Johnson and Ploch Take the Trophy in Spring Valley with a One Ounce Win

Ponca City, Okla. — March 22, 2021 — After the field of 92 teams at the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit’s (MWC) first event came to terms with a forecasted water level rise, they set out to find the most consistent bite they could, should the forecast come to fruition. Fortunately for Grand Ridge and Tonica Illinois’ residents Tyler Johnson and Cade Ploch, the eventual small change in water levels didn’t affect the one bite they had going for them all week long.     

“This was the only bite we could count on. We had to go there and stay in that ½ mile stretch.” mentioned Tyler Johnson after the big win, in which the duo pocketed over $15,550 in cash and prizes, including $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.

Teammate Cade Ploch told the crowd, while on stage clutching a trophy, that the team trolled crank baits real slow and found fish to be finicky both days of the tournament. Tyler and Cade found a way to squeak by the team that had the heaviest bag on the first day of the event by weighing in 13-00 on the first day and 12-07 on day two for a total of 25-07.

Michael and Joe Perez, having weighed 18-15 on day one of the two-day tournament, only needed their day-two catch of five fish to weigh 6-08 to win the title on Saturday, but came just one ounce shy when the scales locked in giving the team a total weight of 25-06. Those in attendance could feel the tension as the fish were placed on the scales and witnessed the heartbreak as the call was made. Graciously, Michael and Joe congratulated the winners for their efforts. For their second place finish the Perez’s earned $6,050 in second-place winnings as well as cashing the first-place option pot bonus of an additional $4,296, for a total haul of $10,346

Rounding out the top-five remaining teams:

3rd: Dan Johnson & Larry Rhoads 24-11, $4,000 cash and 2nd place option pot bonus worth $3,100, plus the $1,000 Lowrance bonus, walked away with $8,100.00

4th:  Ryan Feldott & Brandon Samolitis 23-13, $3,100 cash

5th: Steven & Jeremy Skupien 23-06, $2,600 cash and 3rd place option pot bonus of $2,000

8th place of Mark Lemke and Walter Price won $1,000 with the new Ranger Cup bonus.

The 765 fish weighed a total of 1406 lbs. 04 oz. during the event. In one of the longest running conservation partnerships in all of walleye fishing each year MWC partners with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources at Spring Valley in a large conservation project. Illinois DNR takes all the sauger caught by MWC anglers back to the state’s fish hatchery to be spawned under ideal, controlled conditions to further the brilliantly successful Illinois River sauger stocking program.

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 37 years. MWC is open to walleye anglers from all walks of life. The 2021 schedule includes seven qualifiers in six states, plus the 2021 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Championship. Registration is now open for all events, and the registration deadline for the Illinois River tournament is close of business Monday, March 15th. Visit masterswalleyecircuit.com for full details.

Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s – The World’s Foremost Outfitters, are in their 20th 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: Church Tackle, Berkley Fishing, Okuma, Power-Pole, Soft Steel and T-H Marine. For more information, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

###

2021 MWC Season to Start with Traditional Illinois River Run – Presented by Mercury Marine

Ponca City, Okla. — March 2, 2021 — After a wild 37th season of the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC), anglers, hosts and staff alike are ready to roll in just a few short weeks into Spring Valley, Illinois and begin another year of cranking, jigging, weighing and winning! This first event of the season will be held March 19-20, with launch and weigh-ins happening at the Spring Valley Boat Club.

“We made it through the 2020 season, through so many uncertainties and we came out at the end with a lot of great comments and compliments about how participants and communities both felt like we held safe and fun events.” Jack Baker, MWC tournament director said. “Now that we have an idea of how to do things in the environment we are in, we look forward to keeping our schedule as posted and continuing to give everyone the event they signed up for.”

The Illinois River is home to one of the largest sauger populations in the Midwest and participants of the 2021 kick-off event can expect to see full livewells of them with walleye and saugeye mixed in. Teams will have two days to find a total of ten fish, five each day, to bring to the MWC stage and grab a chance at winning the coveted trophy and top prize.

New contingencies for the 2021 MWC season will be an all-new Ranger Cup program, a $1,000 Lowrance bonus, up to a $500 Lowe Equipment Attachment bonus and Berkley Fishing prize package, adding to the already incredible payback tournament participants have come to expect.

Each MWC event has a lucrative payout which is based on the number of teams entered into that event, and is awarded to 20% of the field, providing more inspiration to sign up and join the fun. In addition, to a hefty check, the first-place team also earns a $1,000 Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s National Team Championship (NTC) prize package including paid entry, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques. Additionally, the big-fish pot, option pot and sponsor bonuses from Ranger Cup, Lowrance, Okuma, Berkley Fishing, Lowe Equipment and T-H Marine Atlas Awards add thousands more for distribution among the field.

Qualified teams from the 2021 season earning points in at least three qualifiers compete for coveted berths in the 2022 World Walleye Championship, set for October 2021 on the bay of Green Bay in Oconto, WI. Those earning points in at least four qualifiers compete for Team of the Year honors, including a $10,000 sponsorship package and thousands more in cash and prizes to the top 10 teams in the final “best of 4” final standing each year.

Daily live weigh-ins will be held at the Spring Valley Boat Club beginning at 3:30pm both days March 19-20.  We encourage you to watch the weigh-ins live, online, at masterswalleyecircuit.com or on our Facebook page facebook.com/MastersWalleyeCircuit.

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 37 years. MWC is open to walleye anglers from all walks of life. The 2021 schedule includes seven qualifiers in six states, plus the 2021 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Championship. Registration is now open for all events, and the registration deadline for the Illinois River tournament is close of business Monday, March 15th. Visit masterswalleyecircuit.com for full details.

Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s – The World’s Foremost Outfitters, are in their 20th 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: Church Tackle, Berkley Fishing, Okuma, Power-Pole, Soft Steel and T-H Marine. For more information, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

###

2022 World Walleye Championship Announced, Registration Set to Open for 2021 Masters Walleye Circuit Season

  • Filed under MWC News

  • December 23, 2020

 2022 World Walleye Championship Announced, Registration Set to Open for 2021 Masters Walleye Circuit Season,  Presented by Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s

Ponca City, Okla. – December 23, 2020 – Anticipation is running high as anglers, sponsors and staff alike look forward to turning the calendar over to 2021 and kicking off the 38th season of the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC). Registration for the 2021 season opens January 4th.

Participants may register for individual tournaments online at 12 noon (CST) beginning Monday January 4th at masterswalleyecircuit.com or by calling the MWC offices at (580)765-9031. “Premier Team” status and the benefits that goes with it which are defined in the rules, such as Premier team swag, use of a substitute, delayed billing and more is all secured by registering for at least (3) events at once prior to fishing your first event of the year. It’s our way of saying “Thank You” for their commitment.

Planning events of this magnitude takes several months, up to years, to plan. While we strive to announce our schedule early each year to help anglers plan, sometimes conflicts still arise and it’s never a best-case scenario when set tournament must be moved, but such is the case with the 2021 Big Stone Lake qualifier, originally set for the final days of May. The city of Ortonville and the Big Stone Chamber of Commerce worked alongside the MWC to set the new event dates of April 23-24, 2021.

Anglers competing in the 2021 MWC qualifiers will want to know what waters they will be attempting to qualify to fish on for the 2022 World Walleye Championship. We are pleased to announce that the walleye rich waters of the bay of Green Bay out of Oconto, WI. will host that event. Oconto County and the City of Oconto are excited to welcome anglers to their shoreline Sept 29-Oct 1, 2022.

With that, the 2021 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit Season looks like this:

March 19-20, 2021 – Illinois River, Spring Valley, IL

                                    April 16-17, 2021 – Lake Erie, Port Clinton, OH

                                    April 23-24, 2021 – Big Stone Lake, Ortonville, MN

                                    May 21-22, 2021 – Lake Winnebago, Oshkosh, WI

                                    June 25-26, 2021 – Lake Oahe, Mobridge, SD

                                    August 13-14, 2021 – St Marys River, Sault Ste Marie, MI                          

                                    September 17-18, 2021 – Cass Lake, Cass Lake, MN

                                    Sept 30-Oct 2, 2021 – World Walleye Championship – Lake City, MN

Sept 29-Oct 1, 2022 – World Walleye Championship – Oconto, WI

Each MWC event has a lucrative payout which is based on the number of teams entered into that event, and is awarded to 20% of the field, providing more inspiration to sign up and join the fun. In addition, to a hefty check, the first-place team also earns a $1,000 Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s National Team Championship (NTC) prize package including paid entry, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques. Additionally, the big-fish pot, option pot and sponsor bonuses from Ranger Cup, Lowrance, Okuma, AirWave and T-H Marine Atlas Awards add thousands more for distribution among the field.

Qualified teams from the 2021 season earning points in at least three qualifiers compete for coveted berths in the 2022 World Walleye Championship, set for late September 2022 on the Bay of Green Bay in Oconto, WI. Those earning points in at least four qualifiers compete for “Team of the Year” honors, including a $10,000 sponsorship package and thousands more in cash and prizes to the top 10 teams in the final “best of 4” final standing each year.

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 37 years. MWC is open to walleye anglers from all walks of life. The 2021 schedule includes seven qualifiers in six states, plus the 2022 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Championship.

Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s – The World’s Foremost Outfitters, are in their 20th 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, Berkley Fishing, Okuma, Power-Pole, Soft Steel and T-H Marine. For more information, email support@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

###

Brueggemanns Clinch the Lead Day One at World Walleye Championship and Never Let It Go – Presented by Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s

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 8th-10th. 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 2nd 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:

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

3rd: 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)

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

5th: 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.