Is a 2-day #100 pound sack possible? Some say it is this year!

Ponca City, Okla.—March 30, 2015—Hefty payouts and world-class walleye fishing will be on tap when the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit returns to the Detroit River at Saint Clair Shores for a regular-season qualifying tournament presented by Ranger Boats on April 17-18.

Launching from St. Clair Shores, on the Nautical Mile www.nauticalmile.org the event offers two-person teams a trifecta of top-shelf walleye waters including Lake St. Clair, Detroit River and Western Lake Erie. Part of an expanded lineup of A-list destinations for the MWC’s 2015 season, the event also is timed to offer competitors great fishing. “It coincides with the spring spawning run of countless huge Lake Erie walleyes, giving our anglers some of the best chances anywhere in the world at catching trophy walleyes,” says Cabela’s MWC Senior Tournament Director Dan Palmer.

At the 2014 MWC Detroit River tournament, victors Tony Kobriger and Dan Zwick shattered the Circuit’s longstanding two-day basket record with a 10-fish limit weighing 87 pounds, 3 ounces, and the tournament’s big fish was a 13-pound, 4-ounce behemoth caught by Jerry Fox, Jr. and Kenneth Fox. Given the current weather, the feedback from the local area anglers, coupled with the timing and location of this year’s event at Saint Clair Shores, all current MWC records could very well be in jeopardy.

Besides a shot at giant walleyes, the Cabela’s MWC offers lucrative payouts. In 2014 the Circuit rewarded anglers with a total payback of more than 127 percent. Payouts are based on the number of teams entered in each event. Plus, the MWC Big Fish Pot and sponsor bonuses from Ranger, Lowrance, Abu Garcia, Zippo Outdoor Brands and Okuma add thousands more to the total. 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 2014, the creation of an option pot adds even more chances to cash in. At the recent Illinois River qualifier, for example, tournament champions Mark Meravy and Terry Carr added $4,000 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, decals, a berth in the Cabela’s NTC, and a spot on the MWC website’s Wall of Fame.

New for the Cabela’s MWC Detroit River event the 2014, inspections and weigh-ins will be held at the Chapton Harbor 9 Mile Ramp in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Take-off is 7 a.m. and weigh-ins begin at 3 p.m. Two-person teams will be allowed to weigh five walleyes measuring 15 inches and over each day, and the team with the heaviest two-day total weight will be crowned the winners.

Weigh-ins are free and open to the public. 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 rods 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 Detroit River tournament is Monday, April 13. In all, 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 entering 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, and T-H Marine. For more information, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.
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Meravy, Carr Win Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit Illinois River Tournament
Presented by Cabela’s

Spring Valley, Ill.—March 21, 2015— Mark Meravy and Terry Carr scored a come-from-behind victory at the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit’s qualifier on the Illinois River at Spring Valley, Illinois, March 20-21.

Meravy, of Shorewood, Illinois, and Carr, of Otley, Iowa, weighed five fish for 14 pounds, nine ounces on day one. The respectable tally put them solidly in second place, just six ounces behind leaders Adam and Steve Sandor, both of Ottawa, Illinois. Meravy and Carr charged into first on day two with a 15-pound, 11-ounce five-fish limit for a total weight of 30 pounds, 4 ounces.

“You work so hard it feels good to win,” said Meravy. “But the most satisfying thing is doing this with such good friends. They make me a better person.” It was Meravy’s third MWC Spring Valley victory, having won the event in 2011 with Tom Brunz and in 2003 with John Broncato. The only other three-time Spring Valley MWC winners are Gary and John Dalzot.

Meravy and Carr collected the $11,500 first-place cash payout, plus another $4,000 cash from the option pot, $311 in Big Fish Pot winnings and a $1,000 Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package including paid entry into the 2016 NTC, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques.

Because all 2015 Cabela’s MWC tournaments are designated as “State Championship Qualifying Events,” Meravy and Carr also earned the title of Illinois State Walleye Champions. Besides bragging rights, they claimed a $1,000 prize package including custom marble plaques, decals, a spot on the MWC website’s Wall of Fame and a last-chance bid to the 2015 Cabela’s NTC. If they can continue their winning ways at future MWC events in 2015 they could become the first team under the new program to win multiple state champions titles in a single season.

“This feels great,” added Carr, who explained that he and Meravy focused on a big-fish spot holding large female saugers, instead of weeding through abundant smaller males and their backup fishing areas. Meravy noted that ¼- to 3/8-ounce jigs tipped with 3-inch, slender soft-plastic trailers fished slowly and close to bottom were key to success. “The water was so clear, natural and translucent colors were best,” he said. “We also sprayed the plastics with Berkley Gulp! Alive! attractant.”

In second place, Scott Geitgey of Canton, Ohio, and Jay Gullett, of Willard, Ohio, weighed 10 fish for a 29-pound, 2-ounce total worth $5,700 in cash plus $3,000 in cash for second place in the option pot, the $1,000 Ranger Cup contingency and $500 Lowrance Electronics bonus. Geitgey and Gullet were also crowned Ohio State Walleye Champions, since this was the first MWC event with more than 10 Ohio teams present. They collected a $1,000 prize package for the accomplishment.

Rounding out the top five were:
3rd: Heath Bowman and Gordy Powers, 27-09, who earned a total of $5,800 and two Okuma Dead Eye rods worth $200
4th: Danny and Barb Plautz, 26-14, $4,500 cash
5th: Kevin Dahlauser and Kyle Kneser, 26-03, $3,800 cash

In other awards, 12th-place finishers David Kleszyk and David Zurawski claimed the $200 Zippo Hot Hand Award plus two Abu Garcia linecounter reels worth $200 for big fish of the event, a 5-pound, 10-ounce walleye. In all, the Cabela’s MWC awarded $68,150 in cash and prizes.

Weigh-ins were held at the Spring Valley Boat Club, which drew rave reviews from the anglers. “Special thanks to the Boat Club for hosting us and to the Spring Valley Walleye Club for the use of Barto Landing,” said Senior Tournament Director Dan Palmer. “Also a big thanks to the city of Spring Valley and the Oglesby Days Inn.” 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 entering 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, and T-H Marine. For more information, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

For full standings, photo and payout info check out the results page by clicking HERE!

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Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit Returns To Illinois River

March 20-21
Presented by Cabela’s

Ponca City, Okla.—Feb. 27, 2015— One of competitive walleye fishing’s oldest rites of spring continues March 20-21 as the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit returns to the Illinois River for a qualifying tournament at Spring Valley, Illinois.

The tournament offers winter-weary walleye and sauger fans the chance to compete for thousands of dollars in cash and prizes in a professionally run team format. Part of an expanded lineup of A-list destinations for the 2015 season, the event also is timed to allow competitors to enjoy great fishing. “The Illinois is a world-class fishery, and this is prime time to be there,” says Cabela’s MWC Senior Tournament Director Dan Palmer. “I’ve long maintained we’ll see the next Illinois state record sauger from this stretch, and I still think it will happen. I’ve seen fish weighing up to 5-9 in tournaments, very close to the record of 5-12½.”

Long a must-fish destination for serious sauger junkies, the Illinois produces fish on a variety of patterns, including jigging or trolling channel edges and other structural sweet spots. Scott Rhodes and Jeff Koester won the 2014 Cabela’s MWC tournament with a 10-fish limit weighing 26 pounds, 4 ounces, caught by hand-lining crankbaits laced with walleye-formula Berkley PowerBait Attractant.

The Cabela’s MWC offers lucrative payouts. For example, in 2014 the Circuit rewarded anglers with a total payback of more than 127 percent. Payouts are based on the number of teams entered in each event. Plus, the MWC Big Fish Pot and sponsor bonuses from Ranger, Lowrance, Abu Garcia, Zippo Outdoor Brands and Okuma add thousands more to the total. 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.

New for the Cabela’s MWC Illinois River event the 2014, inspections and weigh-ins will be held at the Spring Valley Boat Club. Take-off is 7 a.m. and weigh-ins begin at 3 p.m. Two-person teams will be allowed to weigh five walleyes, saugers or saugeyes measuring 14 inches and over each day, and the team with the heaviest two-day total weight will be crowned the tournament champions. Weigh-ins are free and open to the public. 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 rods 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 Illinois River tournament is Monday, March 16. In all, the 2015 schedule spans nine states and includes 11 regular-season qualifiers plus the 2015 World Walleye Championship.

Adding to the excitement, all Cabela’s MWC tournaments will be 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, at minimum, custom trophies, decals, a berth in the Cabela’s NTC, and a spot on the MWC website’s Wall of Fame.

Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is entering 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, and T-H Marine. For more information, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.
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Stanton, Brown Win Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit
2015 Kickoff On Missouri’s Stockton Lake
Presented by The Walleye Federation

Stockton, Mo.—March 7, 2015—Missouri’s Gary Stanton and Lee Brown finished strong to claim a thrilling comeback victory at the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit’s season opener on legendary Stockton Lake March 6-7.

“It’s so exciting, it feels wonderful to win this,” said Stanton, of Dadeville. He and Brown, of Springfield, collected the $5,000 first-place cash payout, plus $2,310 from the option pot and a $1,000 Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package including paid entry into the 2016, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques. “We are definitely going to sign up and fish some more MWC events this year.” Staton continued. “Maybe Big Stone and one or two others.”

Because all 2015 Cabela’s MWC tournaments are also designated as “State Championship Qualifying Events,” Stanton and Brown also earned the title of Missouri State Walleye Champions. Besides bragging rights, the honor includes custom marble plaques, decals, a spot on the MWC website’s Wall of Fame and a last-chance bid to the 2015 Cabela’s NTC. If they can continue their winning ways at future MWC events in 2015 they could become the first team to under the new program to win multiple state champions titles in a single season.

Such rewards didn’t come without a fight. “It was a tough bite,” said Stanton, who reported dodging an ice floe while trolling in the 38-degree water. While air temperatures were pushing 70 degrees by the final weigh-in, the event started with much cooler conditions that had Stockton’s renowned walleyes in a finicky mood. After a slow start, Stanton and Brown put together a 5-pound, 7-ounce three-fish catch on Day One. The tally left them in fifth place, trailing leaders Steve Stein and Kenny Ludwig, both of Leavenworth, Kansas, who had 9 pounds, 14 ounces.

“We didn’t have a keeper by noon the first day pulling bottom-bouncers,” said Brown. “So we switched to bright-colored, shad-style crankbaits on lead-core and caught our three fish.” He noted that speeds of 1.8 to 2 mph were critical, as were 5- to 6-foot leaders of 14- to 17-pound Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon, which helped fool line-shy fish in Stockton’s gin-clear water.

While many teams targeted prespawn walleyes hunkered in 40 to 60 feet of water, Stanton and Brown focused on the 30-foot zone in a large cove close to the dam. “We started out with lead-core and crankbaits on Day Two and caught five walleyes by 11 o’clock,” Stanton reported. “We didn’t get another fish and were worried that we wouldn’t have enough to catch the leaders, but it worked out.”

Indeed, Stanton and Brown’s 7-pound, 9-ounce Day Two basket pushed their total to 13 pounds and propelled them into the winner’s circle, while Stein and Ludwig fell to sixth. For Brown, it was an emotional victory. “I’ve been infatuated with walleye fishing my entire life,” he said. “Just to fish an MWC was a really fulfilling experience, let alone to win one.”

In second place, Randall Gaines of Salem, Ohio, and Mike Rhoades, of South Bend, Indiana, weighed eight walleyes for a 12-pound, 1-ounce total worth $2,700 in cash plus $1,540 in cash for second place in the option pot.

Rounding out the top seven were:
3rd: Mike Dorris and Brian Tordsen, 10-15, $1,600 cash plus $1,000 Ranger Cup Award and
$500 Lowrance award
4th: Jaran Cox and Shane McReynolds, 10-09, $1,100 cash plus last-chance NTC bid for 2015
5th: Brett Cournoyer and Adrian Cliffe, 9-15, last chance NTC bid for 2015
6th: Steve Stein and Kenny Ludwig, 9-14, last chance NTC bid for 2015, plus two Okuma Dead Eye rods worth $200
7th: Brian Steichen and Shawn Carl, 9-01, $200 Zippo Hot Hand Award for big fish of the event, a 3-pound, 10-ounce walleye, plus two Abu Garcia linecounter reels worth $200

Although the tournament marked the beginning of the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit’s 31st season of team walleye competition, Stockton was definitely new territory for the trail. The legendary impoundment was added to expose new anglers to the MWC and its sponsors, while giving circuit veterans a chance to test their skills on a new body of water and earn a last-chance qualifying spot in the 2015 Cabela’s NTC. The field included a pair of past Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Champions, three past MWC event winners and a number of first-timers. The weigh in crowds were awesome and the community came out in force to cheer the MWC anglers on.

A total of 69 fish weighing 113 pounds, 1 ounce crossed the stage during the two-day, catch-and-release event. Weigh-ins were held at the Orleans Trail Resort and Marina. 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 entering 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, and T-H Marine. For more information, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

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You can check out full standings payouts and photos on our results page or by CLICKING HERE