| | 2005 Texas Walleye Championship
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On June 24-25, the Texas Walleye Association held its annual championship at Lake Meredith. With the remarkably increased size of the average walleye at Meredith, teams were expecting it would take big weights to win the $800 first place prize each day of the tournament and the combined two day prize of $1,300. They were not wrong as the father and son team of John McWilliams and son, Peyton of Borger claimed the combined two day title and $1,300 with 10 fish weighing a whopping 24.36 lbs. Moreover, the McWilliams also grabbed the 1st place prize of $800 on both days of the tournament for a grand total of $2,900 in winnings. On the first day, their 5 fish weighed 11.85 lbs. and on the second day, they even topped that with 5 fish weighing 12.51 lbs. This was all the more remarkable as changing weather made the bite on the second day tougher for most of the teams. Congratulations to John and Peyton on truly dominating this years championship!
Second place overall and $560 went to J.D. Carr and Chuck Weston of Fritch who were able to put together two consistent days with 10 fish weighing 20.17 lbs. These two teams fished on opposite ends of the lake, and it was encouraging to see that teams did well in all areas of the lake including the upper, middle, and lower portions. Fish were also taken on multiple methods including: jigs; crank baits; spinners; and rigging. The TWA once again encourages catch and release fishing to continue to improve the quality of the fishery. Please, keep only what you are sure you are going to use and release those fish over 20 inches.
On the first day, Jeff Cooper and Toby Abell of Amarillo took 2nd and $500 with 5 fish weighing11.71 lbs. They were followed closely by the husband and wife team of Jim and LaDonna Welch of Fritch who finished 3rd winning $200 with 5 fish weighing 11.65 lbs. The Welch’s also took the big fish pot of $140 with a nice 4.06 lb. fish. The rest of the top ten were: 4th J.D. Carr and Chuck Weston with 5 fish weighing 11.40 lbs.; 5th Jim O’Connor of Amarillo and Ed Rodriguez of Fritch with 5 fish weighing 9.42 lbs.; 6th Donnie Bell and Arvin Cowan of Fritch with 5 fish weighing 9.30 lbs.; 7th Jeff Alexander of Amarillo and Ron Alexander of Plains, KS with 5 fish weighing 9 lbs.; 8th Kevin Audrain and Kalin Audrain of Fritch with 5 fish weighing 8.80 lbs.; 9th Dan Turner of Dumas and David Turner of Bristow, OK with 5 fish weighing 8.12 lbs.; and 10th Brian and Amy Stangel of Albuquerque, NM with 4 fish weighing 7.97 lbs.
The second day brought constantly changing winds and weather, and the order of finish was vastly different except for the consistency of the McWilliams and Carr / Weston teams. Second place and $500 went to Kevin and Kalin Audrain with 5 fish weighing 10.70 lbs. The Audrains also won the big fish pot of $140 with a 3.72 lb. walleye. Third place and $200 went to J.D. Carr and Chuck Weston with 5 fish weighing 8.77 lbs. The rest of the top ten were: 4th Aaron Mesneak and Larry Price of Fritch with 5 fish weighing 8.43 lbs.; 5th Robert Reining of Panhandle and Brett Mills of Fritch with 5 fish weighing 8.36 lbs.; 6th Jim and LaDonna Welch with 4 fish weighing 7.88 lbs.; 7th Jim O’Connor and Ed Rodriguez with 5 fish weighing 7.87 lbs.; 8th Donnie Bell and Arvin Cowan with 5 fish weighing 7.76 lbs.; 9th Jeff and Ron Alexander with 5 fish weighing 7.24 lbs.; and 10th Mark and Monty Murphy of Woodward, OK with 3 fish weighing 5.79 lbs.
A total of $ 5,140 in winnings were awarded during the tournament and several hundreds of dollars in door prizes were given out during the pre-tournament meeting. All the teams in the tournament are to be commended for your outstanding example of true sportsmanship. Special recognition goes to Kevin Audrain for your excellent leadership during the year. Thanks also goes to Kalin Audrain, Donnie Bell, and Arvin Cowan for your valuable help through out the year. Scott Golden and Walleye Central for your help and donations including providing the delicious BBQ meal during the pre-meeting. We also want to thank J.D. Carr, Gander Mountain, Texhoma Credit Union, and Brian Stangel for their gifts and donations and to George Surles for providing the wonderful facilities at the marina. Donnie Bell will join Dan Turner as Co-Directors for the new season. Please, contact Dan at 935-3176 dturner@xit.net or Donnie at 857-2250 fishinbell123@yahoo.com for information or to make suggestions for the new year. We look forward to seeing lots of teams as we begin the new season with our Annual Fall Tournament to be announced soon! Come join us! |
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