IOWA TEAM OF TROW & ADELOYTTE CAPTURE A VICTORY AT CABELA’S MASTERS WALLEYE CIRCUIT WORLD WALLEYE CHAMPIONSHIP
Prairie du Chien, WI — Three consecutively good days together in a tough bite was the key for the new Iowa-native World Walleye Champions, Jim Trow of Ames and Scott Aydelotte of Garner. They brought 14 out of 15 allowable fish over the three day tournament for a total weight of 36.83 pounds. This was their first showing at the circuit’s Championship yet they pulled out a win with a whopping $25,000 in cash. A Cabela’s VISA Club Card bonus of $1,000 was also awarded to the team for being Club Card holders in good standing.
The team locked through each morning at lock #9; and proceeded to their #1 spot in the Lafayette slough cut, across the towers of pool 9. Their winning strategy was to get five legal fish as early as possible; and then run and gun a few other spots for bigger fish. They caught most of their fish anchored up on their #1 spot, although they worked a total of four unique locations, casting crayfish colored #7 shad raps up shallow on top of the rock pile. They also rigged their deadsticks with chubs and willowcats. Thursday and Saturday the cranks performed better for the big fish but on Friday four smaller fish hit the live bait rigs. Trow and Adeloytte took the Day 1 lead with the tournament’s largest basket of 17.18 pounds. Over the next two days they managed another 19.65 pounds to take the honor and title of World Walleye Champions.
“This is such an awesome feeling – I can’t quite explain it” shared Scott Adeloytte as he held up the custom-engraved green-marbled trophies and 14-carat custom MWC Championship rings. Jim Trow added, “I think I’ll have to let this settle in and think about it for awhile to know it’s real. It means so much to accomplish this for me – heck, I’m a 62 year-old guy!”
The Michigan full-circuit team in 2005 of Jeff Russell and Doug Lampen did manage a full limit of 15 fish over the three days, but it wasn’t quite enough to maintain their final day lead. Jeff waxed early on Saturday morning, “We’ve never had a win with a lead in the final day. We’ve always jumped ahead to take a win. This makes me a little nervous.” Russell and Lampen shared $12,000 for the 2nd place finish of 34.12 pounds. Third place and $8,000 went to the Waterloo, Iowa team of Neil Hammargren and Doug Newhoff. Their 15-fish three day limit totaled 27.66 pounds. In all, $105,400 was paid out in purse to the entire Championship Field.
The Ranger Cup bonus of $1,000 went to Kenny Ludwig and Steve Stein of Leavenworth, Kansas. This was the team’s second Ranger Cup bonus in the 2005 season. The Tommy Dock’s Comeback bonus of $500 was awarded to the team of Bill Koval and Pat Werner of Lone Rock and Middleton, Wisconsin, for their vault up from last place on day one to a respectable finish at 15th place. This new sponsor award is planned for each tournament next year.
This was the fourth year that the World Walleye Championship was held at the Cabela’s store just two miles north of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Store employees and volunteers from the Falling Rock Walleye Club helped with tournament operations and logistics. The anglers expressed their heart-felt thanks to both those organizations at the Champions Award Dinner at The Barn Restaurant on Saturday night. Their thanks extended also to the city police and sheriff’s department for assisting with traffic entrance and egress on Highway 35 in and out of the store and boat landing, as well as the folks working Lock #9 each day.
“The towns-folk around Prairie du Chien just couldn’t be any nicer!” offered Paul Fournier and Ryan Olsen, a young team from the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. The team also captured the honors of biggest fish of the tournament weighing in at 8.56 pounds. John Balla and Kevin Byrne of Illinois seconded that sentiment as well as taking home honors for Thursday’s heaviest fish at 6.61 pounds. Final day big fish was awarded to the Minnesota brothers team of Dennis and Greg Drontle with 6.83 pounds. Each heaviest fish of the day was awarded a $500 Cabela’s Gift Card.
Teams attended the Championship from ten states including Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and Kansas. Many anglers and their families commented on the graciousness of the community hosting the tournament and the exceptional benefit of being right at the Cabela’s store.
“Whether it was opening the store early each morning for the angler’s essentials or digging in the depths of the warehouse for a spare part – the folks at Cabela’s really were wonderful to the MWC anglers.” shared Bob “Kaz” Kaczkowski of McDonough, Georgia, emcee of the tournament along with weigh-master Kristine Houtman. Many an angler echoed that sentiment at the Champions dinner on the final evening.
Anglers compete on the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit through the entire year to earn points through the MWC East Division, MWC Central Division or the MWC Challenge to get to the Championship. In 2006 the World Walleye Championship will return to Pools 9 and 10 of the Mississippi River and the Cabela’s store in Prairie du Chien, October 4 – 7.
For information about fishing the 2006 schedule as noted, please contact the Cabela’s MWC events department at 877-893-7947 or by email at [email protected]. Or check out the website http://www.masterswalleyecircuit.com. The 2005 World Walleye Championship will be broadcast on national Cable TV on the Fishing Club Journal sponsored by North American Fishing Club. Check the website’s bulletin board for exact airing details.
Tournament Statistics
Number of Teams: 66 qualified; 60 competed
Number of Fish: 320
Total cash and prizes: $105,400
Total Weight: 633.22 pounds
Water Temp: 60 to 62 degrees and dropping
Big Fish: 8.56
Water Level: Normal but flow rising
Water Condition: Very Weedy/Grassy
Inside Winning Pattern: Casting shad raps and rigged live bait
