LaPine, Vande Kolk Rally To Win Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit Winnebago Tournament

Presented by Mercury Marine

Menasha, Wisc.—June 3, 2017—Jake LaPine and Owen Vande Kolk vaulted from 12^th place on day one to win the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit’s Lake Winnebago regular season qualifier presented by Mercury Marine June 2-3.

“It feels great to be able to put it together on day two and win this on our home waters,” said LaPine, of Oshkosh. “It’s awesome,” added Vande Kolk, of Waupun. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”

It was the first MWC win for both anglers. LaPine, 30, began fishing the circuit at age 12 with his father, Jim LaPine. “I fished the MWC with him for years and owe him a lot for getting me started in this sport,” the younger LaPine said emotionally moments after accepting the first-place trophy.

Vande Kolk was fishing his first MWC, but was equally elated. “Jake called me up about a week ago and asked me to get in the tournament with him, and it worked out great,” he said.

The pair targeted the Fox River with a trio of tactics during the two-day event, which saw teams battle a tough bite LaPine blamed on a “baitfish explosion” that made competing with natural forage tough. “We pitched jigs tipped with leeches or crawlers onto rocky areas, trolled streamer flies on 3-way rigs in areas where the fish were set up along current seams, and also trolled crankbaits on leadcore,” said LaPine.

On day one, they sacked four fish weighing total of 6 pounds, 7 ounces to land in a tie for 12^th place, trailing leaders Dave Ehlke and Duane Haedt by nearly 4 pounds. “Going into day two we told ourselves we needed to get 15 pounds plus,” said LaPine. “We were fortunate to get some good 19 and 20 inchers, and top it off with a 27 incher at the end of the day.” That last walleye, taken on a fly, tipped the scale at 6 pounds, 6 ounces and was the biggest fish weighed in during the tournament.

The winners didn’t change their tactics for day two, but kept moving from spot to spot faster than on day one. “We ended up being in the right place at the right time,” added Vande Kolk.

Their five-fish limit of 17 pounds, 8 ounces gave them a 23-pound, 15-ounce total weight. It was enough to rocket up the leaderboard and charge past Ehlke and Haedt by three pounds.

LaPine and Vande Kolk collected more than $11,000 in cash and prizes, including the $9,100 first-place cash payout, $500 AirWave certificate and $412 from the MWC Big Fish Pot. They also won a $1,000 Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package including paid entry into the 2018 NTC, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques.

Rounding out the top five were:

2nd: Dave Ehlke and Duane Haedt, 20-15, $5,440 plus $200 Okuma Reel bonus

3rd: Tom and Michael Kamp, 17-03, $3,100 plus $500 Lowrance bonus

4th: Kevin Pawlacyk and Steve Lenz, 16-07, $2,300

5th: Kevin and Eric McQuoid, 16-05, $2,000 plus $1,000 Ranger Cup bonus and $2,037 from the option pot

In all, the Cabela’s MWC awarded $37,585 in cash and prizes.

A total of 240 walleyes weighing 400 pounds, 10 ounces crossed the scale during the catch-and-release event. Adding to the fun, the Cabela’s MWC and National Professional Anglers Association presented a Youth & Family Fishing Clinic immediately after the day-one weigh-in, with participating youths receiving rod-and-reel combos courtesy of the NPAA.

Under the umbrella of The Walleye Federation (TWF), the Cabela’s MWC is open to avid walleye anglers from all walks of life. The 2017 schedule includes seven qualifiers in five states on a diverse selection of rivers, inland lakes and Great Lakes fisheries representing North America’s top walleye destinations.

Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is in its 16th season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Lowe Equipment Attachments, Lowrance Electronics, Mercury Marine, Ranger Boats and The Walleye Federation. Associate sponsors include: AirWave Pedestals, Bagley Baits, Church Tackle, G-Juice, MotorGuide and Okuma. For more information, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

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Bartsch, Le Sage Lead Wire-To-Wire To Win Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit Green Bay Tournament

 Presented by Lowe Equipment Attachments

Green Bay, Wisc.—May 20, 2017—Chris Bartsch and Larry Le Sage, both of Green Bay, jigged their way to a hard-fought victory at the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit’s Green Bay regular season qualifier presented by Lowe Equipment Attachments May 19-20 out of Green Bay Metro Park.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Bartsch, who is Le Sage’s nephew. “We’ve placed second and third in local tournaments around here before, so to win a big one like an MWC is fantastic.”

“This is huge for us,” added Le Sage. “The conditions and bite were tough, but Chris is an awesome fisherman and we managed to get all our ducks in a row.”

The event was Le Sage’s first MWC, and he appreciated the warm welcome he and Bartsch received from other competitors. “It was really fun,” he said. “We met a lot of nice people, including the reigning MWC champions Randall Gaines and Mike Rhoades.”

Green Bay and its legendary walleye population were a bit less hospitable, however. Heavy seas on day one forced MWC officials to limit competitors to the Fox River. Conditions improved enough on day two for the boundaries to be expanded into the bay, but the fishing was still challenging.

Bartsch and Le Sage fished ¼- to 3/8-ounce jigs tipped with soft plastics both days. Bartsch favored a ringworm, while Le Sage stuck with a bass-style beavertail design. Both anglers sweetened the pot with a minnow or nightcrawler for added attraction. They focused on depths of seven feet or less in the river, and targeted a small but complex piece of structure not far offshore in the bay on most of day two.

They brought three walleyes weighing a total of 13 pounds, 7 ounces to the MWC scale on day one. “It was less than we hoped for, but surprisingly enough to put us in the lead,” said Bartsch. They followed up with a 5-fish MWC limit weighing 28 pounds, 6 ounces on day two for a 41-pound, 13-ounce total.

Bartsch and Le Sage collected $12,880 in cash and prizes, including the $10,300 first-place cash payout, $500 AirWave certificate, $200 Okuma Reel bonus and $880 from the MWC Big Fish Pot. They also won a $1,000 Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package including paid entry into the 2018 NTC, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques.

Rounding out the top five were:

2nd: Bill Vine and Chase Kretsch, 36-02, $5,200 plus $400 from the big fish pot

3rd: Troy Morris and Corey Heiser, 35-10, $3,500 plus $3,574.50 cash from the option pot, $1,000 Ranger Cup award and $500 Lowrance bonus

4th: Mike Olson and John Spiegel, 31-04, $2,600 plus $2,600 from the option pot and $800 from the big fish pot

5th: Steve Vandemark and Jerry Fox, Jr., 29-05, $2,200 plus $1,500 from the option pot

In all, the Cabela’s MWC awarded $55,362.50 in cash and prizes. As an added bonus, presenting sponsor Lowe Equipment Attachments offers all Cabela’s MWC anglers a 25 percent discount off the MSRP on all its auger, trenching and grapple products in 2017 available through Midwest Attachments, LLC. For information on that program, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com/tournaments/contingencies.

A total of 578 walleyes weighing 1,259 pounds, 15 ounces crossed the scale and were released back into the Green Bay system during the event. Adding to the fun, the Cabela’s MWC and National Professional Anglers Association presented a Youth & Family Fishing Clinic immediately after the day-one weigh-in, with participating youths receiving rod-and-reel combos courtesy of the NPAA.

Under the umbrella of The Walleye Federation (TWF), the Cabela’s MWC is open to avid walleye anglers from all walks of life. The 2017 schedule includes seven qualifiers in five states on a diverse selection of rivers, inland lakes and Great Lakes fisheries representing North America’s top walleye destinations.

Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is in its 16th season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Lowe Equipment Attachments, Lowrance Electronics, Mercury Marine, Ranger Boats and The Walleye Federation. Associate sponsors include: AirWave Pedestals, Bagley Baits, Church Tackle, G-Juice, MotorGuide and Okuma. For more information, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

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Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit Returns To Lake Winnebago

Presented By

Ponca City, Okla.—May 13, 2017—The Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit returns to the incredible Lake Winnebago system out of Menasha, Wisconsin, June 2-3 for a team-format, regular-season tournament presented by Mercury Marine.

The fishery has hosted many exciting MWC events over the years, and hopes are high that this year’s tournament will build upon that rich tradition. Department of Natural Resources biologists report that the Winnebago system continues to be one of the Midwest’s top walleye destinations, thanks to exceptional year-classes from 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2016.

If past MWC tournaments on Winnebago are any indication, it could take 40 pounds to top the leaderboard and as usual there is a lot at stake at MWC events, including valuable points needed to qualify for the World Walleye Championship, Cabela’s NTC berths, points toward the very lucrative MWC Angler of the Year prize package and of course sizable amounts of cash and other prizes.

So, along with great fishing and exciting tournament action, anglers will clash for thousands in cash and prizes. Cabela’s MWC payouts are based on the number of teams entered in each event. For example, on May 19-20 of this year 75 teams from across the midwest will compete in a MWC qualifier on nearby Bay of Green Bay with a payout of nearly $55,000.00 Including, MWC Big Fish Pot, MWC option pot payouts, and sponsor bonuses such as Ranger Cup, Lowrance Electronics, Okuma and AirWave add thousands more to the total. Plus, the first-place team earns a $1,000 Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package including paid 2018 NTC entry, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques. Based on the number of teams that enter the Winnebago event the payouts will be similar.

This two-day event is based in Menasha, with launches and weigh-ins held at Jefferson Park. Weigh-ins begin at 3 p.m. As a bonus to budding tournament fans, the Cabela’s MWC and National Professional Anglers Association will present a Youth & Family Fishing Clinic immediately after the day-one weigh-in. The first 50 youths will receive rod-and-reel combos courtesy of the NPAA.

Teams fishing three or more MWC tournaments in 2017 will battle for coveted berths in the 2018 Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Championship, set for October 2018 on Lake Michigan’s Bays de Noc out of Escanaba, Michigan. Teams fishing at least four MWC qualifiers compete for Team of the Year awards, including a $10,000 sponsorship package and thousands more in cash and Cabela’s Cash cards, as well as fully paid entries into a full season of great walleye action.

As a bonus, Lowe Equipment Attachments offers all Cabela’s MWC anglers a 25 percent discount off the MSRP on all its auger, trenching and grapple products in 2017 available through Midwest Attachments, LLC. For details, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com/tournaments/contingencies.

Under the umbrella of The Walleye Federation (TWF), the Cabela’s MWC is open to avid walleye anglers from all walks of life. Deadline to register for the Lake Winnebago tournament is Monday, May 29.

The 2017 schedule includes seven qualifiers in five states on a diverse selection of rivers, inland lakes and Great Lakes fisheries representing North America’s top walleye destinations.

Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is in its 16th season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Lowe Equipment Attachments, Lowrance Electronics, Mercury Marine, Ranger Boats and The Walleye Federation. Associate sponsors include: AirWave Pedestals, Bagley Baits, Church Tackle, G-Juice, MotorGuide and Okuma. For more information, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

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