Spring Valley, IL — March 24th, 2019 — Dan Johnson, Fayetteville, OH. and Larry Rhoads, Milford, OH. sat in 22^nd place at the start of the second and final-day of the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit, presented by Lowe Equipment Attachments, on the Illinois River. If you ask them, it’s right where they wanted to be.

“We came into this event with an “every day is a pre-fishing day” mentality, it helped us to not get set on any one way and be blinded, the bite changes everyday” said Rhoads. “This is a special event, so much history here and now we have two MWC wins on this river in the last seven years.”

“As a team, we just keep a cool head,” mentioned Johnson. “We moved around a lot, fishing places we knew had not been fished in the last couple days. Where we fished today wasn’t even close to where we fished yesterday and then we upgraded from a 17” female to an 18” female in the last ten minutes.”

It took a combination of hand-lining and pole-lining for the MWC premier team along with subtle speed changes, while getting away from the crowd to find needed bites and a MWC rule on tie breakers sealed  up win. This is the second MWC event they have won at Spring Valley, the first back in 2012 where they sat in 82^nd place after the first day and came from behind that time as well for the win.

Both the first and second place teams weighed 23lbs – 3ozs for the event. Scott Geitgey, Canton, OH. and David Kolb, Grand Blanc, MI. brought 5 fish to the scales Friday and only 4 fish Saturday while Johnson and Rhoads handed in a 5-fish tournament limit both days, winning the tie breaker.

Johnson and Rhoads walk away from Spring Valley, with $16,401 in cash and prizes including: $10,800 first-place cash payout, $3,901 cash from the option pot, $500 AirWave certificate, $200 Okuma reel bonus and a $1,000 Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package including paid entry into the 2020 Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s NTC, with travel stipends, team jerseys and plaques. While Geitgey & Kolb took home a cool $10,000 in cash and prizes including; $5,650 cash for 2^nd place, a $1,000 Ranger Cup bonus, $2,850 cash from the option pot and a $500 cash Lowrance bonus.

Rounding out the top 5 were:

3^rd Place: Robert Hausler, Plano, IL, & Chris Clemmons, Newark, IL, 22lbs -02oz, $3,850 cash.

4^th Place: Max Wilson, Lomira, WI., &  Isaac Lakich, Richfeild, WI., 22-01, $2,750 cash and a

additional $1,900 from the option pot.

5^th Place: Witold Niemiec, & Wojciech Czykier, of West Milford, NJ.,  21-8, $2,200 cash

Jeff and Jared Franta took the top “Big Fish” honors for the weekend with a 7-07 walleye out of the river. All together the BPS/Cabela’s MWC awarded $60,871 in cash and prizes at the Illinois River event.

984lbs- 12ozs of Sauger and Walleye were weighed in 100% alive from the 498 fish that graced the scales during the event. In an annual cooperative conservation program between MWC and the Illinois DNR all the fish were taken by the IDNR for brood stock to spawn out in the hatchery this spring and continue to restock the Illinois River with Sauger.

National Professional Angler Association member Max Wilson hosted a slew of kids at the MWC and NPAA’s Youth and Family Fishing Clinic Friday afternoon, immediately following the weigh-in and gave away a number of fishing rods to attendees.

Under the umbrella of The Walleye Federation (TWF), the Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit is North America’s longest-running, undisputed leader in team walleye tournaments. A proud member of the freshwater fishing hall of fame, MWC 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 including: Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Ohio and North Dakota, plus the 2020 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Championship.

Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s – The World’s Foremost Outfitters, are in their 18th season as title sponsor of the Masters Walleye Circuit. Official sponsors include: Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s. 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.

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Skarlis, Lahr Win BACK to BACK World Walleye Championship Titles on the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit Presented by Cabela’s

Escanaba, Mich.—Oct. 6, 2018—Iowa’s Tommy Skarlis and Jeff Lahr rallied on the final day to win the elite national walleye event, the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit’s 2018 World Walleye Championship Oct. 4-6 on Bays de Noc out of Escanaba, Michigan.

In doing so they have secured their position as some of the world’s most elite walleye anglers by placing their names in the walleye records books as the only team of win back to back World Walleye Championships in the last 25 years. Not since walleye legends Gary Gray and Bill Klotzbuecher accomplished that feat back in the 92 and 93 seasons has anyone been able to retain their crowns as MWC World Walleye Champions in back to back years.

Skarlis and Lahr won the 2017 MWC World Walleye Championship on Minnesota’s Cass Lake Chain, then started the 2018 year off with a win for their team at the MWC season opener at Spring Valley and closed it out with their second world title at Escanaba last weekend.

“The feeling is surreal,” said Skarlis, of Denver. “We are so blessed. I’ve fished the MWC for almost 30 years and this is where you hone your skills and make the best friends of your life. Winning a second MWC World Walleye Championship is going to take a while to sink in.”

“It’s pretty amazing,” added Lahr, of Dubuque. “I’m blessed to have such an awesome partner. Once he finds the fish he will figure out a way to catch them.”

Lahr and Skarlis brought a 14-pound, 3-ounce, 5-fish limit to the scale on day one. They followed up with a 17-pound, 4-ounce limit on day two and 23-pound, 7-ounce limit on day three for a 54-pound, 14-ounce total weight that lifted them 4 ounces over their nearest rivals.

They boated their winning walleyes by vertical jigging and casting in depths ranging from 18 down to 50 feet. “Most of the big fish came in 22 feet of water,” Skarlis said, noting the team’s mapping software was key in positioning their boat in the perfect spot to execute their presentations.

Presented by Cabela’s and hosted by the Bays de Noc Convention and Visitors Bureau, the three-day event featured the top 32 teams from the 2017 MWC season, which spanned five states and included seven qualifiers on world-class walleye waters including the Illinois, Detroit and St. Marys rivers, Green Bay, Big Stone Lake, Lake Winnebago and Devils Lake. Championship anglers were battling for a share of more than $103,000 in cash and prizes.

Lahr and Skarlis collected $17,598 in winnings, including a $16,598 prize package comprised of $10,000 in cash, a Power-Pole Pro Pole II, MotorGuide XI5, Lowrance HDS 7 Carbon electronics, AirWave seat pedestal and $200 T-H Marine gift pack, along with a pair of custom trophies and Cabela’s MWC champions’ rings. They also won the $1,000 Ranger Cup contingency.

Rounding out the top five were:

2nd: Larry Rhoads, Dan Johnson, 54-10, $5,000 cash

3rd: Kevin Dahl, Steve Stack, 49-01, $3,000 cash

4th: Chris and Joe Kujawa, 43-02, $2,500 cash plus $500 Lowrance Electronics bonus

5th: Sam Capelli, Erick Williams, 42-04, $2,000 cash

All teams shared in the remainder of the payout, cashing $1,500 checks all the way out to 32nd place. In all, the Cabela’s MWC awarded $103,899 in cash and prizes.

A total of 241 walleyes weighing 830 pounds, 12 ounces were brought to the scale during the championship and returned to Bays de Noc in the Circuit’s time-tested and research-proven catch-and-release format.

Escanaba Harbor hosted takeoffs and weigh-ins, which drew enthusiastic crowds to cheer on the MWC anglers. The action was also broadcast live online via streaming video coverage and an updated leaderboard, both at masterswalleyecircuit.com. On-the-water and weigh-in footage was also filmed for national television airing on Federation Angler TV. For details and episode schedules, visit federationangler.com.

As a bonus for budding walleye anglers, the Cabela’s MWC and National Professional Anglers Association presented a Youth & Family Fishing Clinic immediately following Friday’s weigh-in, offering fishing, safety and conservation advice plus free rod-and-reel combos courtesy of the NPAA.

The MWC World Walleye Championship is the only national walleye event that you must qualify to get into, you must perform or you don’t get in only the best of the best are invited.  For Skarlis and Lahr, they have already qualified for the 2019 World Championship next on Lake Winnebago in Oct 2019 which means they have the once in a lifetime shot at making it three in a row, a feat that has never been accomplished by anyone, anywhere in any major competitive fishing event of any kind, if they can pull off another World Walleye Championship win in 2019.

North America’s longest-running and undisputed leader in team walleye tournaments, the Cabela’s MWC has set the standard for competitive walleye fishing since 1984. Operated under the umbrella of The Walleye Federation (TWF), the Cabela’s MWC is open to avid walleye anglers from all walks of life.

The Cabela’s MWC’s 2019 schedule has already been announced and features eight qualifiers.

Locations include the Illinois River, Detroit River (river only), Big Stone Lake, Lake McConaughy, Lake Erie, Sturgeon Bay, Devils Lake and Leech Lake. Visit masterswalleyecircuit.com for tournament dates, official rules and registration information.

Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is wrapping up its 17th season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Bass Pro Shops, 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.

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Wilson, Lakich Crowned Cabela’s Masters  Walleye Circuit 2018 Team of the Year

Ponca City, Okla.—Sept. 28, 2018—Wisconsin’s young guns Max Wilson and Isaac Lakich put together a stellar season on a variety of North America’s top walleye destinations to earn the coveted title of the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit’s 2018 Team of the Year.

Wilson, 22, of Wales, and Lakich, 23, of Richfield, racked up 581 points during their top four regular season tournaments after placing sixth at the Illinois River, 12^th at Lake Erie, 16^th at Lake McConaughy and 22^nd at the Detroit River.

“This is one of the biggest awards you can win in professional walleye fishing, and something every competitive walleye angler strives for,” said Wilson. “Winning an MWC tournament is awesome. But winning MWC Team of the Year shows you had a great overall season on multiple bodies of water, and in our case, against anglers with many more years of experience than us. It’s a wonderful, exciting feeling.”

“I’m honestly in disbelief,” added Lakich. “I can’t believe that as young as we are, we accomplished something many extremely talented anglers have worked their whole careers toward. I’m humbled by it, and even more excited to see what the future brings.”

Wilson and Lakich credited their ability to work together and their blend of complementary fishing skills for their MWC Team of the Year title, along with a mutual determination to fight to the finish.

“Our season was defined by fishing hard until the buzzer,” Wilson reported. “During three different tournaments, we faced serious challenges on day two—sometimes late in the day—and managed to overcome them by staying focused until the last minute. At Lake Erie, for example, with five minutes left to fish we caught a 12-pounder that kept our Team of the Year dreams alive.”

Teams fishing at least four MWC qualifiers compete for Team of the Year awards. Top prize is a $10,000 MWC Living the Dream sponsorship package that includes paid entry fees into four 2019 MWC tournaments, lodging, cash stipends and more. Wilson and Lakich also earned a berth in the 2018 Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Championship. The next four finishers in the Team of the Year Race each received a paid entry in the Cabela’s National Team Championship (NTC); plus, teams fishing second through 10th divvied up $10,000 in cash and Cabela’s gift cards.

Rounding out the top five teams were:

2nd: Mark Lemke, Walter Price, 575 points

3rd: Wayne Butz, Scott Cisewski, 569 points

4th: Mike Hanson, James Debernardi, 568 points

5th: Joe Miller, Mark Barden, 551 points

North America’s longest-running and undisputed leader in team walleye tournaments, the Cabela’s MWC has set the standard for competitive walleye fishing since 1984. Operated under the umbrella of The Walleye Federation (TWF), the Cabela’s MWC is open to avid walleye anglers from all walks of life.

The 2018 tournament schedule included eight regular season qualifiers in seven states, plus the 2018 Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Championship at Bays de Noc, Michigan. The 2019 schedule will be announced shortly. Visit masterswalleyecircuit.com for updates, official rules and registration information.

Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, concluded its 17th season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Bass Pro Shops, 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.

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