Day Three Bio Data Air Temperature: 64 degrees @ 7 am 80 degrees @ 5 pm Winds: calm until 1 pm then 5-15 mph easterly Skies: partly cloudy Water Temperature: 70-75 degrees

Day One Bass Pro Shops Big Walleye $2,000; Scott Miller, Victoria, MN, amateur 10.32# $1,200; Gregg LaMere, Gwinn, MI, pro, 10.26# $1,025; John Gillman, Freeland, MI, amateur, 10.12# $ 950; Dan Miller, Madison, WI, amateur, 9.89# Day Two Bass Pro Shops Big Walleye $2,000; Jim Myszkewicz, Burlington, WI, pro, 11.03# $1,200; Jason Kerr, Grand Blanc, MI, amateur, 10.35# $1,025; Chris Burns, Davenport, IA, amateur, 9.67# $ 950; John Campbell, West Dundee, IL, pro, 9.10# Day Three Bass Pro Shops Big Walleye $2,000; Rob Ensor, DeKalb, IL, pro, 10.25# $1,200; James Backes, Marengo, IL, amateur, 9.70# $1,025; Daniel Echler, E Tawas, MI, amateur, 9.13# $ 950; Ricky Miller, McComb, OH, amateur, 8.92#

Norb Wallock Collects $50,000 in First PWT Win on Saginaw Bay

Bay City, MI...In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail pro Norb Wallock, Conover, WI claimed his first PWT title on Michigan’s Saginaw Bay. Fishing consistently all three days, the full-time pro, with 10 years of PWT experience, won the $50,000 first prize in the Lund Boats Mideast Pro-Am.

Wallock, with five top 10 place finishes on the PWT and numerous other walleye honors, fished Saginaw Bay July 12--14, and bested North America’s touring pro anglers. He weighed 83.84 pounds, a 5 1/2 pound average for 15 walleyes. Wallock was 2 1/2 pounds better than Keith Kavajecz, Kaukauna, WI, who led after day two. He won $15,000. Third place paid $10,000 to Rick Olson, Mina, SD.

The winning amateur, Bill Needles, Necedah, WI, repeated his victory three weeks earlier at Sault Ste. Marie, MI. He is the first double PWT amateur winner. He won a $12,000 Lund boat with a Mercury outboard and an Eagle trailer at each tournament. Amateurs fish each day with a different pro. The pro brings all the gear, experience, boat and shares his knowledge in the boat-weight format.

Most anglers trolled, with spinner/nightcrawler/snap weight/ bottom bouncer combinations. Crankbaits, as always, were part of the equation. Anglers found walleyes throughout the inner Bay. Wallock used a Blue Fox Strobe spinner designed with business partner (and third place finisher) Olson. The spinner and beads are rigged on a small diameter wire with a single long-shank hook with bait-holding barbs. A nightcrawler is strung on the hook, and the slow-speed trolling rig is completed by adding a flasher spoon about 7-feet ahead of the spinner. An in-line 1-ounce weight completes the “lure.”

The top five pros from the DeeZee eastern division (three PWT tournaments) qualified for the Dodge/Mercury Championship in September. They are Mark Gwizdala, Kawkawlin, MI, first; Jay Janny, Eagle, WI, second; Andy Kuffer, Fair Haven, MI, third; Bill St. Peter, Bay City, MI, fourth; and Jimmy Bell, Ham Lake, MN, fifth. They will be joined by 35 other pros, with $100,000 to the winner.

The overall Bass Pro Shops big fish, an 11.03-pounder, was worth $2,500 to pro James Myszkewicz, Burlington, WI. Final day big fish winners were Rob Ensor, DeKalb, IL, 10.25 pounds for $2,000. James Backes, Marengo, IL won $1,200 for a 9.70 pound walleye. Dan Echler, East Tawas, MI, weighed a 9.13-pounder for $1.025, and Ricky Miller, McComb, OH collected $950 for an 8.92 pound fish. A total of 1,931 walleyes were weighed with an average of four pounds.

The PWT Key Award went to Mike Spencer, Bay City Times writer for his regular coverage of the environment, fishing and outdoor news, the Saginaw Bay Walleye Club, the PWT and local and national anglers. The folks from Hoyle’s Marina, site of the tournament won the PWT Host Award for their support in all phases of the week. Kavajecz and his amateur partner Steve Rush, Dallas, TX, won the Storm Heavyweight award for their first day catch, 36.34 pounds. Kavajecz won $500, while Rush won $300. On the pro side, Mike Cerminaro, Muskegon, MI, won $1,000 for advancing 97 places through the event as the Coleman Cool Under Pressure winner. Amateur Walter Riepen, Milford, MI advanced 95 places and won $600. Wallock also won the T-H Marine $500 award for placing highest and releasing the most fish.

Gary Parsons, Glidden, WI overcame a 15 pound deficit to take the In-Fisherman Angler of the Year lead by three pounds over Mike Gofron, Antioch, IL. Gofron has held the lead most of the year; won it in 1999 and was runner-up in 1998. Parsons is the only back-to-back Angler of the Year winner. The Energizer Rookie of the Year leader is by Barry Walker, Big Springs, NE, depending on his finish at the next PWT tour stop at Fort Peck Reservoir near Glasgow, MT.

PWT sponsors include: Aqua Vu, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley PowerBait, Blue Fox Tackle, Carhartt, Coleman, Cotton Cordell, Daiichi hooks, Dee Zee truck accessories, Dodge trucks, Eagle Claw, Eagle Trailers, Energizer Automotive and Marine brand batteries, Guest chargers, Lindy Little Joe, Lowrance Electronics, Lund Boats, Mack’s Lure, Marinco, Mercury Outboards, Master Lock, MinnKota, Rapala Lures, Northland Tackle, Oceanwave sunglasses, Pinnacle rods and reels, Plano, Pugsley’s, the official PWT sandwich, Raytheon Marine, Shimano rods, Storm Lures, Stren fishing lines, T-H Marine, Veryfine, the official PWT beverage and the Bay Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (888-229-8696).