Ponca City, Okla.—Aug. 25, 2015—Two-person walleye teams from across the Midwest will battle for thousands of dollars in cash and prizes when the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit returns to Minnesota’s Cass Lake for a regular-season qualifier presented by Lowrance Electronics Sept. 11-12.

Thanks to great walleye fishing in an iconic Northwoods setting, Cass Lake has become

a regular stop on the Cabela’s MWC trail. A variety of patterns produce fish, allowing anglers to play to their strong suits while enjoying intense competition in a professionally run format.

At last season’s Cass Lake event, for example, Minnesotans Jay Braaten and Dan Swenson fished live-bait rigs and cast jigs tipped with Berkley Gulp! Smelt to win the tournament with a two-day, 10-fish total weight of 31 pounds, 2 ounces.

Thanks to the Circuit’s lucrative paybacks, which are based on the number of teams fishing each event, Braaten and Swenson collected more than $13,000 in cash and prizes for their win. Along with the tournament payout, the MWC Big Fish Pot and sponsor bonuses from Ranger Boats, Lowrance Electronics, Abu Garcia, Zippo Outdoor Brands and Okuma add thousands more to the total winnings up for grabs.

As an added incentive, the first-place team will win a $1,000 Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package including paid NTC entry, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques. And new for 2015, the creation of an option pot adds even more chances to cash in. At the recent Devils Lake qualifier, for example, tournament champions Troy Morris and Corey Heiser added $3,400 in option pot cash to their total winnings.

Adding to the excitement, all Cabela’s MWC tournaments are designated as “State Championship Qualifying Events.” Teams from the state where the event is held are eligible, along with teams from a state not hosting an MWC event in 2015 (provided at least 10 teams from their state are competing in the event). Besides bragging rights, state champions will earn a $1,000 prize package including custom trophies, custom State Champions rings by Tight Lines Jewelry, decals, a berth in the Cabela’s NTC, and a spot on the MWC website’s Wall of Fame.

In states hosting two events, teams must fish both tournaments to be in the running, which means Minnesota teams must have fished the Big Stone Lake qualifier along with the Cass Lake event for a shot at the state title.

Teams will be allowed to weigh five walleyes measuring 14 inches and over each day, and the team with the heaviest two-day total weight will be crowned the winners. Weigh-ins, which are free and open to the public, will be held at Stony Point Resort beginning at 4 p.m. daily. As a bonus to budding tournament fans, the Cabela’s MWC, National Professional Anglers Association, Pure Fishing and Zippo Outdoor Brands 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.

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 Cass Lake tournament is Monday, Sept. 7.

Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is in its 14th season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Berkley Gulp!, Abu Garcia, Lowe Equipment Attachments, Lowrance Electronics, Mercury Marine, Ranger Boats, The Walleye Federation and Zippo Outdoor Brands. Associate sponsors include: Yellow Bird Fishing Products, Okuma, T-H Marine and Tight Lines Jewelry. For more information, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580)765-9031.
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Devils Lake, N.D.—August 8, 2015—North Dakota’s “artificial-only” walleye warriors Troy Morris and Corey Heiser led wire-to-wire to win the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit’s regular-season qualifier on Devils Lake, North Dakota, August 7-8 presented by Berkley.

“It’s an awesome feeling!” Morris, of Fargo, beamed after he and Heiser, of West Fargo, topped the 76-team field in front of a roaring crowd gathered at scenic Grahams Island State Park.”I’ve had a lot of top 10s but have been looking forward to winning one for a long time.”

“This is an unbelievable feeling,” added Heiser. “This is our second season of spreading the word on fishing with artificial bait, and winning a major event like this is really a pinnacle in proving to people that you don’t need live bait to catch walleyes and be competitive.”

In March of 2014, Heiser and Morris swore off live bait and formed Artifishalleyes. They’ve since shown how a variety of artificial presentations such as Berkley Gulp! and PowerBait can outfish leeches, nightcrawlers and other traditional walleye bait choices.

Their winning presentation at Devils Lake relied on vertically fishing hard-bodied swimming jigs at the base of large rocks on steep breaks in 25 to 32 feet of water on East Devils Lake. Their efforts yielded a tournament-leading 34-pound, 13-ounce MWC-allowable 5-fish limit on day one, followed by a 22-pound, 4-ounce day two limit for a total weight of 57 pounds, 1 ounce.

The win was worth $18,780 including $10,600 in cash plus $3,400 from the option pot, the $1,000 Ranger Cup contingency, $500 Lowrance Electronics bonus, $200 Okuma award and a $1,000 Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package, which includes paid entry into the 2016 NTC, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques. They also won $1,080 from the MWC Big Fish Pot and claimed the title of North Dakota State Walleye Champions, which comes with a $1,000 prize package including custom trophies, custom State Champions rings by Tight Lines Jewelry, a berth in the Cabela’s NTC, decals and a spot on the MWC website’s Wall of Fame.

Rounding out the top five were:
2nd: Matt Taylor, Ben Mack, 47-14, $5,300 cash plus $2,500 from the option pot
3rd: Al Freidig, Clint Devier, 40-02, $3,500 cash
4th: Brian Steichen, Shawn Carl, 38-09, $2,650 cash plus the Abu Garcia reel bonus and $200 Zippo Hot Hand Award for big fish of the event, an 8-pound, 8-ounce walleye.
5th: Derek Navis, Korey Sprengel, 38-01, $2,200 cash plus $1,550 from the option pot

In all, the Cabela’s MWC awarded a payback of $55,270 in cash and prizes.

A total of 650 walleyes weighing 1,685 pounds crossed the scale during the event, including 117 five-fish daily limits. Adding to the fun, more than 70 kids participated in a Youth and Family Fishing Clinic presented by the Cabela’s MWC, National Professional Anglers Association, Pure Fishing and Zippo Outdoor Brands and received free 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 2015 schedule spans nine states and includes 11 regular-season qualifiers plus the 2015 World Walleye Championship.

Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is in its 14th season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Berkley Gulp!, Abu Garcia, Lowe Equipment Attachments, Lowrance Electronics, Mercury Marine, Ranger Boats, MotorGuide, The Walleye Federation and Zippo Outdoor Brands. Associate sponsors include: Yellow Bird Fishing Products, Okuma, T-H Marine and Tight Lines Jewelry. For more information, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.
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Part 1 first half of weigh in.

Stream videos at Ustream

Part 2 second half of weigh in

Stream videos at Ustream

Escanaba, Mich.—August 1, 2015—Ontario, Canada’s Greg Whitson and Mark Campeau fought their way up the leaderboard from ninth place on day one into a tie for first place—and then won the tiebreaker to capture an emotional victory at the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit’s Bays de Noc tournament presented by MotorGuide out of Escanaba, Michigan, July 31-August 1.

“This is unbelievable,” said a shell-shocked Whitson, of Windsor, moments after he and Campeau claimed their first MWC victory in six seasons of competition. “It’s been a long time coming. We’ve been close a number of times, and now we finally get to come home with our heads held high.”

“It’s very satisfying to win one—especially where we never expected it to happen,” added Campeau, of St. Joachim, explaining that Lake Erie is closer to home, and this end of Lake Michigan has challenged them during previous tournaments. “But this time around, we caught more fish at Bays ds Noc the past two days than we’ve taken during prefishing events the previous three years.”

On day one, they bagged a beefy 5-fish limit weighing 25 pounds, 2 ounces, which landed them in ninth place. They followed up on day two with a 26-pound, 15-ounce limit for a 52-pound, 1-ounce total.

Michigan’s Jamie Tourangeau and Ross Neubauer, who had been in eighth place on day one, equaled that benchmark with 52-1 two-day weight of their own.

According to Cabela’s MWC tiebreaking rules, the decision went to Whitson and Campeau for bringing the most live walleyes to the scale. The Canadians had the edge with 10 live fish, compared to nine for Tourangeau and Neubauer.

“I have to credit our Ranger livewell,” said Whitson. “Before we made our run to the weigh-in on day two, we were concerned whether a few of our fish were going to make it. But when we got to the dock, they just about jumped out of the livewell.”

Both days, Whitson and Campeau trolled purple and yellow spinner rigs behind ½- and 1-ounce inline sinkers over small humps in nine to 21 feet of water off Peninsula Point. They said trolling speeds of 1.4 to 1.5 mph were key, as slower paces didn’t trigger Bays de Noc’s walleyes into striking.

The win was worth $12,000 including $9,300 in cash plus the $1,000 Ranger Cup contingency, $500 Lowrance Electronics bonus, $200 Okuma award and a $1,000 Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package, including paid entry into the 2016 NTC, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques.

Rounding out the top five were:
2nd: Jamie Tourangeau, Ross Neubauer, 52-01, $4,650 cash plus $3,220 from the option pot
3rd: Dan Johnson, Larry Rhoads, 50-01, $3,150 cash plus $2,415 from the option pot
4th: Wayne Van Dyke, Erich Carlson, 49-10, $2,400 cash plus $1,610 from the option pot
5th: Glenn and Carol Chenier, 48-05, $1,900 cash plus $805 from the option pot

All of the top five places earned 2016 Cabela’s National Team Championship bids. Derek Navis and Korey Sprengel won the Abu Garcia reel bonus and $200 Zippo Hot Hand Award for big fish of the event, an 11-pound, 2-ounce walleye.

A “Lucky Dog” drawing awarded another coveted Cabela’s NTC bid to Ben Spriks and Lloyd Gilberston. And the Comeback Award, sponsored by local businesses Bay Bank, First Bank, Gladstone DDA, Edward Jones, Citgo and Holiday, earned Derek Parker and Jim Passo a $75 gift card plus $500 in cash for jumping 24 spots from 42nd up to 18th place.

In all, the Cabela’s MWC awarded a payback of $44,680 in cash and prizes.

The Bays de Noc tournament also provided the stage for the Michigan State Walleye Championship.
Al Szoke, of Grosse Ile, and Kevin Yancey, of Newport, claimed the crown by accumulating the most points between the MWC’s Detroit River and Bays de Noc qualifiers. The title comes with a $1,000 prize package including custom trophies, custom State Champions rings by Tight Lines Jewelry, a berth in the Cabela’s NTC, decals and a spot on the MWC website’s Wall of Fame.
Weigh-ins were held at scenic Gladstone Harbor. The 60 teams brought a total of 395 walleyes weighing 1,877 pounds, 4 ounces to the scale during the event, including 46 five-fish daily limits. The Cabela’s MWC, National Professional Anglers Association, Pure Fishing and Zippo Outdoor Brands 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 2015 schedule spans nine states and includes 11 regular-season qualifiers plus the 2015 World Walleye Championship.

Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is in its 14th season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Berkley Gulp!, Abu Garcia, Lowe Equipment Attachments, Lowrance Electronics, Mercury Marine, Ranger Boats, MotorGuide, The Walleye Federation and Zippo Outdoor Brands. Associate sponsors include: Yellow Bird Fishing Products, Okuma, T-H Marine and Tight Lines Jewelry. For more information, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.
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