Steve Weisman
06-26-2005, 11:46 PM
A Change in Strategy Takes Metschke, Call to the Top at Lake McConaughy Tournament
By Steve Weisman
GNWC Publicity Director
After four hours of jigging with live bait and no fish in the livewell, the team of Gene Metschke from Thornton, CO and Larry Call from Castle Rock, CO knew they had to do something different.
That something different turned out to be trolling chrome/blue #7 Shad Raps, and it turned into a five-fish limit weight of 20.32 pounds and a $1000 first place check at the Great Plains (Kansas-Nebraska) Region's Lake McConaughy Tournament held on Sunday, June 26.
This was the third of four tournaments for the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC), and according to GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer, the winners put together a solid game plan. "They tried jigging but knew they had to do something different. Their decision to pull for suspended fish with Shad Raps in 45 feet of water was definitely a great move."
Second place and a check for $550 went to the team of Kevin Snyder from Loveland, CO and Dane Brewer from Lakewood, CO with a five-fish limit weight of 13.51 pounds.
Meanwhile, the team of Mark Joslyn from Hoxie, KS and Blake Arnberger from Colby, KS took third place and a check for $480 with a five-fish limit weight of 12.74 pounds.
In addition to winning the Lake McConaughy Tournament, Metschke and Call also took the Cabela's Big Fish Award of a $200 Cabela's shopping spree and the optional Big Fish Pot for their 8.04-pound walleye.
Metschke and Call found their fish suspended at 25 feet over 45 feet of water about 500 yards off shore. "We had to try jigging because that was what we had done pre-fishing, but we both agreed by 11 this morning that it was time to switch. We used lead core line and let out three colors to get the Shad Rap down to the fish," said Metschke.
However, it was not without excitement. "We lost our landing net right away this morning, so we had to land the fish by hand," noted Metschke. That included the 8.04 pounder!
They brought the 28 incher to the scales, along with a 26 incher. "We did have to release another one close to 24 inches," added Metschke.
Snyder and Brewer, on the other hand, trolled Lindy rigs and red metallic hooks tied to four to six foot snells. "We caught three fourths of our fish on nightcrawlers," said Snyder. They targeted fish in 15-17 feet of water, working small breaks. They caught approximately 30 fish but sorted through a lot of smaller fish.
Joslyn and Blake found the Purple Demon Rip Shad to be their best bait. They targeted fish suspended at 13-17 feet over 42-49 feet of water. "We ran two lines with Fireline 40 feet out to the side of the boat on planer boards, and then ran them 120 feet back. Directly behind the boat, we used lead core on the other two lines," said Joslyn.
The Yo So Close Award, provided by AMFYOYO, manufacturer of the innovative stowable folding landing net, went to the three teams just finishing out of the money. They include John Rowland and Randy Rowland from North Platte, NE in 6th place; Kurt Miller from Centennial, CO and Ken Shepherd from Brighton, CO in 7th place; and Robert Purcell from Missouri Valley, IA and Allen Meyers from LaVista, NE in 8th place.
The next tournament for the Great Plains teams will be Sunday, July 17 on Milford Lake in Kansas. For those interested in entering this or any of the remaining qualifiers, call 1-800-890-FISH (3474), or email the GNWC at info@walleyecup.com.
Heading into the July 17th tournament, the team of Rich Farmer from Wichita, KS and Cliff Doty from Lincoln, NE have taken the lead in the race for the Great Plains Yamaha Outboards Team of the Year honors with a total of 16 points. The team of Doug Duncan and Tim Brockman from Wichita, KS is only one point behind with 17 points.
"We are heading into the last part of the year, and I encourage people to check out our website at www.walleyecup.com. I think they will find it extremely interesting to see how tournaments are going in each of the seven regions," said GNWC Executive Director Bernie 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 FoodSource Lure Corporation.
By Steve Weisman
GNWC Publicity Director
After four hours of jigging with live bait and no fish in the livewell, the team of Gene Metschke from Thornton, CO and Larry Call from Castle Rock, CO knew they had to do something different.
That something different turned out to be trolling chrome/blue #7 Shad Raps, and it turned into a five-fish limit weight of 20.32 pounds and a $1000 first place check at the Great Plains (Kansas-Nebraska) Region's Lake McConaughy Tournament held on Sunday, June 26.
This was the third of four tournaments for the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC), and according to GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer, the winners put together a solid game plan. "They tried jigging but knew they had to do something different. Their decision to pull for suspended fish with Shad Raps in 45 feet of water was definitely a great move."
Second place and a check for $550 went to the team of Kevin Snyder from Loveland, CO and Dane Brewer from Lakewood, CO with a five-fish limit weight of 13.51 pounds.
Meanwhile, the team of Mark Joslyn from Hoxie, KS and Blake Arnberger from Colby, KS took third place and a check for $480 with a five-fish limit weight of 12.74 pounds.
In addition to winning the Lake McConaughy Tournament, Metschke and Call also took the Cabela's Big Fish Award of a $200 Cabela's shopping spree and the optional Big Fish Pot for their 8.04-pound walleye.
Metschke and Call found their fish suspended at 25 feet over 45 feet of water about 500 yards off shore. "We had to try jigging because that was what we had done pre-fishing, but we both agreed by 11 this morning that it was time to switch. We used lead core line and let out three colors to get the Shad Rap down to the fish," said Metschke.
However, it was not without excitement. "We lost our landing net right away this morning, so we had to land the fish by hand," noted Metschke. That included the 8.04 pounder!
They brought the 28 incher to the scales, along with a 26 incher. "We did have to release another one close to 24 inches," added Metschke.
Snyder and Brewer, on the other hand, trolled Lindy rigs and red metallic hooks tied to four to six foot snells. "We caught three fourths of our fish on nightcrawlers," said Snyder. They targeted fish in 15-17 feet of water, working small breaks. They caught approximately 30 fish but sorted through a lot of smaller fish.
Joslyn and Blake found the Purple Demon Rip Shad to be their best bait. They targeted fish suspended at 13-17 feet over 42-49 feet of water. "We ran two lines with Fireline 40 feet out to the side of the boat on planer boards, and then ran them 120 feet back. Directly behind the boat, we used lead core on the other two lines," said Joslyn.
The Yo So Close Award, provided by AMFYOYO, manufacturer of the innovative stowable folding landing net, went to the three teams just finishing out of the money. They include John Rowland and Randy Rowland from North Platte, NE in 6th place; Kurt Miller from Centennial, CO and Ken Shepherd from Brighton, CO in 7th place; and Robert Purcell from Missouri Valley, IA and Allen Meyers from LaVista, NE in 8th place.
The next tournament for the Great Plains teams will be Sunday, July 17 on Milford Lake in Kansas. For those interested in entering this or any of the remaining qualifiers, call 1-800-890-FISH (3474), or email the GNWC at info@walleyecup.com.
Heading into the July 17th tournament, the team of Rich Farmer from Wichita, KS and Cliff Doty from Lincoln, NE have taken the lead in the race for the Great Plains Yamaha Outboards Team of the Year honors with a total of 16 points. The team of Doug Duncan and Tim Brockman from Wichita, KS is only one point behind with 17 points.
"We are heading into the last part of the year, and I encourage people to check out our website at www.walleyecup.com. I think they will find it extremely interesting to see how tournaments are going in each of the seven regions," said GNWC Executive Director Bernie 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 FoodSource Lure Corporation.