Brueggemanns Clinch the Lead Day One at World Walleye Championship and Never Let It Go

Presented by Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s

Moline, Ill — October 13, 2020 — Competitors from 13 different states converged on the Mississippi River for the 2020 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit’s (MWC) World Walleye Championship (WWC) anchored out of Moline, Il and hosted by Visit Quad Cities October 8^th-10^th. Nebraskan Father-Son team of Jake and Gene Brueggemann (Wilber and Clatonia, NE) weighed one of the largest 5-fish baskets of the event on the very first day and never looked back.

Casting Berkley Flicker Shads all day long for three days of competition took a toll on the elder Brueggeman, but Gene jokingly said he still had enough strength to hoist the championship trophies. “I don’t think I have ever cast that much before. I think I know what these muskie fishermen feel like.” The team drew upon knowledge they learned from locals in the area and that of their fellow friends and competitors that have spent ample time on the Muddy Mississippi.

The duo set a goal to catch five fish each day, which grew harder with each sunrise as fewer legal fish were catchable in the small area they fished. “We had one spot and each day we went in it got harder. Today we only caught 6 fish, one was a slot fish the rest we put in the box.” Jake said after the team’s final weigh-in. The challenge for them and many of the anglers at this event was the slot limit. Teams could bring five fish to the scales, but they needed to be between 15-19.9” of over 27”. The Quad cities area has lots of fish that measure between 20” and 26.9”, keeping the teams catching, but challenging their opportunity to weigh fish.

Surrounded by friends and family at the end of three hard-fought days of fishing, Jake and Gene Breuggemann finished the event with 32-10, a three-pound advantage over 2^nd place and over $20,000 richer. The pair wore the emotion of the win on their faces as they mustered up the final bit of arm-strength to hoist the trophies over their heads and rightfully claim the title of World Walleye Champions.

The lucrative payout for Jake and Gene began with that $20,000 cash and continued with $1,200 worth of championship rings, a Lowrance HDS 9 LIVE ($1,999), Power Pole Pro Pole II ($1,600), $500 Lowrance LIVE bonus, Power Pole Drift Paddle ($200), a $500 AirWave certificate and $200 Okuma reels

The rest of the top five teams:

2^nd: Peter & Ted Mart 29-14, $10,000 cash, Power Pole Pro Pole II ($1,600), Power Pole Drift Paddle ($200)

3^rd: Casey Williams & Kent Leibhart 28-03, $5,000 cash, Power Pole Drift Paddle ($200), $150 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Gift Cards, TH Marine Z-Launch Cord ($50)

4^th: Jeff Synak & Jake Hammer 24-00, $3,000 cash, $1,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

5^th: Tim & Tom Ahrens 23-11, $2,500 cash

All together the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit awarded $119,846.05 in cash and prizes in the Quad Cities.

221 fish weighed a total of 423 lbs. 05 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 included seven qualifiers in seven states to qualify for the 2021 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Championship in Lake City, MN.

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.

Cliffe, Nix Win 2020 Regular Season Final at the Illinois River

Presented by Lowrance

Spring Valley, Ill — October 7, 2020 — Adrian Cliffe and Brent Nix gambled on a 40 mile-run down river through two days of fishing to win the 2020 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC) qualifier at the Illinois River. The final championship-qualifying event for 2020 was presented by Lowrance and found many of the Spring Valley faithful scrambling for a bite.  Having local knowledge of the system and “go for broke” attitude the pair took home the $8,300 cash and more.

Spring Valley, IL and the Illinois River have a decades-long history with the MWC, but due to Covid-19 the 2020 event took a turn few were prepared for. For its entire history, the event placed on the Illinois River in Spring Valley has always been a spring-time event. Some anglers have been fishing that spring event since the beginning. The introduction of the pandemic and ensuing Covid restriction, the March event was moved to October, challenging many of the anglers that typically fish the river as a start to their season.

Competitors made the best of it and found bites a variety of ways. The winners, Cliffe and Nix found that trolling was the right way to catch over 22lbs of fish over the course of the event. “That’s what worked best for us so far.” When asked how he was catching fish before the rules meeting on Thursday afternoon. “What I am concerned about is that we have had two great days of pre-fishing in a row here, which means we need to have four great days to win this thing.” Cliffe and Nix had not only another couple of great days, it was enough to solidify the win against a great group of anglers.

With the top weight of 22-08, Adrian and Brent took home over $11,000 in cash and prizes, including the $8,300 first-place cash payout, $1,000 Ranger Cup bonus, $500 AirWave certificate, $200 Okuma reels 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:

2^nd: Robert Hausler & Chris Clemmons 21-01, $4,000 cash

3^rd: Jim Passo & butch Rabetski 20-08, $2,300 cash

4^th: Adam & Steve Sandor 20-03, $2,000 cash

5^th: Chase Rockstead & Andy Pogorzelski 20-01, $1,600 cash, $2,853 option pot cash

The 9^th place team of Casey Williams and Kent Leibhart took home the $500 Lowrance bonus from the Illinois River.

All together the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit awarded $31,637 in cash and prizes in Spring Valley, IL.

391 fish weighed a total of 624 lbs. 08 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.

Cass Lake, Minn — September 22, 2020 — The Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC) prides its self on being the premier walleye team tournament trail in the world. So, it should come as no surprise that anglers from all walks of life strive to not only find their way into an MWC event but succeed when they arrive. Tom Huynh (Moorehead, MN) and Nate Wolske (Boy River, MN) are self-described “Bass Guys” that decided this summer to switch their sole focus on bass and explore the world of walleye tournament fishing. Presented by Mercury, the MWC event held on Cass Lake September 18-19 saw many local walleye anglers making a run at the top spot, but along came Tom and Nate with a record setting 37-00 weight after two days of fishing. 

Tom and Nate arrived at Cass Lake early in the week to begin exploring the near 16,000 acres of water. Having never been to Cass before, they knew they needed to check anything that could hold fish. That included some of the deepest holes they could find. “We found some fish at 55 feet of water at first and thought, Ok, I guess we are fishing deep.” Tom Huynh said after securing the win. “Then we slid out to 65 feet, then 68 and we saw these large marks around bait balls of cisco.” The duo found themselves nearly alone in their “honey hole” and reaped the benefits of coming into this event without preconceived ideas about where to find fish, a trap many anglers can find themselves in when fishing is tough.

Minnesota state law allows only one fish over 20” to be kept per angler each day, making it far more challenging to achieve weights that rival destinations like Lake Erie or Green Bay. But Cass Lake is a healthy fishery and Huynh and Wolske found a way to average 3.7 pounds per fish with six of their fish being under 20” and only four over that 20” mark through two days of competition.

Previously the top weights at Cass Lake have been just over 34lbs, but that wasn’t quite enough to take home the $10,400 first-place check this weekend. Zac Christenson (Cambridge, MN) and Toby Kvalevog(Brainard, MN) placed second with 34-15, the second most ever to be weighed at Cass. “Who would have thought that if you bring in 34 pounds of fish here you would only take second?” Toby mentioned after Saturday’s weigh-in. “This lake is a lot of fun right now.”

With the top weight Tom and Nate took home over $15,500 in cash and prizes, including the $10,400 first-place cash payout, $3,400.00 option pot cash, $500 AirWave certificate, $200 Okuma reels 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:

2^nd: Zac Christenson & Toby Kvalevog 34-15, $5,350 cash, $2,327 option pot cash and the $500 Lowrance bonus

3^rd: Steve Weickert & Joe Balcer 34-05, $3,600 cash, $1,450 option pot cash

4^th: Dan & Alexa Fuller 30-04, $2,600 cash

5^th: Dennis & Don Marx 29-13, $2,100 cash, $950 option pot cash

The 11^th place team of Doug and Mark Gallant took home the $1,000 Ranger Cup bonus from Cass Lake.

All together the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit awarded $49,567 in cash and prizes at Cass Lake, MN.

515 fish weighed a total of 1,233 lbs. 02 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.