Genal, Wegner Overcome Strong Winds to Take Lake Winnebago Tournament
By Steve Weisman
GNWC Publicity Director
When the “cane turns green…” That was the key for the team of Jon
Genal and Bob Wegner from Oshkosh, WI as they won the third qualifier on the
Wisconsin Region of the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) held at Lake
Winnebago on Sunday, June 5.
Genal and Wegner, who brought a six-walleye limit weight of 20.79
pounds to the scales to take the $1800 first place check, found their fish
on Lake Poygan, the largest of the upriver lakes on the Winnebago System.
“The bite was a good one, considering the strong winds the teams had to
battle today,” said GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer.
Second place and a check for $900 went to Rick Stadler from Oshkosh, WI
and Dave Stadler from Omro, WI with a six-fish limit weight of 20.16 pounds.
Andrew Kroll and Matthew Deringer from Oshkosh, WI took the third place
check of $600 with a six-fish limit weight of 15.62 pounds. They also took
the Cabela’s Big Fish Award of a $200 Cabela’s shopping spree and $440 in
cash for winning the optional Big Fish pot with their 6.76-pound walleye.
For the winners, the green growth on the cane meant the walleyes would
be there. So, even though they had to battle three-foot waves, Genal and
Wegner stayed with their game plan and headed to the cane, where they
anchored and cast slip bobber rigs and nightcrawlers. Genal noted that they
were pretty confident when they made their first few casts. “When our
bobbers hit the water, we saw all kinds of tiny minnows on the surface.”
They knew the walleyes would be there, too.
However, the battle with the wind had only begun. “We had to reposition
ourselves several times,” said Genal.
Wegner agreed. “The waves made it tough, but we caught three fish in the
first 10 minutes. There were times during the day when we thought about
leaving, but we knew the fish were there so we just stuck with our game
plan.”
For most of the tournament, they had the cane to themselves, but the
Stadlers showed up later in the day. “They were quite a ways away, but I saw
them pull out the net a couple of times, and I began to get worried,” said
Wegner. “When I saw their weight was over 20 pounds, I knew it was going to
be really close.”
The Yo So Close Award, provided by AMFYOYO, manufacturer of the
innovative stowable folding landing net, went to the four teams just
finishing out of the money. They include the team John Lafontaine from
Oshkosh and Scott Hill from Beloit, WI and the team of Michael McDermott
from Fond du Lac, WI and Scott McDermott from Beaver Dam, WI, who tied for
13th place; and the team John Ohnesorge from West Bend, WI and Kevin Behrens
from Loyal, WI and the team of Bill Neider from Grafton, WI and Scott Moore
from Hartford, WI, who tied for 15th place.
Next up on the Wisconsin Region will be the Green Bay Oconto Tournament
on Sunday, July 31. With only one tournament remaining, the team of Michael
Gengalo, Jr. from Wausau, WI and Michael Gengalo, Sr. from Pelican, WI has
taken the lead in the race for the Wisconsin Region “Yamaha Team of the
Year” honors with 24 points. The team of Luke Leanna from Oakfield, WI and
Ed Goehring from Wisconsin Rapids, WI is in second place with 38 points.
For those interested in entering the Green Bay Oconto Tournament, call
1-800-890-FISH (3474), or email the GNWC at [email protected]. Barringer
added, “I encourage people to check out our website at http://www.walleyecup.com.
We have exciting races going on in all seven regions of the GNWC.”
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.