For Immediate Release For More Information Contact:
Kristine Houtman, 612-710-5584 (cell)
Curmi and Jurik Net their first Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit
Victory on Saginaw Bay – presented by Lowrance Electronics
Linwood, MI – The new 2006 MWC circuit team of Paul Curmi of Belleville, MI and Mike Jurik of Saginaw, MI stayed the course to cash a first place check of $12,384 at the MWC tournament on Saginaw Bay. The team brought in a beautiful 5-fish 30.51 pound basket on the first day of the tournament – holding second place just 1.66 pounds behind Dennis Gulau of Midland, MI and Tom Fillmore of Sanford, MI. But Curmi and Jurik were able to squeak by with just enough on the second day to move into the lead. The duo’s ten-fish two-day basket weighed 39.76 pounds, capturing their first Circuit victory. When they were coming in to weigh their fish, they only hoped their small basket would keep them in the top ten. They had no idea that a win was around the corner.
The story behind this win was not so much special technique — or a unique winning pattern –but a story of working with the hand that is dealt. Calm tournament conditions on day one allowed the field to get to the outer bay of Saginaw Bay. That’s where all the big fish were being caught in pre-fishing, and where the 25 to 30 pound baskets came from on Saturday. But strong winds picked up that evening and a small craft advisory predicting 4-7 feet waves forced tournament officials to enact a foul weather boundary for Sunday, shutting off most of the teams’ “A” spots for big fish. That’s when Paul and Mike decided to make the best of what they were dealt – and go do what they could in the inner bay. It was just enough – 9.25 pounds – to move into the lead. “If it was meant to be, it was meant to be” stated a shocked Mike Jurik, after the win started sinking in. Curmi, a charter boat captain in the Saginaw Bay, Detroit River and Lake Erie area, had made provisions for just such a possibility. “I spent all of Thursday pre-fishing the inner bay just in case this foul weather boundary would be called,” stated Curmi. “I found some spots that could be our fall-back plan if we needed them; and it turned out that we did.”
The team trolled spinners with crawler harnesses with ½ ounce weights, 4’s and 5’s for blades in silver and gold. Several bead colors worked well, red and gold combinations along with chartreuse and white. They made a 44 mile run from the launch at Hoyle’s Marina to Northeast of the Charity Islands in 65 feet of water. They had caught several four and five pound fish in that area during pre-fishing and definitely had it for their “A” plan. On day two when plan “B” came into play, they went to the Fingers 1 and 2 outside of the channel and Saganing Bar, in 23 feet of water. “The wind on Saturday night really churned up the lake, turning it muddy,” shared Curmi. “So we drove to an area we had pre-fished and stopped when we could see the prop of our motor, wanting to find some cleaner water.”
More than anything boat control was the key. The team used three extra large drift control socks to keep the boat to a slow trolling speed — 1.0 to 1.1 miles per hour — one on each side and one under the boat. Jurik explained, “Not only did the drift socks help immensely with the speed, but they kept the boards from surging and allowed us to keep the boat straight. That really made a lot of difference for us.” They received a $200 additional cash bonus from Lindy for being the top finishing team using a drift sock during the tournament along with two new Lindy Drift Control products.
The $1000 Ranger Cup bonus was awarded to Jason Kaniszewski of AuGres, MI. In spite of all the big baskets coming from the Outer Bay, the biggest fish of the tournament was actually caught on Sunday when the field was forced into the Inner Bay. Kaniszewski and partner Nathan Seiferlein of Marine City, MI brought in an 8.95 pound walleye for a cash bonus of $1250. Gulau and Fillmore brought in the second largest fish of the tournament at 8.74 pounds, which netted that team another $1250 for the biggest fish of Saturday. Kaniszewski and Seiferlein also received a $100 Panther Marine Tech bonus.
A $500 Tommy Docks Comeback Award for moving up 46 places from day one to day two was awarded to Tim Boelter of Markesan, WI and Tom Neefe of Brandon, WI.
Inhibitor Tough Times cash bonus of $100 was awarded to Randy Tripke of Malone, WI and John Zaffiro of West Allis, WI as the team weighing the smallest basket of fish (but not a zero).
MWC sponsor Ice Armor awarded Jeff Koester of Brookville, IN and Scott Rhodes of Traverse City, MI one set of new Ice Armor cold-weather outer wear.
Farm & City Insurance Services drew the team of Gary Bowman and Brian Enoch, both of Westland, MI for two new inflatable PFDs.
Food Source Lures paid out cash and “real food” in a game for the anglers awarding $75 to Scott Yarman of Mt. Vernon, OH and Tom Kemper of Marion, OH. Hoyle’s Marina and Saginaw Bay Walleye Club did a wonderful job with all the logistics. A conservation fund of $1,290 is being sent to the Saginaw Bay Walleye Club to use for their conservation efforts in the area improving walleye fisheries.
Tournament Statistics
Number of Teams: 86 Number of Fish: 571
Total cash and prizes: $46,890 Total Weight: 1381.29 pounds
Water Temp: 72 degrees Big Fish: 8.95 pounds
Average Weight: 2.42 pounds
Water Clarity: Clean on Saturday, muddy to stained on Sunday
Winning Pattern: Trolling with spinners and crawler harnesses
Inside Tip: Drift Control socks for maximum boat control and clear water
2006 MWC East Division Team of the Year Honors
Go to Jeff Manz and Greg Yarbrough
With Saginaw Bay the final stop on the MWC East Division trail – top honors extend to Jeff Manz of Vanderbilt, MI and Greg Yarbrough of Port Clinton, OH. The duo picked up 77 points for their 10th place finish at Saginaw Bay. They had finished 9th place during the first stop at Detroit River and Lake Erie back in April, and took 3rd place in Henderson Harbor, New York on Lake Ontario in May. The three tournaments totaled 235 points. MWC East Division Team of the Year bonus was $3354.
“Everyone had their eye on Kolb and Byers – and our friends Nate and Jason almost snuck up and grabbed this from us,” chuckled Jeff Manz after the division points were all tabulated. “We worked hard for our ten pounds today – and it was just enough to get us by. Had David and Dan had a better day, things would be different. They came up from behind to take Team of the Year away from us in a different circuit awhile back, so now I guess it was our turn.” The team shared their enthusiasm for the growing MWC East division, hoping more teams will turn out. “It just seems that we should have 100 to 120 teams at every MWC East tournament. I hope that happens in 2007. We’ll be back for sure!”
Coming up for a surprise second-place finish were the friends Jeff was referring to — Nathan Seiferlein of Marine City, MI and Jason Kaniszewski of AuGres, MI. Their second place finish brought in 85 points – taking their three tournament total to 233 points. Seiferlein and Kaniszewski finished 4th at Detroit River and 18th at Henderson Harbor.
Finishing in third place for MWC East Division was the team of David Kolb of Ada, MI and Dan Byers of Cedar Springs, MI. This pair had a spectacular season in 2006 – falling just a little short on the final tournament to pull out the Team of the Year honors. Kolb and Byers won the Detroit River/Lake Erie tournament in April, proceeding on for a back-to-back win at Henderson Harbor in May. However, their 28th place finish at Saginaw Bay held them back from the honors that everyone seemed to think was theirs for the taking. Their 227 points was eight shy of Team Manz and Yarbrough.
Fourth place honors were awarded to Ron Rhodes of Lorain, OH and Andy Kuffer of Sterling Heights, MI. Rhodes and Kuffer finished 8th place at Detroit River and 16th place at Henderson Harbor.
Rounding out the top five for MWC East Team of the Year is the Ohio team of Dan Johnson (Fayetteville) and Mike Defibaugh (Bellefontaine). Johnson and Defibaugh finished 11th place at Detroit River and 8th place at Henderson Harbor.
Each of the 2nd through 5th place teams received a cash bonus of $452. The top eight teams qualified for the 2007 World Walleye Championship. 6th place went to Curmi and Jurik. 7th place to Mike Bringedahl of Twin Lake, MI and Tod Conner of Hopkins, MI. 8th place to Jeff Seyka of Milford, MI and Todd Robinson of Hubbard, OH.
Dave and Willy Casper of Grand Junction and Bloomingdale, MI earned MWC East Family Team Honors as Father and Son Team. Bill and Linda Greczyn of Tully, NY were honored with the MWC East Husband and Wife Team of the Year award.
MWC division points are earned based on the rank finish within a tournament. The larger the tournament the more points for winning or finishing toward the top. Teams must compete in all three tournaments to qualify for the World Walleye Championship.
Central Division and overall “Challenge” Team of the Year honors await one more tournament in the season. MWC will head to Lake City, MN on September 16th and 17th, where the rest of the points will be distributed and more cash prizes awarded.
For more information on the Cabela’s MWC go to http://www.masterswalleyecircuit.com or call the MWC office at 877-893-7947.
Central Division
Sept 16/17 – Lake City, MN — Mississippi River
World Walleye Championship
October 4-7 – Prairie du Chien, WI – Mississippi River
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