For Immediate Release For More Information Contact
Kristine Houtman or Kris Mauersberger, 877-893-7947
Keller and Kropp Pull Out the Win at 20th Annual
Spring Valley Cabela’s MWC Tournament presented by MotorGuide
Spring Valley, IL – Five years ago the young team of Larry Keller and Chad Kropp of Neshkoro, Wisconsin fished their first Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit tournament at Spring Valley, Illinois. They finished “in the money” that first year and got bit with the bug to compete. They cashed a check every year in the annual “Daytona 500” of the walleye fishing world, inching their way up. Last year was close with second place, but this year they realized the goal they set for themselves in 2002. They put ten fish together over the two days for a win with 24.79 pounds, netting the team a cool $28,512 in payout.
On day one the duo fished primarily near the Utica bridge in a crowd of boats. But on day two, when they only had one fish in the boat at mid-day, they knew they had to do something different. It was when they moved away from the crowd that they starting reeling in the fish. “It was one fish on top of another from Noon to 1 o’clock” shared an elated Chad Kropp. “Nets and lines were getting all tangled up trying to stay on top of bringing the fish into the boat so fast. It was a blast. We caught LOTS of fish in that hour.” Partner Larry Keller added, “This win is really special for me. I lost my Mom last year to breast cancer the day before the MWC Green Bay tournament. She told me before she died how much she wanted me to catch fish for her. And now we have this win. It feels good to have done this in her memory.”
The winning strategy for Keller and Kropp was traditional vertical jigging, with 3/8 oz. jigs. A lot of colors were working for the team, including chartreuse green, orange and yellow, with stingers. The team felt the key to their presentation was using no-stretch line with no slack and setting the hook on the tough lipped saugers really hard.
The full field of 220 teams paid out $106,296 in winnings, with $8,574 paid out for big fish honors. The mother and son team of Barbara & Danny Plautz of Muskego, WI took the first place prize of $1750 on Saturday with 4.2 pounds; and Sunday’s cash of the same amount went to Mike Fortier and Bruce Kolinski of Franklin and West Allis, WI with their 5.4 pound walleye, which was the biggest fish of the tournament.
Additional cash prizes were awarded by Cabela’s MWC sponsors. Ranger Boats awarded a $1,000 Ranger Cup bonus to the Minnesota team of Rodney York and Jim Preissner for their fourth place tie. A $500 Tommy Docks Comeback Award was paid to the Minnesota team of Virgil Malbraaten and Patrick Rooney for advancing the most places – 113 – from day one to day two. Two hundred dollars plus two Lindy Drift Control socks were awarded to the father and son team of Donald and Michael Olson of Minnesota for using a drift control product to maximize boat control during the tournament. The Inhibitor “Tough Times” Award of $100 was paid to the Rockford, IL team of Dan Hauser and Tom Ping. Two new MotorGuide trolling motors were awarded to Iowans Doug Newhoff and Neil Hammargren for being the highest finishing MotorGuide team with their third place finish. A $100 Panther Marine Tech bonus was awarded to Tim Harms of Minnesota and Chad Kruse of Iowa for their 7th place finish. Food Source Lures paid out cash and “real food” in a game for the public and anglers awarding $75. Locals Dick Ajster and Ken Tonelli each received new two-piece cold weather outerwear from Ice Armor. Mercury, Ranger Boats and Lowrance Electronics provided onsite field service technical support to the anglers.
The Spring Valley Walleye Club hosted the MWC tournament for its 20th consecutive year. Each of those years the MWC anglers have contributed to a dedicated walleye conservation fund of $15 per boat per tournament. Once again in 2006, $3300 was presented to the SVWC for their operational efforts in organizing tournament details at Barto Landing. During the tenure in Spring Valley, hundreds of thousands of conservation dollars have been raised through the tournament or matched with other special funds, making the partnership a valuable one for both community and the Illinois River fishery. The city celebrated with special events within “Walleye Week” a city-wide celebration for the whole family.
The Cabela’s MWC is the world’s longest running professional walleye fishing circuit, with tournaments from North Dakota to New York in 2006. For an entry form and complete details go to http://www.masterswalleyecircuit.com or call the MWC office at 877-893-7947.
Tournament Statistics
Number of Teams: 220 Number of Fish: 1121
Total cash and prizes: $116,770 Total Weight: 2,132.46 pounds
Water Temp: 42-44 degrees Big Fish: 5.4 pounds
Water Level: Dropping Water Conditions: Muddy, but clearing
Inside Winning Pattern: Vertical Jigging with 3/8 oz. stinger hooks
Tip: No-stretch line giving no slack and setting the hook hard
2006 Schedule
Central Division
March 25/26 – Spring Valley, IL – Illinois River
June 24/25 – Escanaba, MI – Bays de Noc
Sept 16/17 – Lake City, MN — Mississippi River
East Division
April 22/23 – Trenton, MI – Detroit River and Lake Erie
May 20/21 – Henderson Harbor, NY – Lake Ontario
August 19/20 – Linwood, MI – Saginaw Bay
Exhibition Tournament
July 15/16 – Spirit Lake, ND – Devil’s Lake
World Walleye Championship
October 4-7 – Prairie du Chien, WI – Mississippi River
Cabela’s is the title sponsor for the Masters Walleye Circuit. Official Sponsors are MotorGuide, Ranger Boats, Mercury Motors, Lindy Legendary Tackle, Lowrance Electronics, North American Fishing Club and Outdoor Life Network (OLN). Associate sponsors are Salmo Performance Lures, Panther Marine-Tech Products, Tommy Docks, The Inhibitor, Food Source Lures, Ice Armor, Pennzoil Marine and Walleye Central.
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Rank
Boat #
First
Last
City
State
First
Last
City
State
Total Fish
Total Weight
Money Won
1
20
Larry
Keller
Neshkoro
WI
Chad
Kropp
Neshkoro
WI
10
24.79
$28,512
2
65
Scott
Aydelotte
Garner
IA
Jim
Trow
Ames
IA
10
24.54
$13,728
3
41
Neil
Hammargren
Waterloo
IA
Doug
Newhoff
Cedar Falls
IA
10
22.65
$9,504
4
2
James
Preissner
Hastings
MN
Rodney
York
Centerville
MN
10
21.40
$8,392
4
151
Jeff
Seyka
Milford
MI
Todd
Robinson
Hubbard
OH
10
21.40
$7,392
6
203
Troy
Nelson
Lombard
IL
Jim
Hassler
Ladd
IL
10
20.58
$5,280
7
23
Tim
Harms
Owatonna
MN
Chad
Kruse
Allison
IA
10
20.11
$4,324
8
192
Tom
Giachetto
Ladd
IL
Tom
Giachetto
Ladd
IL
9
20.04
$3,168
9
52
William
Babe
Silver Lake
WI
Joseph
Babe
Silver Lake
WI
10
19.99
$2,112
10
22
Bruce
Sesko
Lake Villa
IL
Erik
Sesko
Trevor
WI
10
19.82
$1,584
11
14
Kevin
Dahl
Muskego
WI
Steve
Stack
Muskego
WI
10
19.62
$1,400
12
34
Donald
Olson
Andover
MN
Michael
Olson
Coon Rapids
MN
10
19.54
$1,600
13
143
Keith
Eshbaugh
West Alexander
PA
Jeff
Behr
Pittsburgh
PA
10
19.45
$1,400
14
97
Cory
Peterson
King
WI
Steve
Sawyer
Germantown
WI
10
19.20
$1,400
15
64
Paul
Fournier
Andover
MN
Ryan
Olson
Cambridge
MN
10
19.00
$1,400
16
188
Danny
Plautz
Muskego
WI
Barbara
Plautz
Muskego
WI
10
18.94
$1,000
17
28
Marty
Stuefen
Cedar Rapids
IA
Mickey
Stuefen
Cedar Rapids
IA
9
18.40
$1,000
18
55
Donald
Solis
Perronville
MI
Bert
Wilson
Gladstone
MI
6
18.37
$1,000
19
153
Greg
Gott
Wyanet
IL
Jerry
Gott
La Moille
IL
8
18.25
$1,000
20
170
John
Balla
Bartlett
IL
Chris
Dombrowski
Kaukauna
WI
6
18.07
$1,000
21
149
Jeff
Koester
Brookville
IN
Scott
Rhodes
Traverse City
MI
10
17.95
$800
22
42
Zach
Boudreau
La Crescent
MN
Curt
Henderson
La Crescent
MN
9
17.89
$800
23
211
Tom
Miller
Yorkville
IL
Lorraine
Miller
Yorkville
IL
9
17.82
$800
24
86
Chris
Gasser
Random Lake
WI
Gina
Gasser
Random Lake
WI
7
17.64
$800
25
185
Brian
Ernat
Seatonville
IL
Jerry
Ernat
Princeton
IL
6
17.23
$800
25
98
James
Steiskal
Antioch
IL
Robert
Schaefer
Antioch
IL
10
17.23
$800
27
136
Brad
Bull
Mason City
IA
Wes
Rose
Terril
IA
8
17.15
$800
28
43
Joe
Jensen
Buffalo
MN
Harlan
Perron
Maple Grove
MN
10
17.13
$800
29
4
Steve
Stein
Leavenworth
KS
Kenny
Ludwig
Leavenworth
KS
10
16.88
$800
30
71
Troy
Skorich
Superior
WI
John
Swanstrom
Superior
WI
10
16.78
$700
31
74
Robert
Blosser
Poynette
WI
Gary
Tomlinson
Poynette
WI
10
16.67
$700
32
124
Rick
Henriksen
DePere
WI
Tom
Zollar
Green Bay
WI
10
16.64
$700
33
172
Tim
Horneman
Schererville
IN
Anthony
Horneman
Hobart
IN
9
16.43
$700
33
59
Gary
Pelkey
Van Dyne
WI
Margaret
Pelkey
Van Dyne
WI
9
16.43
$700
35
96
Bill
Damron
Antioch
IL
Edward
Michniewicz
Fox Lake
IL
10
16.32
$700