Steve Weisman
06-02-2005, 10:31 PM
South Dakota Teams Prepare for Bitter Lake Tournament
By Steve Weisman
GNWC Publicity Director
Bitter Lake-once a duck slough, now a premier walleye fishery in northeast South Dakota and the site for the South Dakota Region's third tournament on the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC). Scheduled for Sunday, June 12, the Bitter Lake Tournament will offer many challenges to the competing teams.
GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer sees an interesting tournament unfolding. "The history of Bitter Lake is similar to other bodies of water in northeast South Dakota. For much of its history, it was a duck slough, and at one time, it was totally dry. Then came the incredibly wet years in the 1990s, and now you have a walleye lake with over 20 feet of water."
Marsha Block, manager of Fisherman's Village located on the northeast side of Bitter Lake, says even though the weather has been up and down this May, walleye fishermen have had success. "We do have a weedline started, and the fish have been biting when we get a few days of consistent weather." Black noted that the walleyes will range from 14 to 24 inches.
"Bitter Lake is full of fresh water shrimp, so the fish grow fast," added
Block. "Much of the lake is flooded farm ground. So for structure, you will have farmers' rock piles and even flooded roads." Block believes a consistent, sunny weather pattern would trigger a good walleye bite.
According to Barringer, one of the exciting parts of the Bitter Lake Tournament is the race for the "Yamaha Team of the Year" honors in the South Dakota Region. After two tournaments, Todd Hight from Pierre, SD and Ron Gunn from Ft. Pierre, SD hold a three point lead over Doug Iverson from Pierre, SD and Rolfe Behrend from Brookings, SD.
The tournament director will have the trailer at Larry's Landing from 6-8 p.m. the evening before the tournament to take late entries and answer questions. Take-off is at 7 a.m. with the weigh-in commencing at 3 p.m. sharp at Larry's Landing.
"I encourage folks to come to the weigh-in. I look for excellent competition. The weigh-in is a great opportunity for folks to get a glimpse at what tournament fishing is all about and to also find out what the teams did to catch their fish. Also, we will have a couple of Aqua-Vu underwater cameras set up in our release tanks so that the public can see how they work," added Barringer.
For those interested in entering, the entry fee remains at $210 per team for each tournament. Openings do still exist for the Bitter Lake qualifier, and Barringer encourages interested anglers to contact him at 1-800-890-FISH (3474), or email the GNWC at info@walleyecup.com. "I also encourage people to check out our website at www.walleyecup.com and see what is happening in all seven regions of the Grand National Walleye Cup," added Barringer.
Major national sponsors for the GNWC include Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Lowrance Electronics, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, Aqua-VU, Aqua Innovations, Cabela's and UpNorthOutdoors.com. National championship sponsors are Towtector Shield and the VIB"E" Lure Company.
By Steve Weisman
GNWC Publicity Director
Bitter Lake-once a duck slough, now a premier walleye fishery in northeast South Dakota and the site for the South Dakota Region's third tournament on the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC). Scheduled for Sunday, June 12, the Bitter Lake Tournament will offer many challenges to the competing teams.
GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer sees an interesting tournament unfolding. "The history of Bitter Lake is similar to other bodies of water in northeast South Dakota. For much of its history, it was a duck slough, and at one time, it was totally dry. Then came the incredibly wet years in the 1990s, and now you have a walleye lake with over 20 feet of water."
Marsha Block, manager of Fisherman's Village located on the northeast side of Bitter Lake, says even though the weather has been up and down this May, walleye fishermen have had success. "We do have a weedline started, and the fish have been biting when we get a few days of consistent weather." Black noted that the walleyes will range from 14 to 24 inches.
"Bitter Lake is full of fresh water shrimp, so the fish grow fast," added
Block. "Much of the lake is flooded farm ground. So for structure, you will have farmers' rock piles and even flooded roads." Block believes a consistent, sunny weather pattern would trigger a good walleye bite.
According to Barringer, one of the exciting parts of the Bitter Lake Tournament is the race for the "Yamaha Team of the Year" honors in the South Dakota Region. After two tournaments, Todd Hight from Pierre, SD and Ron Gunn from Ft. Pierre, SD hold a three point lead over Doug Iverson from Pierre, SD and Rolfe Behrend from Brookings, SD.
The tournament director will have the trailer at Larry's Landing from 6-8 p.m. the evening before the tournament to take late entries and answer questions. Take-off is at 7 a.m. with the weigh-in commencing at 3 p.m. sharp at Larry's Landing.
"I encourage folks to come to the weigh-in. I look for excellent competition. The weigh-in is a great opportunity for folks to get a glimpse at what tournament fishing is all about and to also find out what the teams did to catch their fish. Also, we will have a couple of Aqua-Vu underwater cameras set up in our release tanks so that the public can see how they work," added Barringer.
For those interested in entering, the entry fee remains at $210 per team for each tournament. Openings do still exist for the Bitter Lake qualifier, and Barringer encourages interested anglers to contact him at 1-800-890-FISH (3474), or email the GNWC at info@walleyecup.com. "I also encourage people to check out our website at www.walleyecup.com and see what is happening in all seven regions of the Grand National Walleye Cup," added Barringer.
Major national sponsors for the GNWC include Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Lowrance Electronics, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, Aqua-VU, Aqua Innovations, Cabela's and UpNorthOutdoors.com. National championship sponsors are Towtector Shield and the VIB"E" Lure Company.