Devils Lake, North Dakota — August 18, 2019 — After spending 13 days on the water prior to the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC) event at Devils Lake, Chad Lunde and Luke Schultz of Littleton, CO thought they had seen all they needed to know. This just wasn’t going to be “their weekend.”
Presented by Ranger Boats, the Devils Lake MWC tournament sent teams out across the vastness that is Devils Lake in North Dakota. With so many places for fish to hide and so many techniques to try, it was anyone’s guess as to who would have them locked down come Friday and Saturday. At the rules meeting Thursday night, Lunde and Schultz had no idea that less than 48 hours later they would be sitting with a chance to walk away with the win.
“We really had no plan and very low expectations.” Luke said in an interview after the win. “We had already used every rod and every lure in the boat while pre-fishing and thought we were just there to have some fun.” The team had zero fish when the clock struck 12:30pm on Friday afternoon, then something changed their entire weekend. “We saw something on the Lowrance side-imaging that caught our attention in 40 feet of water.” Said Luke.
Lunde talked about what happened next. “We got the idea to fish this spot like we would at home, pitching jigging-raps in deep water. At home we do it in 85 feet of water, here was only 40 feet, but it worked.” The anglers compiled a 5-fish, 26-02 limit in less than an hour on day one, good enough for second place, behind Jake and Gene Brueggemann’s 28-05.
“We didn’t go right to our spot on Saturday morning, honestly, we were worried that we were going to be followed, so we messed around a little to calm ourselves down and then found those fish once again.” Chad said. They once again put together a bag over 26 lbs. on day two for an impressive win, with 52 lbs. and 6 oz. “All we have wanted, for years, was to win an MWC event, we wanted that trophy, now we got it!”
Lunde and Schultz took home $14,085 in cash and prizes, including the $9,700 first-place cash payout, $3,685 option pot cash, $500 Lowrance Bonus, $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: Jarrod Fredericks & Steve Alverson 45-09, $4,800 cash, $2,500 option pot cash, $1000 Ranger Cup
3rd: Jake & Gene Brueggemann 39-07, $3,350 cash
4th: Terry Schlieve & Mearl Nelson 38-01, $2,600 cash
5th: Chris & Joe Kujawa 35-11 $2,250 cash, $1,500 option pot cash
All together the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit awarded $48,565 in cash and prizes in Devils Lake.
431 fish weighed a total of 1189lbs- 10ozs during the event. Travor Diegel & Paul Steffen took home “Big Fish” honors with their 8-00 walleye on Saturday. National Professional Angler Association member Spencer Deutz presented the NPAA’s Youth and Family Fishing Clinic for a rain-soaked group, Saturday afternoon, immediately following the weigh-in and gave away fishing rods to attendees.
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 35 years and is open to avid walleye anglers from all walks of life. The 2019 schedule includes eight qualifiers in six states, plus the 2020 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Championship.
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s – The World’s Foremost Outfitters, are in their 18th 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, Church Tackle, MotorGuide, Okuma, Power-Pole and T-H Marine. For more information, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.
