. with the opening ceremonies and
take-off. Weigh-in will be at 3 p.m. Sunday follows the same time frame with
the weigh-in festivities beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday’s weigh-in will
determine who will walk away with the Iowa State Championship of Walleye
Fishing title.
“We hope to have a good crowd at each day’s weigh-in. It is a great way for
the public to witness some great fishing action,” noted Barringer.
“Weigh-ins begin at 3 p.m. each day. The first day will be a day of
positioning, but the second day will be for the title. Plus, on the second
day, we will find out from the top teams what strategies they used to catch
their fish.”
In addition, the Walleye Wisdom television crew will be filming footage
of all eight Championships, including the Iowa Championship, for its popular
13-week television program Walleye Wisdom on the Sportsman Channel, Fox
Sports and several regional outlets. “Our goal is to showcase the successes
of our walleye teams, share the techniques that the GNWC teams used to catch
their fish and to finally give fishing hints that will help our viewers
become better walleye anglers themselves,” said Barringer.
Special awards will be give out including the Berkley Big Fish Award of
$400 in Berkley product for the team that catches the largest walleye during
the two-day Championships. In addition, an optional Big Fish Pot will go to
the big fish taken during the Championships.
Next, will be the $200 Gander Mountain Shopping Spree. A drawing will
be held of teams who do not weigh a fish, and the winner will be able to
spend the $200 on gear of their choice at any Gander Mountain Store. If all
teams weigh fish, all will be entered in the drawing.
YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO will offer the Yo So Close Award of an $80
folding net to the three teams finishing just out of the money.
The VIB”E” Lure Company will sponsor the VIB”E” Lure award of two
six-piece lure sets valued at $40 to the two teams who finish behind the Yo
So Close award. Lure sets will also be given away as door prizes at the
Championship banquet.
TowTector, maker of the premium boat protector for towing vehicles, will
offer the Towtector Comeback Award of a Towtector Shield valued at over $250
for the team advancing the most places from day one to day two.
Triggs Bay Resort is providing the 2004 Iowa Regional Team of the
Year a complimentary stay at Triggs Bay Resort during the State
Championships September 11-12. In addition, they will also give two vacation
packages as door prizes at the Championship banquet on September 10.
Skeeter Boats is offering any owner of a Skeeter boat who wins the Iowa
Regional Championship while fishing in the Skeeter an additional $1000 above
their GNWC winnings.
Aqua Innovations will give an additional $250 to any team who wins the
Iowa Regional Championship if their boat’s livewell is equipped with the
Aqua Innovations oxygen enhancement system. Plus they will be awarding
systems to the anglers as door prizes at the Championship banquet.
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. The Iowa Regional
sponsors include Carlson-Sanderson Real Estate, Motor Inn, Inc., and Triggs
Bay Resort.