Visit the Tourney Finder for up to date information

2001 Results | 2002 Results | 2003 Results

2000 Tournament Results below:

Repeat Game Plan Works for Tim Lynch and Scott Gray

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin - June 11, 2000 . . . Following the same game plan in fishing works for some but not for others. So it was Sunday for Tim Lynch, Eldorado, Wis. and Scott Gray, St. Cloud, Minn., in winning $13,000 first prize in the 25th Annual Mercury National Walleye Tournament beating 299 other teams including first round leaders Joe Cartwright and Art Walters, both of Appleton. Their total was 27.43 lbs. 

Gray and Lynch, both who attended high school in Ripon, climbed from second to the top of the leaderboard with another steady day of fishing with a six fish limit of 14.63 lbs. 

“We had a limit of fish on Saturday as well,” said Gray. “We decided to repeat our success by fishing the same waters on west side of Lake Winnebago just south of Oshkosh. We made most of our catches fishing the shallow rocks. Some bites came early but it was on and off most of the day.”  

A repeat game plan didn’t work as well for Cartwright and Walters. Their four fish weighed in at almost half the previous day. They had 13.94 lbs. Saturday only to finish with a heart-wrenching 6.59 lbs. Sunday. 

“We caught our first fish at noon and the other three just before the deadline,” said Walters. “We lived and died fishing the same pattern and location where we had caught our limit on Saturday,” said Walters. Their efforts brought them an eighth place finish and $2.200 in prize money.

The second place team was Brad Skupas and Randy Harwood, both of Oshkosh who had 24.52 lbs. of fish for $7,500. They had been in 7th place on Saturday. Finishing third both days was Dale Howard, Larsen and John Geiger, Neenah at 24.22 lbs. for a $5,500 paycheck.  

Rounding out the top five were fourth place finishers Mike Theyerl, Two Rivers, Wis., and his brother Dennis Theyerl, Mishicot, Wis. with 23.73 lbs. for $3,500 in prize money. Fifth was Dave Ehlke, Oshkosh, Wis. and Rick Haedt, Berlin, Wis., at 22.73 lbs. for $2,500. 

A total of $85,000 in cash and prizes was awarded to a field of fishermen competing from eight states.

The tournament’s appeal along with sunny weather in the 80’s was a factor for record crowds. Kathy Wollersheim, Dir. of Fond du Lac Festivals reported the two-day attendance at about 100,000 people. 

The big fish of the weekend was caught by Tim Theder, Watertown, Wis. at 5.61 lbs. Besides a 9.9 hp Mercury Outboards 4-stroke, Theder, fishing with his brother Dave, also received a plague honoring the late Dan Schaad who had been the tournament director helping to grow the tournament to the most prestigious single walleye event in the nation. 

A total of 1245 fish were caught over the two days according to Kendall Kamke, Sr. Fisheries Biologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Kamke said the weekend catches appeared very healthy. “Most of the catches were in the 15 to 18 inch range and average weight was just under two pounds,” he said.  

Checks for $3,000 were presented to both the FishAmerica Foundation and Walleyes for Tomorrow, two groups dedicated to preserving and enhancing fish habitat and populations. The money raised came for the $300 team entry fees. 

1999 Final Results

1.   Rick Cavanaugh/Jim Cavanaugh
23.96/ $13,000.00       

2.   James O'Brien Sr./James O'Brien Jr.
23.92/ $7,500.00

3.   Kyle Harmsen/Joe Durant
23.68/ $5,500.00

4.      Quinn J. Papp/Barry Wanasek
23.60/ $3,500.00

5.      Mark Presta/John Kennedy
23.12/ $2,500.00

6.      LeRoy Schroeder/Kim Schroeder
22.36/ $2,400.00

7.      Bill Koval/Kyle Morgan
22.31/ $2,300.00

8.      Brian Anderson/Todd Asmus
22.14/ $2,200.00

9.      Donn Golden/ Bob Dehaven
21.63/ $2,100.00

10.     Bill Standke/ Barb Standke
21.56/ $2,000.00

11.     Tony Kobriger/ Dan Muthig
20.93/ $1,900.00

12.     Matt Jacobson/ Leon Luker
20.84/ $1,800.00

13.     Bob Perry/ Jeffery Schaub
20.78/ $1,700.00

14.     Tim Theder/ Dave Theder
20.74/ $1,600.00

15.     Steve Grams/ Todd Grams
20.69/ $1,500.00

16.     Don Lang/ Bruce Donner
20.48/ $1,400.00

17.     Steve Balliu/ Jeff Denboer
20.01/ $1,300.00

18.     Pat Frohrib/ James Onken
19.82/ $1,200.00

19.     Joe Cartwright/ Art Walters
19.79/ $1,100.00

20.     Don Keenen/ Craig Jahnke
19.72/ $1,000.00
                            
Big Fish on Sunday was 7.06# ...by team Ziemer/Ziemer.. Prize was a Merc.
9.9 4 stroke kicker.
 

For more information contact:

Jim Coon  (920) 731-3474