Saginaw Bay Final Stop for Michigan Region of the GNWC
By Steve Weisman
GNWC Publicity Director
The fourth tournament for the Michigan Region of the Grand National
Walleye Cup (GNWC) is set for Sunday, July 24 at Saginaw Bay.
On the line is the coveted Yamaha Outboards Team of the Year honors.
Heading into the Saginaw Bay Tournament, the top two teams are tied with 30
points. They include the team of James Ballor, III from L’Anse, MI and John
Thekan from Florence, WI and the team of Robert Watkins and Jereme Watkins
from New Carlisle, IN. Also at stake is a berth in the Regional Championship
at Gun Lake, August 27-28.
“Saginaw Bay is a great place to hold a tournament,” said GNWC Executive
Director Bernie Barringer. “There is a good walleye population, and I look
for some monster baskets in the 30-pound range at the weigh-in.
According to local walleye guides, the walleye action from Au Gres south
began to really heat up in late June and early July with good numbers of
fish coming from the 17-30 foot depths south of Point Au Gres. Mini Silver
Streaks and Stingers run off a three-way swivel above a Rattle Tot have been
working well, while the little spoons have also been productive behind the
Luhr Jensen No. 3 Dipsey Diver and the bigger Big Jon Mini Diver.
Anglers can look forward to fast action, because there is a huge year
class of 14-14 1/2-inch walleye in the fishery.
The tournament director will have the trailer at the Northpoint Marina,
Au Gres 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 Northpoint Marina.
“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 the Saginaw Bay Tournament. Openings do still exist for the Saginaw Bay
tournament, 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. There is a
lot of excitement as we come to the end of our regular season tournaments 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 FoodSource Lure Corporation.