Coolicn, Nelson Take GNWC Qualifier at Little River 
By Steve Weisman 
GNWC Publicity Director

One walleye made a $2000 difference for the team of Jon Coolicn and Wade Nelson as they captured first place at Little River on the Iowa Circuit's first leg of the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC), Sunday, April 13. The Mason City duo's lone walleye was a 6.49 pounder that also gave them the Abu Garcia Big Fish Award of two Abu Garcia 6500 Linecounter reels.

The husband-wife team of Barbara and Richard Wiltening from Davenport took second place with two walleyes weighing 3.69 pounds. They took home $800 plus the Berkley Family Angler Award worth $250 in Berkley product.

Third place and a check for $600 went to Troy Loeckle of Floyd and Wesley Loeckle of Mason City for their two fish weighing 2.34 pounds. Meanwhile, Joe Kalvig from Nora springs and Don O'Tool from Clear Lake took fourth place ($500) with two walleyes weighing 2.32 pounds.

Of the 49 teams competing, a total of 20 teams weighed walleyes. Payback went to the top 12 teams. Even though the bite was tough, Tournament Director Dean Higgins was pleased with the opener. "There is no doubt it was tough fishing, but the teams really hung in there. There were lots of positive comments about the GNWC and that most of the teams said they were going to take a shot at both the State Championship and were also entered as National teams for the National competition."

Although there was no one hot pattern, there seemed to be two predominant strategies: jigging the channel or casting jigs into the shallows. Coolicn and Nelson popped their big fish about 8:30 Sunday morning on a chartreuse Twister Tail working the edge of the channel in about 20-25 feet of water. As they would learn later, that definitely would take the pressure off of them for the rest of the day.

The Wiltenings, meanwhile, cast small jigs tipped with a minnow up into the shallows, while the Loeckle team caught both of theirs using big minnows beneath slip bobbers in the shallower water.

Higgins added, "As so many times happens, more than one presentation will take fish on tournament day. I'd like to also thank the volunteers who helped with the weigh-in and release of the fish. They did a super job."

Higgins noted that the Iowa teams now take a couple weeks off before they hit Clear Lake on Sunday, May 4. "Clear Lake is a tremendous fishery, and traditionally we really have a great tournament there."

Interested anglers can call 1-800-890-3474, email the GNWC at info@walleyecup.com or check out the official GNWC website at walleyecup.com for all of the latest in GNWC information.

One last bit of news on the GNWC circuit is the addition of The Sportsman Channel as a major sponsoring partner. Executive Director Bernie Barringer had this to say about the Sportsman Channel. "The Sportsman Channel will air all of our state championships. It is a new and upcoming channel that I think outdoor enthusiasts will really like. From the research I have done, I think they will offer a top quality product. For those who do not get the Sportsman Channel, I encourage you to call your local cable company or satellite television provider and ask for it."

Major sponsoring partners for the GNWC include Ranger Boats, Mercury Outboards, Berkley, Abu-Garcia, The Sportsman Channel and UpNorthOutdoors.com.