Green, Funk Capture GNWC Opener at Lacrosse
By Steve Weisman
Grand National Walleye Cup Publicity Director
Finesse with #9 Rapalas made all the difference for the team of Terry
Green and Rob Funk from Mason City, IA as they captured the season opener
for the Wisconsin Region of the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) held on
the Mississippi River at Lacrosse on Sunday, April 17.
Green spent the day pole lining the baits, while Funk hand-lined the
Rapalas. The result? A six fish-limit weight of 14.66 pounds and the first
place check of $1600!
Second place and a check for $800 went to John Bella and Joe Besiada
from Stevens Point, WI with a six-fish limit weight of 13.60 pounds. They
also captured the Big Fish honors and $390 in cash for their 3.76-pound
walleye.
The team of Tim Guth from Monico, WI and Dave McCarty from Pelican Lake,
WI brought home the third place check of $550 with a six-fish weight of
13.08 pounds.
“This was really quite a tournament,” said GNWC Executive Director
Bernie Barringer. “All three of these teams have been previous champions.
Terry has been a State Champion in Iowa, John and Joe took the 2003
Wisconsin Team of the Year honors and Tim and Dave were the 2004 Wisconsin
State Champions!”
The top two teams locked out of Pool 8 to Pool 9, which was about a
20-25 mile run. Although Green and Funk found perch colored Rapalas worked
better in the morning and blue/silver in the afternoon, Bella and Besiada
didn’t feel color was the difference maker. Instead, they kept trolling and
looking for pockets of fish. When they did, they bit.
Guth and McCarty used a different strategy. They stayed in Pool 8,
within a couple miles of the weigh-in site, pulling stick bait Rapalas with
three-way rigs.
Barringer noted, “This was one of those tournaments where you either
found fish or didn’t. The teams who found their fish felt the fish were
aggressive. For some teams, it was tough, because they just couldn’t locate
the fish.”
The Yo So Close Award, provided by AMFYOYO, manufacturer of the
innovative stowable folding landing net, went to the three teams just
finishing out of the money. They include Terry Mueller from Stoddard, WI and
Jason Stafflien from Viroqua, WI in 11th place; Curt and Marshall Wuensch
from Rockland, WI in 12th place; and Peter Bella and Dan Borski from Stevens
Point, WI in 13th place.
Next up on the Wisconsin Region will be the Petenwell tournament on
Sunday, May 15. “The restrictive slot limit will make Petenwell a very close
tournament with lots of fish and lots of places to find them.”
For those interested in entering this or any of the remaining
qualifiers, call 1-800-890-FISH (3474), or email the GNWC at
[email protected]. “I also encourage people to check out our website at
http://www.walleyecup.com. I think people will find it extremely interesting to see
how the teams do in each of the seven regions,” added Barringer.
Major national sponsors for the GNWC include Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
Outboards, Lowrance Electronics, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, Aqua-VU,
Aqua Innovations, Towtector Shield, VIB”E” Lure Company and
UpNorthOutdoors.com.
Photo: (L to R) Second place, first place and third place teams at the
first tournament on the Wisconsin Region of the Grand National Walleye Cup.