Game Plan Propels Toadvine, Helton to Ohio State Championship of Walleye
Fishing Title
By Steve Weisman
GNWC Publicity Director
Sticking with the game plan that had given them the Day I lead with a
six-fish limit weight of 13.08 pounds, the team of Jason Toadvine from
Springfield, OH and David Helton from Fairborn, OH stayed on top and brought
home the $5000 first place check at the Ohio State Championship of Walleye
Fishing on the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) circuit.
In addition, the winners were awarded the Lowrance “YOU WIN!” award of
two Lowrance LMS-332C color sonar/GPS units valued at $1400, making the
total first place purse worth $6400.
Toadvine and Helton brought in a five-fish weight of 11.38 pounds on
Sunday for a two-day total weight of 24.46 pounds.
Second place and a check for $2000 went to the team of Mike and Tom
Defibaugh from Bellefontaine, OH with a two-day weight of 17.95 pounds. They
weighed only 6.56 pounds on Saturday, but came back with a six-fish limit
weight of 11.39 pounds to move from fifth place on Saturday to second place
on Sunday. They also won the Top Family Angler Award presented by the
FoodSource Lure Company of $200 in FoodSource Lures.
The team of Jonathan Siembor and Ronald Jewell from Andover, OH placed
third with a two-day weight of 16.85 pounds. They won a $1000 for their
efforts. The Cabelas Big Fish Award of a $200 shopping spree and the
optional Big Fish Pot of $520 went to the team of Mike Landsberger from E.
Palestine, OH and John Stout from Warren, OH with the 5.48-pound walleye
they caught on Saturday.
The Ohio State Championship of Walleye Fishing is the second of seven
such tournaments on the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) circuit.
“This was a great tournament. I really want to thank the community of
Springfield and Marine Works for all that they did for the GNWC teams. They
really welcomed us and did the little things that have made this a memorable
experience for all of us,” said GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer.
“Congratulations are in order for Jason and David. They took the lead
and never looked back. Mike and Tom Defibaugh, our Yamaha Outboards Team of
the Year, put together a strong second day, but they were too far back after
the first day.”
The game plan for Toadvine and Helton was to fish a series of humps on
the east side of the lake, targeting walleyes suspended just off the break.
They pulled Reef Runner Rip Shads at 2.7-3.0 mph. “Everything played out
perfect for us,” said Toadvine. Although they caught fish consistently both
days, their big “window of opportunity” came right before Saturday
afternoon’s thunderstorm.
“After the first day, we felt we needed to get a couple of kicker fish,
if we wanted to win the championship. We caught one over three pounds about
10:30 this morning and a second fish just like it about 12:30,” added
Toadvine.
When Mike and Tom Defibaugh left the take-off site on Saturday, they
knew they were up against the odds. “Our main motor quit on us, and we had
to use our kicker. We spent both days trolling Reef Runner Rip Shads, but we
also wanted to try jigging a couple of spots. With the main motor out, we
knew we couldn’t do that,” said Mike Defibaugh.
However, pulling Rip Shads was good enough for second place. “We worked
a series of humps that topped out at 15-16 feet. We just made big circles
and kept cutting back over the top of the humps,” noted Defibaugh.
Their strikes quite often came two at a time. “Our first two fish on
Saturday came at the same time. Both boards went back, and we had two fish.
It seems that the walleyes on this lake feed like crazy for short periods of
time and then shut off.”
That happened to the Defibaughs on Saturday. They had three fish by
10:30 and never caught another fish.
Siembor and Jewell trolled black/silver Cotton Cordell Grappling Shads
along a channel edge at the northwest corner of the lake on Saturday and
then switched to #5 black/silver Rapala Shad Raps on Sunday. Siembor said,
“We kept circling the same area, going from 17-18 feet of water up to 12
feet of water. On Sunday, we had to switch to the Shad Rap, after our first
fish, because we couldn’t get another hit on the Grappling Shad.”
Several other special awards were presented at Sunday’s weigh-in.
The Skeeter Boats award of a $1000 for the top-finishing Skeeter owner
went to the team of Chuck Sabatose from Brockport, PA and Rich Fike from
Farmington, PA. They ran a ZX 1950 Skeeter powered by a 200 hp Yamaha and
finished in fifth place with 11.39 pounds.
The “Yo So Close” award of a Yo Net folding net valued at $80 went to
the teams that placed just out of the money. They include the team of David
Johnson from S. Salem, OH and Jason Walls from Chillicothe, OH in 9th place;
Kevin Vernon from Westerville, OH and Darik Warnke from Aurora, OH in 10th
place; and Robert and Randy Cline form Novah, OH in 11th place.
The Towtector Comeback Award of a Towtector boat protector valued at
over $269 went to the team advancing the most places from the first day to
the second day. This award went to the team of Kevin Vernon from
Westerville, OH and Darik Warnke from Aurora, OH. They advanced from a tie
for 17th place to 10th place at the tournament’s end.
Those interested in checking out the standings, reading the releases
about any of the seven regions or simply learning more about the circuit can
access the GNWC website at http://www.walleyecup.com.
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.