By Steve Weisman
Gander Mountain GNWC Publicity Director
Sitting in 8th place and over 7 pounds behind the first day leaders, the
team of Mike Clark from Runnells, IA and Al Wittmus from Fort Dodge, IA knew
they had to strike it big on the second day if they wanted a shot at winning
the Iowa State Championship of Walleye Fishing. And that’s exactly what they
did!
Clark and Wittmus brought in a five-fish basket weighing 14.01 pounds
that propelled them to the top, earning them a $5000 payday and the Iowa
State Championship of Walleye Fishing title!
Second place and a check for $2000 went to Day I leaders, Jesse Roush
from Clive, IA and Cory Batterson from Pleasant Hill, IA. They had a two-day
total weight of 20.49 pounds, but after a first day’s weight of 14.21 pounds
when everything seemed to go right, Roush and Batterson were only able to
weigh 6.28 pounds for their three fish on Sunday.
Third place and a check for $1200 went to Mike Odor from Algona, IA and
Gordy Odor from Dakota City, IA with a two-day weight of 20.10 pounds.
The Iowa State Championship of Walleye Fishing, which is the seventh of
eight such tournaments on the Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup
(GNWC) circuit, was definitely a tournament filled with drama.
“What a way to end this tournament,” said Gander Mountain GNWC Executive
Director Bernie Barringer. “We had a great crowd on hand at the weigh-in,
and it came right down to the last team. Jesse and Cory took the lead on Day
I and held it right up until that last fish went on the scales! This
tournament was definitely a tournament of big fish.”
That final kicker fish for Clark and Wittmus, which weighed 7.45 pounds,
not only brought them the title but also gave them the Berkley Big Fish
Award of $400 in Berkley product and an additional $620 in cash.
The top presentation was a common one: pulling crankbaits in 17-18′ of
water. However, for Clark and Wittmus, there was a little secret they
discovered about 20 minutes before the weigh-in on Day I.
“We found a spot about 30 yards long and 20 yards wide on Saturday,”
said Wittmus, “right out in the basin that showed up like little rough spots
on the sonar. It was flat calm, so we knew it had to be rocks, and there
were lots of arcs. We marked it and caught fish right at the end of Day I.”
Clark added that they went right back on Sunday and had four good fish
in the first 30 minutes. Right then, they knew they had a shot. Their
strategy was to let out 150′ of line and pull multi-colored (blue,
chartreuse and orange) DT-6 Rapalas at 3 mph so that they ran about 2′ off
the bottom.
Roush and Batterson pulled firetiger Berkley Frenzys and perch colored
#7 Shad Raps in 17-18′ at both the northwest and the southeast ends of the
lake. However, they ran two 12′ rods off the side with Fireline and two
directly off the back with lead core. Batterson noted, “There was a lot of
grass and weeds floating on the surface, and if we would have used boards we
felt we would have spent too much time cleaning them off.” Speed was also a
big key with 2.5 mph the ideal speed.
The third place team also worked deep water but found their fish
suspended 3′ to 6′ off the bottom. “We found an area between two spots out
in the middle of the lake that seemed to have a harder bottom and some
rocks,” said Mike. Their big problem was catching too many fish over 20. “We
had to throw back a 23 1/2 incher on Saturday and a 22 1/2 incher today.”
Barringer added, “I especially want to thank all of the volunteers who
helped with the weigh-in each day. They worked very hard at helping the
teams with their boats and also at taking care of the fish. The extra dock
that VW Docks put in and donated for us to use during the tournament was
really a big help to us.”
Several other special awards were presented at Sunday’s weigh-in.
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 Jack Davis and Rob
Funk from Mason City, IA in 11th place; Dave Smithburg from Libertyville, IA
and Joel Shaw from Fairfield, IA in 12th place; and Frank Wood from Mason
City, IA and Lance Thoe from Clear Lake, IA in 13th place.
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 Chris
Scholl from Manly, IA and Kevin Hulsing from Cedar Rapids, IA in 14th place
and Neil Daniels from Fort Dodge, IA and Jon Fuchs from Sioux Rapids, IA in
15th place.
The Towtector Comeback Award of a Towtector boat protector valued at
over $250 went to the team advancing the most places from the first day to
the second day. This award went to Terry Green from Mason City, IA and Steve
Templeton from Clear Lake, IA who advanced from 21st place on Saturday to
4th place on Sunday. They also weighed the largest single day basket of fish
at 15.87 pounds.
The winner of the Gander Mountain “Need More Stuff” drawing of $200 for
a Gander Mountain Shopping Spree went to Richard and Donna Bindel from
Forest City, IA.
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, and we were able to capture some of the
most exciting parts of the Iowa Championships,” noted 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. The Iowa Regional
sponsors include Carlson-Sanderson Real Estate, Motor Inn, Inc., and Triggs
Bay Resort.
September 14, 2004 at 2:18 am
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