| | By Steve Weisman
I.O.W.A. Publicity Director
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Riding the momentum of their 7.76-pound kicker fish on Sunday, the team of Brad Bull from Mason City and Wes Rose from Terril put together a two-day twelve-fish limit weight of 41.04 pounds to take the Cabela’s Iowa Organization of Walleye Anglers (I.O.W.A.) State Championship held on Pools 9-11 on the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien.
For their efforts, Bull and Rose collected $3,000 in cash, two $2500 Algona Marine and Sport certificates, two $500 Cabela’s gift cards, two $500 certificates from King’s Pointe Resort in Storm Lake, two Smooth Move Seat Mounts and the EZEE Step Award bringing the total purse to $12,000 in cash and prizes.
In addition, the winners also weighed in the big fish each day, a 5.55 pounder on Saturday and a 7.76 pounder on Sunday to win the ABU Garcia Line Counter Lunker Award and the $560 optional Big Fish Pot.
Meanwhile, Kirk Moe from Algona and Eric Moe from Bode, who had the Day I lead over Bull and Rose by less than a pound, managed a six fish limit each day, but they could not boat the needed kicker fish and slipped to second place with a 12-fish weight of 30.36 pounds. They won $1700 for second place, another $500 for the highest placing team fishing from a Lund boat and the $500 Wright County Motors Award for the highest placing team that purchased a vehicle from Wright County Motors. Ironically enough, even though they were second overall, they also won the Lightest Limit Weight Award and a pair of ABU Garcia Line Counter reels.
“Kirk and Eric gave a great effort and put the pressure on Brad and Wes, but they are seasoned tournament veterans, and their two kicker fish really made the difference for the winners,” said Dean Higgins I.O.W.A. Tournament Director. “Floating dead grass made things difficult for everybody, but this is a great fishery and when the teams found the fish and put things together, they caught quality fish.”
Third place and a check for $1250 went to the team of Bryan Paul from Buffalo Center and Kevan Paul from Clear Lake with a two-day seven-fish weight of 26.30 pounds. Fourth place went to the team of Denny Miller from Guttenberg and Roger Clark from Albert Lee, MN with a seven-fish weight of 21.47 pounds and a check for $1000.
The Comeback Award team was the team of Jason Lee from Denison and David Murray from Carlisle, who were blanked on Saturday but came back with a three-fish weight of 7.32 pounds on Sunday. They won a free entry to a 2009 I.O.W.A. tournament.
The team of Mitch Skellenger from Garner and Travis Jorgensen from Britt took the Need Mack’s Lure Award of two $100 Mack’s Lure certificates.
For the I.O.W.A. circuit, the State Championship was also the time to give back to the community of Prairie du Chien. “We have I.O.W.A. Conservation Fund that we give out each year to a fishery and community where we have fished. This year we gave $500 to the newly initiated Prairie du Chien Recreation Program that provides fishing opportunities for their kids fishing program and for youngsters with special needs.”
Higgins added, “It really was a great weekend. Tim Hutchinson, local guide and tackle manufacturer, arranged to have 10 volunteers to help at the weigh-in site along with the walleye release boat each day. As the championship sponsor, Cabela’s really gave the I.O.W.A. teams great support with the two gift cards to the winners, a special employee discount for all I.O.W.A. anglers on Friday and their attendance at our events this weekend. Plus, FCIS Anglers Choice Insurance from Forest City provided donuts and coffee each day. And, of course, to all of our year-long corporate sponsors-what tremendous support they have given the I.O.W.A. circuit. All I can say is ‘they are the best!’”
The Winning Game Plan
Bull and Rose stuck with a game plan that included Lindy Rigging Willow Cats along wing dams in Pools 9 and 10. “We had fish going off of four different places,” said Rose. “We knew we had big fish going, but we also knew that we had to make every bite count. The river is tough, and we knew we would have only so many opportunities.”
Even though they were in second place on Saturday, Bull and Rose kept to Saturday’s plan. However, the game-winner came late on Sunday afternoon. “With the lock system, we knew we had to leave early enough from Pool 9 to get back to the weigh-in site in time. So, we left and once we got back to Pool 10, we hit one last spot.”
The rest is history: a 7.7-pound walleye that clinched the title. “I don’t even know what the length was. Brad was jumping all over, and I knew it was big, so we put it in the livewell and headed for the weigh-in site,” added Rose.
For the runner-up team, Lindy Rigging Willow Cats along the face of one key wing dam in Pool 10 was the key to their success. Kirk Moe said, “We had great fish going on Day I, but Sunday, the bigger fish moved off and were replaced by smaller 15 ˝ to 17 ˝ inch fish. We had two chances at bigger kicker fish and lost both of them!” Their strategy was to move the bait two to three inches at a time, then tighten up the line and let it sit and then start the process all over again.
Brother Eric added that they finally gave up on their hot spot toward the endof the day on Sunday and moved to another wing dam. “We took an 18 ˝ and 23 incher off that spot. Without them, we wouldn’t have gotten second place.” They both agreed that the dead grass made fishing difficult, but when you have an opportunity like this, it’s definitely worth the effort.
For Bryan and Kevan Paul, the third place finishers, pre-fishing had brought little luck, only one keeper fish. Bryan said, “We really didn’t get into a pattern until about 1 o’clock on Saturday.” The hot lure turned out to be one special crankbait: a #7 Firetiger Wally Diver. The trouble is they only had one on Saturday and after scrounging through all of their tackle boxes, found a second one in a box on Sunday.
Kevan added, “We didn’t catch a lot of fish, but they were all nice fish. We found our fish along the tip of a wing dam straight across from the Wisconsin River.” Their technique was to cast and then reel the Wally Divers back to the boat as fast as they could, similar to a musky retrieve. The bad news? They lost both baits by early afternoon on Sunday!
With the crowning of Bull and Rose as the 2008 State Champions, the 2008 I.O.W.A. Team Walleye circuit draws to a close. However, anglers interested in learning more about the I.O.W.A circuit and the 2009 season can get on the I.O.W.A. website at www.walleyepromotions.com, call (515) 571-1085 or email the I.O.W.A. staff at walleyepromotions@hotmail.com.
Corporate sponsors for the 2008 season include Lund, Mercury Outboards, ShoreLand'r Trailers, Algona Marine and Sport, MinnKota, Humminbird, ABU Garcia, Cabela's, Mack's Lure, Smooth Move Seat Mounts, EZEE Step Inc., FCIS Anglers Choice Insurance of Forest City, Line X of Mason City, King’s Pointe Resort of Storm Lake and Wright County Motors of Clarion. |
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