Marinette, Wisc — August 10, 2020 — The field of the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC) tournament, Presented by Mercury, was scattered throughout the bay of Green Bay August 7-9 with many hoping to cash in on a historic bite. Max Wilson (Campbellsport, WI) and Isaac Lakich (Richfield, WI) have been tracking this bite for weeks leading up to the MWC event. Though a great bite was to be expected, the delayed second day of competition was not.
The Masters Walleye Circuit’s tournament director, Jack Baker, made the decision to cancel fishing activities on Saturday, August 8th due to treacherous wind and weather conditions on the bay. “We always want a safe environment for our anglers to fish in.” Said Jack about his decision. “Many of these teams are making long runs, and although that’s a choice they make and not something they have to do, I want to make sure the desire for safety stays top-of-mind rather than the fish.”
Max and Isaac worried that their fish may have moved or that other conditions would cause them to stumble when fishing resumed on Sunday, August 9. When they arrived at their spot, they found water temperatures had dropped significantly, generally signaling a loss of active fish. “We dropped our electronics and saw the fish were still stacked there.” Max said as they weighed their fish that afternoon. “I looked over at Isaac and told him the fish are still here and I knew if they were here, we could catch them.” Isaac knew that between their time on the water Max and him had done all they could have done. “We have a solid pre-fishing plan. We split up and we checked and re-checked everything. We fish very similarly so I knew I could trust what he found and he could trust me.”
Max and Isaac weighed a total of 74lbs and brought home over $17,500 in cash and prizes, including the $10,600 first-place cash payout, $3,782.50 option pot cash, $500 AirWave certificate and a $1,000 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package, including paid entry into the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s NTC, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques.
The rest of the top five teams:
2nd: Wayne Butz & Scott Cisewski 69-12, $5,600 cash, $2,700 option pot cash $1,000 Ranger Cup bonus, $500 Lowrance bonus, $200 in Okuma reels
3rd: Jaran Cox & Quillan Rank 64-10, $3,750 cash, $1,700 option pot cash
4th: Michael McCardle & Scott Valleskey 64-01, $2,600 cash, $1,200 option pot cash
5th: Brandon & Tom McPeak 61-06, $2,150 cash
All together the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit awarded $54,772.50 in cash and prizes in Marinette, WI.
410 fish weighed a total of 2170 lbs. 14 oz. during the event.
Under the umbrella of The Walleye Federation (TWF), the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit is North America’s longest-running and undisputed leader in team walleye tournaments and as an inductee into the freshwater fishing hall of fame, has set the standard for competitive walleye fishing for 36 years and is open to avid walleye anglers from all walks of life. The 2020 schedule includes 7 qualifiers in seven states, plus the 2021 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Championship.
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s – The World’s Foremost Outfitters, are in their 19th season as title sponsor of the Masters Walleye Circuit. Official sponsors include: Lowe Equipment Attachments, Lowrance Electronics, Mercury Marine, Ranger Boats and The Walleye Federation. Associate sponsors include: AirWave Pedestals, Berkley, Church Tackle, Soft Steel, Okuma, Power-Pole and T-H Marine. For more information, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.
