CABELA’S MWC season ends at the World Walleye
Championship on Sept. 28 – Oct 1st in prairie du chien, WI
Minnetonka, MN — The fall beauty of the Mississippi River valley at Prairie du Chien will be the backdrop for 132 of North America’s finest anglers as they vie for the sought-after title; Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit World Walleye Champions.
The WWC tournament festivities will be held at the Cabela’s store on highway 35 just North of Prairie du Chien. A Pro-Am exhibition on September 28th will pave the way for the main event September 29 – October 1st on pools 9 and 10 of the Mississippi. Many activities are open to the public and admission to the 4:00pm weigh-in is free. Anglers will depart from the Gordon Bay Landing at 8:00am on tournament days, eight miles north of Prairie du Chien. The field consists of the 66 top point accumulating teams who competed during the 2004 Cabela’s MWC season.
The honor of position number one for the Cabela’s WWC will be held by 2004 Team of the Year winners, Rick Zachowski and Rob Manthei, Milwaukee, and St. Germain, WI. “It was an unexpected credit winning the Team of the Year, you just fish every tournament as best you can and it all seems to come out in the end. I think we have a good chance at taking the WWC. Boat number one is always an advantage, getting there first can mean a couple more fish.” said Manthei.
Zachowski further confirmed his partner by saying, “being in the pole position is a great feeling, hopefully the Ranger 620 will get us there ahead of the pack, since we’re powered by the Mercury Optimax 225, we should have no problem in getting to our hot spot without anyone passing us. I grew up in Mauston, WI fishing the rivers, so river fishing is not new to me. The biggest concern I have is the amount of rain we may get in the next few weeks. It could change the water levels, move the fish around, and dirty-up the water – that will play a big role. The water hasn’t been this low for three years, so that will be something to keep an eye on.”
The team of Al Baumgardner and partner Paul Kemery, Cabela’s MWC’s first East Division Team of the Year are also seeking the crown of World Walleye Champion. Baumgardner had this to say, “many people set goals in tournament fishing, you see some teams at the top one year, and at the bottom the next, it’s just an up and down thing. We were very fortunate to have things go our way and put our program together to get Team of the Year in the East and get qualified for the Championship. I was excited to see the MWC move to the East. As far as I can see, this circuit is the top of the food chain in tournament fishing and we are happy to be a part of it.”
Dean Nathe and Paul Thompson, MWC Central Team of the Year victors had this to say, “Strategy depends on the conditions and flow”, said Nathe. “We were out over the Labor Day weekend and there was not much current, so a lot of the fish were out in the main river channel, now with the rain that we’ve have up North, it’ll increase the flow, and bring the fish closer to the wing-dams. Just like last year, a lot of teams were hitting the wing-dams; we plan on hitting a few of our favorite wing-dams. Just finding the fish on a particular location is going to be key. We have three patterns that did prevail for us based on a vertical jig, we jigged some wood, jigged some rock, and we jigged some main-channel. And of the three days that we were down there, one or the other prevailed for us. If our wood spot didn’t go, the main-channel went, if the main-channel didn’t go, we had a rock spot that would hit. It’s a lot of fun down there; I really, really enjoy fishing Prairie du Chien especially at that time of the year.”
Paul Thompson added, “for many years, river fishing was one area that was hurting Dean and I, and it’s funny, in the last few years we’ve done better in river tournaments. It think that’s because we knew it was an area needing improvement, so we started fishing river systems more, Spring Valley or the Mississippi, and so, now have become better river fishermen. In 2004 we only brought in 18 fish out of the three tournaments, but we were going for big fish, and that’s how we achieved Team of the Year. In ’05 we went for numbers – brought the limit in every day, and it looks like when we went for the big fish in ’04, we achieved Team of the Year, but in ’05 we went for the limit each day and didn’t do so well.”
This year’s qualifiers will jockey for the $101,400 cash purse, of that, $25,000, gold rings and trophies will be awarded to the World Walleye Champions. The Cabela’s Masters Walleye Championship is funded solely by sponsors; the competitors pay no entry fees, and a conservation fund has been set-up that will benefit the Falling Rock Walleye Club’s efforts to enhance the fishery through Walleye habitat population and preservation.
According to Kristine Houtman, Director of Events & Sponsorship for the Masters Walleye Circuit, “the World Walleye Championship is the pinnacle event in the top Walleye team format circuit in the country. Getting here is hard work; and reaching the goal is a challenge for the most successful of teams.” Houtman sited the addition of the East Division, and interest in a competitive team format for the larger field size in 2005.
The public is encouraged to attend the weigh-in starting Wednesday and running through Saturday afternoons from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sponsor goodies will be handed out – as well as tips and tactics from some of the best anglers in the country. Bob “Kaz” Kaczkowski will emcee at the weigh-in stage just north of the Cabela’s store in Prairie du Chien. According to Kaz, “It’s an outstanding field; you have an array of veterans and new-comers which makes for a great, diverse field. I’m looking forward to weighing in some really big fish, and eventually crowning the champions. The World Walleye Championship is important because the Cabela’s MWC was created to promote Walleye fishing through the team format, its anglers, and the sponsors.”
Championship coverage will be seen nationally through North American Fishing Club’s television show Fishing Club Journal. Coverage will also be available in the North American Fisherman magazine.
Circuit title sponsor for the MWC is Cabela’s – the World’s Foremost Outfitter. You can find all the sponsors products at Cabela’s. MWC sponsors include Ranger Boats, Mercury, MotorGuide, Lindy Legendary Tackle, Lowrance Electronics, Panther Marine, The Outdoor Channel, Salmo Performance Lures, North American Fishing Club, Daiichi, and Walleye Central.
For more information on tournament openings contact the Cabela’s MWC office toll-free at 877-893-7947 or drop an email to [email protected]. Rules and registration forms are available online at http://www.masterswalleyecircuit.com.
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