Lake Rathbun Next for Iowa Region of GNWC
By Steve Weisman
GNWC Publicity Director
With the season already half over, the teams fishing the Iowa Region of
the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) are putting together their game plan
for the Lake Rathbun Tournament scheduled for Sunday, May 22.
Lake Rathbun, a huge reservoir in southern Iowa, is the second largest
lake in the Hawkeye state. Known for its crappie population, Lake Rathbun is
also home to an excellent walleye population.
“Lake Rathbun always provides the GNWC teams a challenge. A year ago we
hit Rathbun on the same weekend, and the bite was tremendous. The teams put
on quite a show,” said GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer.
Jim May, owner of K & K Lighthouse bait shop echoed those sentiments.
“It didn’t take teams long last year to figure out the walleyes were in the
shallows. Traditionally, though, most anglers pull crankbaits off the floats
or troll with worm harnesses.”
May noted that although fishing was slow in early May because of the
cold, windy weather, the third week in May is normally an excellent time to
fish Rathbun.
Heading into the Lake Rathbun Tournament, the team of Jack Davis and Rob
Funk from Mason City, IA. currently hold the lead for the “Yamaha Team of
the Year” honors for the Iowa Region with eight points. They have a
four-point lead over Troy Loeckle from Floyd, IA and Wes Loeckle from Mason
City, IA and a five-point lead over Bob Mortenson and Roger Berkland from
Emmetsburg, IA.
The tournament director will have the trailer at Honey Creek State Park
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 Honey Creek State Park.
“Lake Rathbun can produce some big stringers of fish. I encourage folks
to come out to the weigh-in and see what patterns the GNWC teams can put
together. 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. This is a great
opportunity for the general public to learn more about the fun and
excitement of tournament fishing,” noted Barringer.
For those interested in entering, the entry fee remains at $210 per
team for each tournament. Openings do still exist for the Lake Rathbun
qualifier, and Barringer encourages interested anglers to contact him at
1-800-890-FISH (3474), or email the GNWC at [email protected]. Barringer
added, “I also encourage people to check out our website at
http://www.walleyecup.com and see what is happening in all seven of our regions.”
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, while Iowa Region
sponsors include Carlson-Sanderson Real Estate, Motor Inn, Inc., and Triggs
Bay Resort.