For Immediate Release
Houghton Lake Tournament Next Up for Michigan Region of the GNWC
By Steve Weisman
GNWC Publicity Director
The Houghton Lake Tournament, the second stop for teams fishing the
Michigan Region of the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC), is scheduled for
Sunday, May 15.
Houghton Lake is almost 21,000 acres in size and is Michigan’s largest
inland body of water. It has a sandy/silty bottom and averages slightly over
eight feet in depth, but does have some spots that reach a depth of about 20
feet.
“We had a great start at Detroit River a month ago, and I know the teams
are looking forward to this tournament. Houghton Lake has an excellent
walleye population,” said GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer.
Lyman Foster, owner of Lyman’s on the Lake baitshop, agreed. “This will
be a premier time of the year to fish Houghton Lake. I think the fish will
still be predominately in the shallows – in that six to eight feet of
water.”
According to Foster, Houghton Lake has really been developing as a
fishing lake following a milfoil eradication three years ago. “The natural
weeds are coming back now. The average walleyes taken will now probably be
in the 1 1/2 to 2 pound range.”
The tournament director will have the trailer at the South Ramp from 6-8
p.m. the evening before the tournament to take late entries and answer
questions. Take-off is at 7 a.m. with the weigh-in commencing at 3 p.m.
sharp at the South Ramp.
“The weigh-ins are always a lot of fun for people to attend. I encourage
folks to come out early. It’s free to the public, fun and educational. We
will also have a couple of Aqua-Vu underwater cameras set up in our release
tanks so that the public can see how they work. There are excellent teams
fishing the Michigan Region, so this will be a great time for folks to learn
what presentations and tactics ware working to trigger the fish,” added
Barringer.
For those interested in entering, the entry fee remains at $210 per
team for each tournament. Openings do still exist for the Houghton Lake
qualifier, and Barringer encourages interested anglers to contact him at
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. The website
provides all kinds of up to date information on what is happening in all
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, Cabela’s and UpNorthOutdoors.com. National championship
sponsors are Towtector Shield and the VIB”E” Lure Company