Juls
10-18-2008, 06:05 PM
He's a Farmer and a Fisherman and now he's a PWT Champion!
Gil Mollet: "I put honey on my lures to sweeten them up!"
"Sue Bee Honey" Pro, Gil Mollet, of Jefferson, SD has just won the PWT Championship with a 5 fish limit weighing in at 12.50 pounds, and is taking home a beautiful Trophy and a check for $50,000.00!
He beat his partner and roommate, Dave Van Oss of Appleton, WI by 2.77 pounds! "He was always teasing me about always being second (Dave is a two time winner on the circuit), but now he can't say that anymore", said Gil laughing. "Now he was second for a change"!
Juls: Congratulations on your victory Gil! How does it feel to win your first PWT event?
Gil: I don't know...really...it hasn't sunk in yet! I absolutely can't believe it. I've had a couple seconds and a third, and I just kind of resigned myself, and said, "Ok...I'm NOT going to win one of these things". Oh, don't get me wrong...I'm still going to come out here, trying! But, I've been close, and I've done well, and that's great, but it's just......(he fixes on a thought)
Maybe just going out today thinking that I just had one more day to fish, and I was going to go out and have fun before I had to go home to pick corn, that maybe that relaxed me...maybe I fished harder...I don't know. Things just went right for me today.
Juls: Can you tell our Walleye Central readers what you were doing today to catch your fish?
Gil: Sure! I was pulling crankbaits on Leadcore. Mostly Flicker Shads...they seemed to be the best. I went through quite a few of them this week, trying them, so they got a little low by the end of the tournament here on the fourth day of fishing.
The area I was fishing was pretty much a sandy area. The only key that I can see that was any different in that area at all, was it was the only area all week that I've been up here, that had birds diving in the water...consistently almost all day long. You could see the baitfish moving up and down the shoreline, with the way the birds were diving in the water...and when they started moving down the shoreline and the birds started diving in the water two-three hundred yards this way or that way, I'd concentrate off that pod of fish...or, off that pod of bait that was getting chased up.
Now, whether it was White Bass, Walleye, or a combination of fish pushing them, it seemed like that that's what worked the best. The key was to stay close to that pod of bait.
Today, I could follow that bait for at least 2/3 of the day, before they disappeared.
First place was the big winner, but everyone who participated in the shootout today will go home with a little pocket money. Everyone from second place on down won $750.00 for their efforts.
The Pros all talked about the good times they've had over the years on the PWT, and thanked them for all the good years that they did have with them. They also took the opportunity to thank all their sponsors for all the help they give them through the seasons.
Daryl Christianson announced his retirement from Professional Walleye Tournament Fishing, but said that he would still be doing the sportshows, seminars, and other sponsor related duties that will keep him in and around the sport.
Many Pros spoke about the new circuit, AIM, and said that they look forward to fishing it next season. They are hoping to have more information out very soon on their site...http://www.aimfishing.com.
Looking at the Leader Board results is deceiving, because there are a lot of zeros from anglers that you normally don't see any zeros from. The reason is, they felt that the only way to win was to keep fish over a certain size, like 18-19 inches for example.
A lot of fish were thrown back today that probably shouldn't have been. But, that's easy to say in hind sight or from the comfort of my computer chair! It's a different situation in the boat, when at the time a fish is caught, one must make the decision to keep or toss it back....especially when it's a no-cull tournament.
A few of those Pros who zeroed still crossed the stage and spoke with the PWT Tournament Director, Chip Leer. "I knew this would be the last time I would ever cross the PWT stage ever again", said Johnnie Candle. "When I started fishing this circuit back in the 90's, I was the youngest Pro at the time, so I've grown up with all these guys. It's sad to see it all end".
The PWT is over ladies and gentlemen. There were some great memories made during the last 19 years, and some great friendships forged that will last forever.
Juls
Gil Mollet: "I put honey on my lures to sweeten them up!"
"Sue Bee Honey" Pro, Gil Mollet, of Jefferson, SD has just won the PWT Championship with a 5 fish limit weighing in at 12.50 pounds, and is taking home a beautiful Trophy and a check for $50,000.00!
He beat his partner and roommate, Dave Van Oss of Appleton, WI by 2.77 pounds! "He was always teasing me about always being second (Dave is a two time winner on the circuit), but now he can't say that anymore", said Gil laughing. "Now he was second for a change"!
Juls: Congratulations on your victory Gil! How does it feel to win your first PWT event?
Gil: I don't know...really...it hasn't sunk in yet! I absolutely can't believe it. I've had a couple seconds and a third, and I just kind of resigned myself, and said, "Ok...I'm NOT going to win one of these things". Oh, don't get me wrong...I'm still going to come out here, trying! But, I've been close, and I've done well, and that's great, but it's just......(he fixes on a thought)
Maybe just going out today thinking that I just had one more day to fish, and I was going to go out and have fun before I had to go home to pick corn, that maybe that relaxed me...maybe I fished harder...I don't know. Things just went right for me today.
Juls: Can you tell our Walleye Central readers what you were doing today to catch your fish?
Gil: Sure! I was pulling crankbaits on Leadcore. Mostly Flicker Shads...they seemed to be the best. I went through quite a few of them this week, trying them, so they got a little low by the end of the tournament here on the fourth day of fishing.
The area I was fishing was pretty much a sandy area. The only key that I can see that was any different in that area at all, was it was the only area all week that I've been up here, that had birds diving in the water...consistently almost all day long. You could see the baitfish moving up and down the shoreline, with the way the birds were diving in the water...and when they started moving down the shoreline and the birds started diving in the water two-three hundred yards this way or that way, I'd concentrate off that pod of fish...or, off that pod of bait that was getting chased up.
Now, whether it was White Bass, Walleye, or a combination of fish pushing them, it seemed like that that's what worked the best. The key was to stay close to that pod of bait.
Today, I could follow that bait for at least 2/3 of the day, before they disappeared.
First place was the big winner, but everyone who participated in the shootout today will go home with a little pocket money. Everyone from second place on down won $750.00 for their efforts.
The Pros all talked about the good times they've had over the years on the PWT, and thanked them for all the good years that they did have with them. They also took the opportunity to thank all their sponsors for all the help they give them through the seasons.
Daryl Christianson announced his retirement from Professional Walleye Tournament Fishing, but said that he would still be doing the sportshows, seminars, and other sponsor related duties that will keep him in and around the sport.
Many Pros spoke about the new circuit, AIM, and said that they look forward to fishing it next season. They are hoping to have more information out very soon on their site...http://www.aimfishing.com.
Looking at the Leader Board results is deceiving, because there are a lot of zeros from anglers that you normally don't see any zeros from. The reason is, they felt that the only way to win was to keep fish over a certain size, like 18-19 inches for example.
A lot of fish were thrown back today that probably shouldn't have been. But, that's easy to say in hind sight or from the comfort of my computer chair! It's a different situation in the boat, when at the time a fish is caught, one must make the decision to keep or toss it back....especially when it's a no-cull tournament.
A few of those Pros who zeroed still crossed the stage and spoke with the PWT Tournament Director, Chip Leer. "I knew this would be the last time I would ever cross the PWT stage ever again", said Johnnie Candle. "When I started fishing this circuit back in the 90's, I was the youngest Pro at the time, so I've grown up with all these guys. It's sad to see it all end".
The PWT is over ladies and gentlemen. There were some great memories made during the last 19 years, and some great friendships forged that will last forever.
Juls