| | Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit Presented by The Outdoor Channel will conclude the tournament season on Lake Erie, August 19-20.
Minnetonka, MN – The Cabela’s MWC travels to Dunkirk, NY for the final event of the East Division with a total purse of $47,400. Not only is this the last of the East Division tournaments, but Dunkirk, NY is also the absolute qualifying tournament of the season: “Many anglers are bringing high expectations to Dunkirk, and looking to finish well in the Cabela’s MWC Challenge. At the same time, the Dunkirk event will be the summation in determining who the players will be in the Cabela’s World Walleye Championship in 2006” said Mike Gering, Marketing Asset Manager for Cabela’s. “We will see thirteen teams out of the East Division and thirty-three out of the Central Division qualify for the Cabela’s WWC event in ’06. In addition, nine teams will be eligible through the Challenge, and five qualifiers from the Cabela’s National Team Championship [NTC] event will also participate in the ’06 Cabela’s WWC.”
Intrigue is growing as many speculate as to which team prevails at the Challenge to become Cabela’s MWC Team of the Year. The race is currently heating up between the number one team of Jay Janny and Kim “Chief” Papineau [who still have yet to fish their fourth tournament] and the present number two team of Don Frederick and Wayne Butz. The Cabela’s MWC Challenge will pay-out a total of $20,000, with the Team of the Year taking $13,000. According to current number two team member Don Frederick, “Chief & Jay have a good chance at beating us, but they have to place 10th or better to bump us out . . . we were in second place 4 years ago going into the final qualifying event, and got beat out by 21 points by Tom and Mark Keenan.”
“We had a good year with our Central Division team of the year victory at Menominee in July. We fished 24th at Spring Valley, 41st on Winnebago, and 14th up at Green Bay in Menominee, so we started thinking, we got a good shot at this challenge” said Jay Janny of Eagle, WI. “Chief & I have both fished Dunkirk, NY before, so we threw our hat in the ring.”
MWC angler Keith Eshbaugh said; “my expectation for Dunkirk is that just about everyone is going to bring in a lot of big fish. We want to maintain our lead in the East Division Team of the Year race, which I don’t think will be a real problem, but you never know.” Tim Waltz and Jamie Sherman are seven points behind current leaders, Eshbaugh and partner, Jeff Behr for East Division Team of the Year.
“The Cabela’s MWC Dunkirk event will also relinquish the East Division Husband / Wife Team of the Year, and the East Division Father / Son Team of the Year. We understand that this particular region on Lake Erie is having a very impressive bite. This is probably the best time to fish Lake Erie” according to Kurt Beckstrom Editor, North American Fisherman. “The current Cabela’s MWC big fish record of 12.34 pounds could be challenged here as could the 68.4 pound two day weight record. The current MWC one day record of 43.45 pounds caught at Henderson Harbor this year by Nate Capton Jr. of Niagara Falls, NY, and Dave Waldeck of Sanborn could also be in jeopardy.”
Don Ryan of the Chadwick Bay Marina affirmed Beckstrom’s take on the conditions; “we are noted for our Walleye fishery, all-in-all, we have about the best fishing you’ll find on Lake Erie. This is the best time of the year when the Cabela’s MWC is coming in, the fish are just setting-up right out in the harbor, they’re only about 4 ½ miles out and the charter captains are coming in with their limits. Right now water temperatures are 78-79 on the surface, and it holds in the 70’s down to about 55 degrees. When it drops, it drops right down to the 50’s, there’s not very much 60 degree water out there.”
The Cabela’s WWC tournament is slated for September 28 thru October 1, 2005 on the mighty Mississippi River, pools nine and ten, at Prairie du Chien, WI. The current roster is at 66.
For more information on tournament openings contact the MWC toll-free at 877-893-7947 or drop an e-mail to events@masterswalleyecircuit.com. Rules and registration forms are available online at www.masterswalleyecircuit.com.
The Masters Walleye Circuit title sponsor is Cabela’s – the World’s Foremost Outfitter. You can find all the sponsors’ products at Cabela’s. In addition to Cabela’s and The Outdoor Channel, other MWC sponsors include: Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Lindy Legendary Tackle, MotorGuide, Lowrance Electronics, North American Fishing Club, Salmo Performance Lures, Daiichi Hooks, Panther Marine, Aqua Innovations and WalleyeCentral.com |
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