MWC Detroit River April 25th & 26th

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CABELA’S MWC EAST KICKS OFF ON THE DETROIT RIVER IN TRENTON, MICHIGAN –
APRIL 25TH AND 26TH – PRESENTED BY VERSUS TV

Minnetonka, MN – April 16, 2009 – The Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC) begins its East division on April 25th and 26th in Trenton, Michigan. This is the fourth time in the six year history of the MWC East that a tournament will be held at Elizabeth Park on the Detroit River. Tournament weigh-ins are free to attend and will run from 2:30pm – 4:30pm. Stop by and see your favorite team weigh-in. Anglers fish in two person teams and are allowed to weigh a limit of 5 fish per team per day. The team that weighs in the most pounds of fish over the two day event wins the tournament and the first place prize money of $12,650. This tournament is being filmed for television by North American Media Group to air on the VERSUS Network. Tournament coverage will air twice on VERSUS in June. Both airings will be at 10:30am (EST) with the first one on Tuesday, June 2nd and the second one on Thursday, June 4th.

There are currently 63 teams from twelve different states signed up to fish in this event. The tournament will pay out $40,320 to the top 12 places; plus another $2,400 in sponsor contingency bonus money. The sponsor contingency bonuses are:

Ranger Cup Bonus: $1,000 to the top finishing team who fishes out of a Ranger Boat and is signed up for Ranger Cup.
Mercury Motors / Ranger Cup Bonus: $500 to the top finishing team whose boat is powered by a Mercury Motor and is part of the Ranger Cup program.
Lowrance HDS Bonus: $500 to the top finishing team who uses a Lowrance HDS (High Definition System) sonar/chartplotter display unit during the tournament.
Oxygenator Bonus: $200 to the top finishing team who uses a Pro Livewell Flush Mount or Livewell Portable oxygenation system during the tournament.
Team FCIS Bonus: $100 to the top finishing angler on Team FCIS (Farm & City Insurance Services). To become qualified for Team FCIS, simply receive a quote from FCIS by calling 1-800-331-1520 or going online at: http://www.fcisinsurance.com/anglers-choice.asp
NPAA Bonus: $100 to the top finishing angler who is a member of the National Professional Angler’s Association.

“Guys have been catching fish in the river…some coming in over 10 pounds,” shared Danny Bloxsom of the Downriver Walleye Federation. “The water temperature is sitting at 42 degrees but with a couple nice days expected in the next few, it should warm up nicely. Rain is expected later in the week which could muddy the water up again and make finding fish a lot more difficult.”

When asked what it will take to win this year’s tournament, 2007 Detroit River tournament winner, Jason Kaniszewski shared this, “If the weather straightens out, I think it will take at least 65 pounds to win the tournament but if the water stays dirty…who knows. There were some really nice fish being caught before the weather turned sour. If it warms up and the water clears, everyone will be running to Lake Erie to troll with crankbaits which will pull in the bigger fish. If the weather stays poor and we are stuck in the river, then hand-lining might be the key to winning.”

Included in each MWC entry fee is a $15 donation to the local walleye conservation fund. This money is given to the community or walleye club to use towards fishery enhancement projects. The Downriver Walleye Club will receive the money from this tournament to use towards enhancing the fishing on the Detroit River. Since its inception 25 years ago, the Masters Walleye Circuit has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to local communities to help improve their fisheries.

Cabela’s, the world’s foremost outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is in their eighth season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Ranger Boats, Mercury, MotorGuide, Lowrance, Versus (Vs.) Television Network and North American Fishing Club. Associate Sponsors include: Farm & City Insurance Services, O2 Marine Technologies, 3-IN-ONE No Rust Shield, Fin-tech, Ryjus and Reflections.

The Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit is the longest running professional walleye tournament circuit in the United States and is celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2009. This season there are three qualifying tournaments in each division (Central, East & West) and the World Walleye Championship. For more information on the Cabela’s MWC or to view the 2009 schedule, visit: http://www.masterswalleyecircuit.com. Questions – email: [email protected] or call: 877-893-7947.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information,contact:

Kristine Houtman
O: 952-988-7116
E: [email protected]
http://www.masterswalleyecircuit.com

Cabela’s MWC Team of the Year Butz & Frederick

Prove Deserving of the Title With Win at Detroit River/Lake Erie

— Presented by Versus Television Network

Sunday, April 26th, 2009 – Trenton, MI – Veteran Wisconsin walleye anglers Wayne Butz (Hobart) and Don “Freddy” Frederick (Appleton) proved their worth as the reigning Cabela’s MWC Team of the Year by adjusting to the conditions and bringing in 53.01 pounds at the first stop of the MWC East Division for 2009. Located out of Elizabeth Park in Trenton, Michigan, the team bested a field of 64 teams and cashed a total of $14,600 with sponsor contingency bonuses. Butz and Frederick have each fished the MWC for 20 and 16 years respectively. This is their second circuit victory, the first occurred in 2000 on the Bay of Green Bay.

The key to their success was adjusting to the different conditions as things changed. The fact that the river and lake were in bounds and the weather conditions fluctuated dramatically between the two days meant there was a lot to consider. They made the right choices for the win.

On day one they intended to head out to the lake – but the wind was just blowing too hard when they arrived and a quick decision to head back to the river and vertical jig fish proved wise. They settled into 14’ water by the Two Rocks at the Steel Mill on the Michigan side of the river. They used 5/8 ounce jigs, chartreuse or orange, tipped with an artificial ring worm and a minnow. Freddy hand-made the jigs they used, air brushed and pre-tied with stingers in every color and in every weight they would need. “The key is really having these custom jigs that Freddy is so good at making, and having them in all the different weights and colors all organized ahead of time,” shared Butz. They weighed 22 pounds even on Saturday and were sitting in 7th place.

After looking at the internet satellite photos at noaa.gov on Saturday night they were pretty excited about the forecast and the improved water clarity for heading to Lake Erie on Sunday. “We were looking for just the right stained water,” shared Butz. “Not too clear and not too dirty either, about half way.” Their strategy for finding the right location was noting visibility on their prop. They found their ideal location about 2-3 miles out from Luna Pier. They trolled at 1.2 m.p.h. with purple and fire-tiger deep diver crank baits, but were careful to position them in the top half of the water column. “The bigger fish seemed to come higher in the water column, that’s where they like to come up to feed,” shared Frederick. They were a little nervous when the first pass did not produce any hits, but luckily there were two on the second pass, and another on the third and they were upgrading their five fish basket by 9:30 a.m. They ended up with a whopping 31.01 pounds, the largest basket of the event.

During pre-fishing they split up and eliminated water that they did not want to go to and tuned their stick baits so they were running straight in the water. “That’s really an important step in preparation,” shared Butz. “You’ve got to tune your stick baits so they run true and straight, you really do.”

Butz and Frederick were the beneficiaries of additional sponsor contingency bonuses. The Ranger Cup $1,000 bonus along with the $500 Mercury bonus, $200 Oxygenator bonus and $100 Team FCIS (Farm & City Insurance Services) gave the duo an additional $1,800 to add to the $12,800 in payout for a total of $14,600.

The tournament was filmed by North American Media Group for airing on Versus Television Network. Airdates are Tuesday, June 2nd and Thursday, June 4th, both at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.

Second place went to Nate “Butch” Capton of Niagara Falls, New York & Dave Waldeck of Sanborn, New York with 52.18 pounds netting $5,860. Capton and Waldeck also had the second biggest fish of the tournament on day two at 8.81 pounds and cashed an additional $350 for a total of $6,210.

Third place was awarded to the reigning Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Champions Jeff Manz of Vanderbilt, Michigan and Greg Yarbrough of Port Clinton, Ohio. Manz and Yarbrough had the lead by a pound-and-a-half after day one with 26.35 pounds. Their two-day total was 49.77 pounds and they cashed $3,740 plus $100 from NPAA for being NPAA members. An additional $350 was awarded for the second biggest fish from Saturday at 7.62 pounds for a total payout of $4,190.

Fourth place went to a new Ohio team on the circuit, John Csizmadia of Cortland and James Dean of Salem. They had 23.27 pounds on Saturday plus 25.42 pounds on Sunday for a two day total of 48.69 pounds cashing in $3,130.

Rounding out the top five from Chilton, Wisconsin, were brothers Steve and Dan Bodinger with 48.22 pounds netting $2,930. They also caught the third heaviest fish on day two at 8.76 pounds worth an additional $250, totaling $3,180.

For using the new Lowrance HDS (High Definition System) sonar/chart plotter display unit during the tournament a bonus of $500 was awarded to Robert Jones of Redford, Michigan fishing with Maurice Hall of Rochester Hills, Michigan. They came in 11th place with 42.80 pounds for $1,300 cashing in a total prize money of $1,800.

The biggest fish of the tournament was caught on day two by Mark Zillges and Dave Schmidt of Oshkosh, Wisconsin at 9.21 pounds providing $675 in big fish cash.

Jay Walsh of Chicago, Illinois and Dave Gossar of Wedron, Illinois brought in the largest walleye on Saturday at 7.87 pounds for $675.

The third biggest fish from Saturday was awarded at $250 to the father and son team of Jeff and Ken Seyka from Milford and Dewitt, Michigan, accordingly, for their 7.14 pound walleye.

In all, 212 fish were caught on day one totaling 802.96 pounds and 248 fish on day two totaling 1103.99 pounds for a total of 460 fish for 1906.95 pounds – a 4.14 pound average . This was a catch-and-release tournament and the Downriver Walleye Federation (DWF) assisted with tournament operations and the release of the fish. In appreciation the Cabela’s MWC Walleye Conservation Fund of $960 was awarded to the Club for their assistance and for the fisheries improvements that the DWF undertakes on the Detroit River.

Next up for the Cabela’s MWC is the first MWC West division tournament out of Mobridge, South Dakota on Lake Oahe on May 2nd & 3rd.

The rest of the season is as follows:

MWC 2009 Tournaments

May 2/3 – Mobridge, South Dakota (Lake Oahe)

May 16/17 – Lake City, Minnesota (Lake Pepin & Mississippi River)

May 29/30/31 – Sandusky, Ohio (Central Lake Erie)

July 11/12 – Marinette, Wisconsin/Menominee, Michigan (Bay of Green Bay)

July 25/26 – *Devils Lake, North Dakota (Devils Lake)

August 21/22/23 – Dunkirk, New York (Eastern Lake Erie)

September 12/13 – Webster, South Dakota (Waubay Lake)

World Walleye Championship – by invitation only

October 8/9/10 – Dundee, Michigan (Lake Erie & Detroit River)

*The Devils Lake tournament will be run in conjunction with the Cabela’s NTC.

Cabela’s, the world’s foremost outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is entering their eighth season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Ranger Boats, Mercury, MotorGuide, Lowrance Electronics, Versus (Vs.) Television Network and North American Fishing Club. Associate Sponsors include: Farm & City Insurance Services, O2 Marine Technologies, 3-IN-ONE No Rust Shield, Fin-tech, Ryjus and Reflections.

The Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit is the longest running professional walleye tournament circuit in the United States and is celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2009. For more information on the Cabela’s MWC or to view the 2009 schedule, visit: http://www.masterswalleyecircuit.com. Questions – email: [email protected] or call: 877-893-7947.

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MWC Results