Gander Mountain GNWC National Championship of Walleye Fishing Set for Lake
of the Woods; 120 Teams Square Off October 7-9
By Steve Weisman
Gander Mountain GNWC Publicity Director
Lake of the Woods and walleye fishing in October! Perfect timing! For
120 of the top teams on the Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup
(GNWC), Lake of the Woods will be their destination for the three-day
National Championship of Walleye Fishing on October 7-9.
On the line will be a first place prize of two Skeeter boats fully
rigged with Yamaha outboards, Minnkota batteries and trolling motors and
Lowrance electronics valued at $46,000, plus $10,000 in cash!
Gander Mountain GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer said in
anticipation of the event, “I’m excited about the opportunity presented by
the Lake of the Woods and Rainy River area for our National Championship.
This is a terrific fishery with many possibilities for putting together the
winning basket of walleyes.”
Mention Lake of the Woods, and anglers’ eyes begin to widen in awe of
this massive, sprawling body of water. But then, who wouldn’t! Lake of the
Woods and Rainy River combine for 65,000 miles of shorelines. “The Lake of
the Woods/Rainy River area is known for great fishing resorts, and the folks
there are rolling out the Red Carpet for the teams as they compete for the
huge payday,” added Barringer.
Jane Sindelir, tourism director, expressed similar sentiments about the
2004 National Championship. “We look forward to hosting this first class
event. The Lake of the Woods and Rainy River area offers fabulous fall
fishing for your contestants.”
The National Championship is the culmination of a summer of walleye
fishing in eight different regions for the Gander Mountain GNWC circuit:
Great Plains (Nebraska and Kansas), Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota,
Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Each region held four regular-season
tournaments along with a State Championship of Walleye Fishing.
“The GNWC held 32 regular tournaments and eight State Championships.
They were exciting, but now we have the granddaddy of them all. We are going
to have quite a week!” said Barringer.
Title sponsor for the GNWC circuit has been Gander Mountain, the premier
outdoor and sporting goods store in the country. Gander Mountain is joined
by Skeeter Boats as the Presenting Sponsor for the National Championships.
“This is truly exciting for these 120 teams. Both Gander Mountain and
Skeeter Boats have made a commitment to support the GNWC circuit and its
anglers. We are proud to have them aboard,” said Barringer.
The National Championships will be a three-day competition, which begins
on Thursday, October 7. However, the festivities actually begin on Wednesday
evening with a banquet for the 120 teams and GNWC sponsors at the
Sportsman’s Lodge.
Thursday, October 7 will officially kick off the first of three exciting
days for the National Championships. The take-off and weigh-in site will be
Wheeler’s Point Boat Ramp. “The National Championships will create a lot of
excitement. Each day we will have a weigh-in that commences at 3 p.m. We’ll
have a huge stage and bring up the teams with their fish. It will be a great
opportunity for the public to be a part of the excitement. The drama will
heighten each day as we draw closer and closer to finding out what team will
come away with the two fully rigged Skeeter Boats and $10,000 in cash!” said
Barringer.
With a full field of 120 teams, the weigh-ins will be staggered at
20-minute intervals. “We stagger the flights so that the weigh-ins can be
more efficiently run. It helps protect the fish and also gives the crowd a
chance to get a good look at the teams and to be able to hear their
comments. This will be especially important when that final weigh-in comes
on Saturday,” noted Barringer.
A special free seminar by Doc Bruce Samson and sponsored by Lowrance
electronics will be held on Thursday evening at 6 p.m. at Sportsman’s Lodge,
about a half-mile from the weigh-in site for the National Championship.
Samson’s topic will be “How to get the most for from your electronics”.
Samson, who is the all-time leading money winner in walleye fishing, RCL
championship winner and a three-time PWT winner, will cover the use of
Sonar, GPS and Mapping.
“This is going to be an awesome opportunity to learn from the man who
is one of the most knowledgeable anglers around. Bruce will share some stuff
you can do with a Lowrance mapping system that I guarantee that you have
never seen before,” said Barringer.
In addition, the Walleye Wisdom television crew, which has filmed
footage of all eight Championships, will be on hand to capture all of the
excitement of the National Championships for its popular 13-week television
program Walleye Wisdom, which will be aired 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 given 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 two Towtector Shields valued at over
$250 each for the team advancing the most places from day one to day three.
Skeeter Boats is offering any owner of a Skeeter boat who wins the
National 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
National 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.