Colorado Team of Lunde and Schultz Win on Bay of Green Bay Presented by Ranger Boats

Colorado Team of Lunde and Schultz Win on Bay of Green Bay

Presented by Ranger Boats

Oconto, Wisc – July 23, 2023 – No matter the time of year, The Bay of Green Bay brings hopes of big walleyes for tournament anglers that travel far and wide across the bay searching. The fifth stop of the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC), boasted a total payout of $60,011 and was Presented by Ranger Boats. The weather leading up to this leg of the season was perfect for the 124 MWC anglers competing and as teams left the dock at Oconto, WI. the anticipation and stakes were high. For one Colorado team, those hopes became a reality after two days of fishing.

A duo from nearly 1200 miles away who had never fished The Bay of Green Bay, Chad Lunde and Luke Schultz from Littleton, CO came out to Wisconsin with open minds and a willingness to figure these fish out while doing what very few, if any other anglers, where doing during the tournament. After taking over the lead on day-two, the team described their pattern as kind of a one-two punch approach. They were targeting bigger fish on their new Lowrance Live electronics and dropping slip-bobbers with live bait on their noses enticing them to bite. When this subtle approach didn’t work, they casted glide baits at fish trying to trigger reaction bites.

Both tactics have been known to catch walleye all across the walleye world. Lunde and Schultz’s back-to-basics approach set them up in a good spot after weighing a bag of 30-04 lbs. on the first day that landed them in 3rd place and just a little over a pound out of the lead.

Day-two saw an incoming weather front and a moving barometer, the conditions were just right for the Colorado team to bring in another solid basket of fish for the final day. Their day-two weight of 25-11 lbs. was enough to secure the win with a two-day total of 55-15 lbs. The duo took home the top prize of $9,660 cash, $3,700 option pot cash, a $1,000 NTC prize package, $1,000 Lowrance Electronics cash Award, Two (2) Okuma Reels worth $200, and two coveted MWC 1st place trophies. All totaling over $15,560!

Here’s how the rest of the top five teams competing in Oconto did:

2nd Tony Karrick and Sam Cappelli 55-13 lbs. $4,840 cash, $2,550 option pot cash, $500 Ranger Cup bonus

3rd Peter Mart and Dave Lester 54-02 lbs. $3,330 cash

4th Dan Woodke and Steve Meyer 53-09 lbs. $2,450 cash, $1,500 option pot cash

5th Steve and Jeremy Skupien 53-08 lbs. $1,910 cash, $1,025 option pot cash

The Dakota Lithium Come-Back award went to Dylan Schmidt and Trevor Parsons. They went from 53rd place after day one to 29th place on day two. A jump in the standings that earned them three (3) 135ah deep cycle/marine starting/trolling batteries with chargers, totaling $4,296.

The largest fish caught during the event was caught by Adam Hume and Mike Karner weighing in at 10-05 lbs. The largest sack of the tournament was caught by Dylan Schmidt and Trevor Parsons and weighed 34-01 lbs. A total of 386 walleyes were weighed-in totaling 1841-04 lbs. during the tournament.

A huge thank you goes out to Oconto Riviera, Oconto Economic Development, and The Dockside for helping set up a great venue for the rules meeting, supplying anglers and staff with an awesome dinner, and rolling out the red carpet here in Oconto! Thank you!

The next stop of the MWC takes anglers back out west to Lake Francis Case in Wagner, SD. Francis Case is an impoundment on the Missouri River and boosts a very healthy population of walleyes just waiting for anglers to take-on. Registration for this event is open until Monday, August 21st. Anglers can register by visiting masterswalleyecircuit.com.

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 the past 39 years and has directly donated hundreds of thousands and helped raise millions of dollars to support walleye & conservation programs nationwide. The MWC is open to walleye anglers from all walks of life. The 2023 schedule includes seven qualifiers in six states, plus a berth into the 2024 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Championship.

Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s – The World’s Foremost Outfitters, are in their 22nd season as the title sponsor of the Masters Walleye Circuit. Official sponsors include: Lowrance Electronics, Mercury Marine, Ranger Boats, and Dakota Lithium Batteries. Associate sponsors include: The Walleye Federation, Church Tackle, FishLab, Okuma, Power-Pole and T-H Marine. For more information, email support@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

 

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Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit to Visit the Bay of Green Bay Presented by Ranger Boats

Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit to Visit the Bay of Green Bay Presented by Ranger Boats

Ponca City, Okla. – June 23rd, 2023 – Anglers from all across the walleye world are eager to visit the famed waters of the Bay of Green Bay for the fifth stop of the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC) presented by Ranger Boats in Oconto, WI. This body of water historically produces some monster weights in the mid to late summer months and it looks like the timing for this event may be perfect.

The Bay of Green Bay has something for everyone anglers can fish mud flats and pull night crawler harnesses, while others my troll crank baits, or jig fish.  Rest assured the “Toughest Anglers on Plant Earth” won’t leave any stone un-turned.

“The Bay of Green Bay is right in the heart of walleye country and it is a fantastic time to be in Oconto. Fish are settling into their mid-summer patterns feeding heavily. It’s always interesting to hear from teams as they come across the stage on what they were doing and how they came up with the program that caught their fish.”, said MWC Tournament Director, Jeff Kelm. “Thirty-five-to-forty-pound bags are certainly possible here just about any time.”

There is still time to sign-up to fish in Oconto, WI on The Bay of Green Bay. Registration for this event closes on July 17, 2023. You can visit the MWC website to sign up at www.masterswalleyecircuit.com.

The MWC welcomes the public to experience this event in-person at the Oconto Breakwater Park and Harbor on July 21st and 22nd.  Send-off is at 7:00 a.m. with weigh-in to begin at 3:15pm both Friday and Saturday. Our live stream will begin at 3:15pm each day on masterswalleyecircuit.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/MastersWalleyeCircuit.

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, a travel stipend, team jerseys, and plaques. Additionally, the big-fish pot, option-pot and sponsor bonuses from Ranger Cup, Lowrance, Dakota Lithium, Okuma, and T-H Marine Atlas Awards add thousands more for distribution among the field.

Anglers competing during the 2023 MWC season will be competing for a spot in the 2024 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s World Walleye Championship in Alpena, Michigan on Lake Huron. MWC Teams may fish as many events as they wish during a season. Teams must earn points in at least three qualifiers to have a chance at earning an invitation to the World Walleye Championship in the final “best of 3” 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 the past 39 years. The MWC is open to walleye anglers from all walks of life. Visit masterswalleyecircuit.com for full details.

Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s –Are in their 22th season as title sponsor of the Masters Walleye Circuit. Official sponsors include: Lowrance Electronics, Mercury Marine, Ranger Boats and Dakota Lithium. Associate sponsors include: The Walleye Federation, Church Tackle, FishLab, Okuma, Power-Pole and T-H Marine. For more information, email support@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

Skupien and Neuman Take 1st Place on Lake Erie Presented by Mercury Marine

Skupien and Neuman Take 1st Place on Lake Erie Presented by Mercury Marine

Lorain, Ohio – June 17th, 2023 – The Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC) on Lake Erie Presented by Mercury was scheduled to bring two days of great fishing and monster limits to the scales, Friday June 16 and Saturday June 17, but mother nature doesn’t read schedules well.

A major storm blew into the area on Thursday evening, and continued through the pre-dawn hours of Friday morning. With wind speeds pushing 30 mph from the north and small-craft advisories all across Lake Erie’s southern shores, it was decided that this first day of competition must be cancelled for the safety of the anglers. That left just Saturday, for the two-person teams to put their skills to the test and bring in the five biggest walleyes they could find for a one-day shoot-out.  Steve Skupien (Frankfort, IL) and Wally Neuman (Morris, IL) figured out exactly what was needed to take home the win.

Steve and Wally headed out on Saturday to their best spot from practice. It was a nearly 30-mile boat ride in Saturdays much calmer waters. Steve Skupien stated in an interview, “We decided to run to the Canadian waters to the east of Pelee Island. After getting up there, we noticed there was a big bug hatch happening and the Lowrance units showed the walleyes were high in the water column. We were in 26-32 feet of water and ran our nightcrawler harnesses down 12 to 15 feet down. We used a mix of night crawlers and Berkley artificial crawlers, which caught our bigger fish. With a good limit by 9 a.m. we caught another 50 plus walleyes in order to add a couple kickers needed to boost our weight.” Their one-day weight of 32-04 lbs. was enough to earn the win. For their efforts, they took home the top prize of $11,800 that included a $1,000 NTC prize package, plus an additional $3,750 in Option Pot cash, Dakota Lithium Come-Back Award of $4,296 and two (2) Okuma reels valued at $200 for a grand total of $21,046.

On top of winning the MWC event, the Skupien and Neuman also took first place in the Lake Erie Walleye Trail (LEWT) tournament that was held alongside the MWC event in Lorain. For winning that event, they took home another paycheck worth $11,820. The LEWT is a Walleye Federation (TWF) affiliated organization that holds walleye tournaments on Lake Erie all across Ohio. This was the fourth year the MWC and LEWT have paired up to hold an event and talks are already under way for holding another together in the future.

Here’s how the rest of the top five teams from the MWC did on Lake Erie:

2nd  Adam Hume and Mike Karner 31-11 lbs. $5,642 cash, $2,750 option pot cash, and $500 Ranger Cup Bonus

3rd  Scott Geitgey and Jay Gullett(sub) 31-06 lbs. $3,850 cash, $2,000 option pot cash, and $1,000 Lowrance Bonus

4th  Michael McCardle(sub) and Jay Petermann 31-02 lbs. $2,750 cash, $1,380 option pot cash

5th  Rob Lester and Randy Cline 30-10 lbs. $2,200 cash

There was a tie for the largest fish in the tournament.  The teams of Larry Kammerer and Ali Shakoor and Chris Kosciewicz and Aaron Gavlak each caught and weighed a 8-09 walleye, splitting the first and second Big Fish pot and taking home $1,280 each. There were 355 fish caught totaling 1629-05 lbs.

Total possible payout for this event was $78,568 in cash and prizes and paid down 15 spots to a field of 78 teams from across the country.

Due to Ohio Fish and Game requirements pertaining to tournaments held on Lake Erie, all fish caught must be donated to a local charity, in this case Victory Kitchen Sandusky where they will help many needy families across northern Ohio.

Steve and Jeremy Skupien are a registered “Premier Team” with the MWC, meaning they committed to fishing 3 or more events in the MWC season prior to fishing their first event. One of the many benefits of being a “Premier Team” is the use of a substitute angler while still tracking the original team’s points. At this Lake Erie event, Wally Neuman, the team’s registered sub, fished in place of Jeremy.

From Lake Erie, the MWC packs up and heads back east to prepare for another tournament on the famed Bay of Green Bay out of Oconto, Wisconsin. The timing is perfect for anglers to see some of the largest weights that could come across the scales this year. Registration is open for this event until Monday, July 17th. Anglers can register by visiting masterswalleyecircuit.com.

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 the past 39 years and has directly donated hundreds of thousands and helped raise millions of dollars to support walleye & conservation programs nationwide. The MWC is open to walleye anglers from all walks of life. The 2023 schedule includes seven qualifiers in six states, plus a berth into the 2024 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Championship.

Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s – The World’s Foremost Outfitters, are in their 22nd season as the title sponsor of the Masters Walleye Circuit. Official sponsors include: Lowrance Electronics, Mercury Marine, Ranger Boats, and Dakota Lithium Batteries. Associate sponsors include: The Walleye Federation, Church Tackle, FishLab, Okuma, Power-Pole and T-H Marine. For more information, email support@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

NOTICE: Day 1 of the MWC event at Lorain, OH on Lake Erie postponed due to wind and wave conditions

Day 1 of the MWC event at Lorain, OH on Lake Erie, Presented by Mercury has been postponed for safety reasons due to wind and wave conditions for today, Friday June 16. The anglers will now compete on Saturday as a 1-day event.

Saturday’s weigh in will take place as published at 3:15pm ET at Grumpy’s Bait/Black River Launch

We understand that a postponement is hard sometimes but the safety of our anglers is always our primary concern and we will always err on the side of safety.

So please tune in for live coverage from Black River Launch at Lorain, OH Saturday June 17 at 3:15pm ET on MastersWalleyeCircuit.com and on Facebook to watch the Lake Erie giants come to the scales!