I.O.W.A. teams Prepare for Lake Rathbun
By Steve Weisman
I.O.W.A. Publicity Director
With two tournaments under their belt, the teams competing on the I.O.W.A. Team Walleye Tournament Trail are preparing for the third qualifier scheduled for Lake Rathbun on Sunday, May 6.
“Lake Rathbun is an incredible walleye fishery,” said Dean Higgins, I.O.W.A. Tournament Director. “Over the years we have had some great tournaments here. A year ago, we were here at the end of May. It took a two and a half pound average to win it and the big fish was over seven pounds. This is a huge body of water with diverse structure, so the teams will have to do their homework if they want to be in the hunt for the top prize.”
Higgins mentioned the leaders for some of the post-season honors. Based on their efforts in the first two tournaments, the team of Mike and Dog Rodwell from Oskaloosa, IA hold the lead for the 2007 Humminbird Team of the Year prize of two Humminbird 797c2SI Combo fishing units. To be eligible for this award, teams must compete in four of the five tournaments.
A second honor is the Mercury Heavy Weight Award for the highest total weight at the end of the five qualifiers. This team will win a Mercury 9.9 Pro Kicker, and with 12.15 pounds in the first two tournaments, the team of David Smithburg from Libertyville and Greg Lowenberg from Fairfield hold a slim lead over the team of Mike and Doug Rodwell from Oskaloosa with 12.04 pounds.
The MinnKota Family Team of the Year goes to the highest placing family team. Mike and Doug Rodwell from Oskaloosa, IA are in the lead for the two MinnKota Vantage 80 transom mount trolling motors.
A voluntary rules meeting and question and answer session will be held on Saturday evening from 6-7 p.m. “We did this at the first two tournaments. We were able to answer a lot of questions, go over all the rules and also the way we want to run our take-off and weigh-in procedures. It also gave the teams the chance to visit and for new teams to become acquainted with some of our veteran teams,” added Higgins.
Take-off is at 7 a.m. at Island View Boat Ramp, with the weigh-in at 3 p.m. at Island View Boat Ramp. “The weigh-in will be a great place for people to come out and see what the teams caught and to hear about the presentations that caught the fish,” said Higgins. “It’s always exciting to see what the teams bring to the scales.”
All of the latest news on the I.O.W.A. circuit can be found at the I.O.W.A. website (www.walleyepromotions.com). Openings still exist for the Storm Lake qualifier. Anglers interested in learning more about the I.O.W.A circuit can call (515) 571-1085 or they can email the I.O.W.A. staff at [email protected].
Corporate sponsors for the 2007 I.O.W.A Team Walleye Tournament Trail include Lund, Mercury Outboards, ShoreLand’r Trailers, Algona Marine and Sport, MinnKota, Humminbird, Berkley, Cabela’s, Mack’s Lure, Smooth Move Seat Mounts, StowMaster, Hooters and Farm & City Insurance Services of Forest City.