Hughes, Jacobson Win Cabela’s Masters
Walleye Circuit’s Lake Winnebago Tournament

Presented by Mercury Marine

For Immediate Release –

Oshkosh, Wisc.—June 29, 2013—Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit veterans Jim Hughes and Matt Jacobson led wire-to-wire to win the trail’s Lake Winnebago Chain qualifier out of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, June 28-29.

“It’s a nice feeling to win this one,” said Hughes, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. An MWC competitor since 1990, he was quick to note the unique camaraderie enjoyed on the Circuit. “It’s really special fishing with all the local teams—who’ve been so supportive and gracious to us—along with all the MWC traveling teams, too. It feels like a fraternity of brothers.”

After a stellar opening day performance, highlighted by their five-fish MWC limit weighing 23 pounds, 13 ounces, the team owned the leaderboard on Day One and never looked back. Though their second trip across the Cabela’s MWC stage featured a bit smaller bag—five walleyes weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces—they still topped the nearest competitors in the 118-team field by more than five pounds.

The Winnebago win earned them the $16,200 first-place purse, which included $15,200 in cash plus a $1,000 Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package featuring a paid NTC entry, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques. Plus, they earned the $1,000 Ranger Cup contingency, a $500 Berkley Tackle Package, and $980 from the Big Fish Pot for total winnings of $18,680 in cash and prizes.

“It’s great to win, but it doesn’t seem real yet,” added Jacobson. The Weyauwega, Wisconsin, competitor has quite a track record on the lake. In fact, this was his second MWC victory on Winnebago. “Partner Greg Krings and I won the MWC tournament here in 1984,” he grinned, noting that he and current partner Jim Hughes scored a win at the Mercury Nationals on Winnebago in 2009.

While changing weather patterns forced Hughes and Jacobson to hunt for fish, their main tactics hinged on crankbaits including the Berkley Flicker Shad. Trolling 10- to 14-foot depths near the mouth of the Fox River produced most of their fish, although Jacobson noted that they only got five bites each day. “If something had gone wrong with one or two of those fish, it would have been a whole different story for us,” he said.

Fellow Wisconsinites Joel Robl and Greg Golliher, both of Oshkosh, finished second with 35 pounds, 5 ounces, worth $6,650. Third-place finishers Bill Ball and Jon Noble, both of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, claimed a $1,000 Cabela’s gift card from the Cabela’s Angler Cash Program. In fifth place, Jim Preissner, of Chilton, Wisconsin, and Mike Olson, of Andover, Minnesota, won the $500 Lowrance Electronics award for being the highest-finishing team using a Lowrance HDS Gen2, HDS Gen2 Touch or Elite-7 unit. The Circuit’s $200 Optima True Blue contingency went to David Kolb, of Rockford, Michigan, and Paul Rogers, of McHenry, Illinois. In all, the top 22 teams shared $68,710 in cash, sponsor bonuses and Big Fish Pot winnings.

The team-format tournament offered two days of competition on the Winnebago Chain’s world-class walleye fishery, with one day reserved in case of bad weather. Each day, teams were allowed to bring their best five walleyes to the scale. A total of 568 walleyes weighing 1,659 pounds, 12 ounces crossed the stage during the tournament. Of those, 564 were returned to Lake Winnebago under the Cabela’s MWC’s time-tested catch-and-release format. Big fish was a 6-pound, 9-ounce walleye caught by the Wisconsin team of Pete Petta, of Tomahawk, and David Cooper, of Schofield. The fish was worth $1,225 from the Big Fish Pot.

Weigh-ins were held at Menominee Park in Oshkosh. The Cabela’s MWC, National Professional Anglers Association, Pure Fishing and Zippo Outdoor Brands presented a Youth & Family Fishing Clinic immediately after the first day’s weigh-in. The first 50 youths received rod-and-reel combos courtesy of the NPAA.

This was the seventh of 10 Cabela’s MWC qualifying tournaments in 2013. The remaining schedule includes Devils Lake, North Dakota, August 2-4; the St. Mary’s River at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, August 22-23; and Cass Lake, Minnesota, out of Stony Point Resort, Sept. 13-15.

Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is in its 11th season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Berkley Gulp!, Lowe Equipment Attachments, Lowrance, Mercury Marine, MotorGuide, Ranger Boats, The Walleye Federation and Zippo Outdoor Brands. Associate sponsors include: Berkley Trilene, Church Tackle, Optima Batteries, O2 Marine Technologies and Sea Grant.

Based in Ponca City, Oklahoma, the Cabela’s MWC is oldest running national walleye circuit in America. Cabela’s MWC is owned by The Walleye Federation and is open to two-person teams regardless of club or sponsor affiliation. Entry fees are $650 per tournament, of which more than 100 percent is returned to anglers at the qualifiers, World Championship and Team of the Year races. Registration remains open through the Sunday night prior to each tournament. For more information, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

For complete standings… CLICK HERE

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For Immediate Release –

 Ponca City, Okla.—June 24, 2013—Over $65,000 in cash and prizes will be at stake as more than 230 of the world’s top walleye anglers compete when the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit returns to the Lake Winnebago Chain out of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, June 28-30.

The team-format tournament offers two days of competition on the system’s incredible walleye fishery, with one day reserved in case of bad weather. With tournament waters including legendary lakes Winnebago, Butte des Morts, Poygan and Winneconne, plus the Fox and Wolf rivers, anglers can expect great catches and an all-out walleye battle to claim one of the top 23 places and finish “in the money.”

First place pays out a cool $15,200 in cash plus a $1,000 Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package including paid NTC entry, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques. The MWC Big Fish Pot, along with sponsor bonuses including Cabela’s Angler Cash, Ranger Cup, Lowrance HDS Gen2/Elite-7, Berkley Baits and Optima True Blue add thousands more in cash and prizes to the total.

Industry-leading marine engine manufacturer Mercury Marine, based in nearby Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, is presenting sponsor of the event. “We’re happy to have the MWC back in Oshkosh, and are looking forward to a great tournament,” said Mercury’s Michelle Kilburn.

The MWC has a rich history in the region and on Winnebago in particular. In 2010, a dual tournament combining the Cabela’s National Team Championship and an MWC qualifier drew 362 teams and was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as history’s largest fishing tournament.

The circuit’s time-tested team format lets anglers choose their favorite fishing partner to share the excitement. Two-person teams will be allowed to weigh five walleyes per day, and the team with the heaviest two-day total weight will be crowned the Winnebago tournament champions. Considering the amount of world-class walleye water available, heavy weights are expected. Last summer, Wisconsinites Mark Schleis and Randy Seidl won the MWC Winnebago qualifier and nearly $20,000 in cash and prizes with a 39.69-pound total catch.

Walleye fans of all ages are invited to the weigh-ins, which are free and open to the public. The festivities begin at 3 p.m. daily at Menominee Park in Oshkosh. The Cabela’s MWC, National Professional Anglers Association, Pure Fishing and Zippo Outdoor Brands will present a Youth & Family Fishing Clinic immediately after the first day’s weigh-in. The first 50 youths will receive rod-and-reel combos courtesy of the NPAA.

This is the seventh of 10 Cabela’s MWC qualifying tournaments in 2013. The remaining schedule includes Devils Lake, North Dakota, August 2-4; the St. Mary’s River at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, August 22-23; and Cass Lake, Minnesota, out of Stony Point Resort, Sept. 13-15.

Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is in its 11th season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Berkley Gulp!, Lowe Equipment Attachments, Lowrance, Mercury Marine, MotorGuide, Ranger Boats, The Walleye Federation and Zippo Outdoor Brands. Associate sponsors include: Berkley Trilene, Church Tackle, Optima Batteries, O2 Marine Technologies and Sea Grant.

Based in Ponca City, Oklahoma, the Cabela’s MWC is oldest running national walleye circuit in America. Cabela’s MWC is owned by The Walleye Federation and is open to two-person teams regardless of club or sponsor affiliation. Entry fees are $650 per tournament, of which more than 100 percent is returned to anglers at the qualifiers, World Championship and Team of the Year races. Registration remains open through the Sunday night prior to each tournament. For more information, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

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Schoning, Kiefer Win Cabela’s Masters
Walleye Circuit’s Lake Oahe Tournament

Presented by MotorGuide

For Immediate Release –

Spring Creek, S.D.—June 8, 2013—Colorado’s Mark Schoning and Chad Kiefer led wire-to-wire to win the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit’s Lake Oahe qualifying tournament out of Spring Creek, South Dakota.

Schoning, of Colorado Springs, and Kiefer, of Brighton, topped the Day One leaderboard with 18 pounds, 7 ounces, leading their closest rivals in the 43-team field by nearly 3 pounds. The basket contained what would become big fish of the tournament, an 8-pound, 7-ounce High Plains beauty.

After a tougher bite on Day Two, they added 9 pounds, 15 ounces to the tally for a 28-pound, 6-ounce total. The Lake Oahe victory earned them the $8,300 first-place purse, which included $7,300 in cash plus a $1,000 Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package featuring a paid NTC entry, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques. They also collected a $1,000 Cabela’s gift card from the Cabela’s Angler Cash Program, $1,000 Ranger Cup contingency, $500 Berkley Tackle Package and $462.50 from the MWC Big Fish Pot for a total of $11,262.50 in cash and prizes.

It wasn’t the team’s first trip down victory lane. They won the 2013 Cabela’s MWC Lake Pueblo tournament in May. Winning their second straight event lifted them into elite company on the MWC. The last team to accomplish such a feat was Scott Busteed, of Fort Collins, Colorado, and Dave Harmon, of Omaha, Nebraska, who scored back-to-back wins at the Devils Lake and Lake Oahe MWC tournaments in 2011.

“This is unbelievable!” said Schoning. “To win two straight MWC tournaments against this caliber of fishermen is incredible.” Kiefer was likewise on cloud nine. “I’m pretty elated,” he grinned moments after the weigh-in.

The team’s go-to strategy was targeting depths to 20 feet along a key slice of slab rock structure about 20 miles north of the Spring Creek launch site. A trio of tactics yielded fish. They pitched ¼-ounce jigs tipped with Berkley Gulp! softbaits to shore; vertically jigged minnows and leeches; and deadsticked live minnows on floater rigs behind bottom bouncers.

“What great examples these young guns are,” the MWC’s Robert Cartlidge said of Schoning and Kiefer. He noted that the MWC conducted random polygraphs at the Oahe event, with Schoning and Kiefer passing theirs with flying colors. “The MWC will strive to maintain the highest standards of sportsmanship, excellence, professionalism and a level playing field for all MWC participants, and will polygraph at random events each year,” he explained.

Curt Olivier, of Yankton, South Dakota, and Doug Galant, of Pleasant Hills, Missouri, finished second with 27 pounds, 12 ounces, worth $3,800 plus a $500 Lowrance Electronics award for being the highest-finishing team using a Lowrance HDS Gen2, HDS Gen2 Touch or Elite-7 unit. The event paid out eight places. Plus, Ron and Spencer Deutz, of Fargo, North Dakota, claimed the $200 Optima Batteries True Blue bonus for their 12^th-place finish. In all, a total of $26,570 in cash, sponsor bonuses and Big Fish Pot winnings were awarded.

Scheduled for June 7-9, the team-format tournament offered two days of competition on Oahe’s renowned walleye fishery, with one day reserved in case of bad weather. Each day, teams were allowed to bring their best five walleyes to the scale. A total of 411 walleyes weighing 902 pounds, 15 ounces crossed the stage during the tournament.

Weigh-ins were held at Spring Creek Resort and Deep Water Marina. The Cabela’s MWC, National Professional Anglers Association, Pure Fishing and Zippo Outdoor Brands presented a Youth & Family Fishing Clinic immediately after the first day’s weigh-in. The first 50 youths received rod-and-reel combos courtesy of the NPAA.

This was the sixth of 10 Cabela’s MWC qualifying tournaments in 2013. The remaining schedule includes Lake Winnebago at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, June 28-30; Devils Lake, North Dakota, August 2-4; the St. Mary’s River at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, August 22-23; and Cass Lake, Minnesota, out of Stony Point Resort, Sept. 13-15.

Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is in its 11th season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Berkley Gulp!, Lowe Equipment Attachments, Lowrance, Mercury Marine, MotorGuide, Ranger Boats, The Walleye Federation and Zippo Outdoor Brands. Associate sponsors include: Berkley Trilene, Church Tackle, Optima Batteries, O2 Marine Technologies and Sea Grant.

Based in Ponca City, Oklahoma, the Cabela’s MWC is oldest running national walleye circuit in America. Cabela’s MWC is owned by The Walleye Federation and is open to two-person teams regardless of club or sponsor affiliation. Entry fees are $650 per tournament, of which more than 100 percent is returned to anglers at the qualifiers, World Championship and Team of the Year races. Registration remains open through the Sunday night prior to each tournament. For more information, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

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Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit Tackles

South Dakota’s Lake Oahe June 7-9

Presented by MotorGuide

For Immediate Release –

Ponca City, Okla.—June 5, 2013—Walleye fans can expect world-class competition, fast fishing and hefty payouts when the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit visits High Plains paradise Lake Oahe out of Spring Creek, South Dakota, June 7-9.

The Cabela’s MWC’s time-tested team-format tournament offers two days of competition on the fish-rich reservoir’s incredible walleye fishery, with one day reserved in case of bad weather. Two-person teams will be allowed to weigh five walleyes per day, and the team with the heaviest two-day total weight will be crowned the Lake Oahe tournament champions.

Along with major league bragging rights in the walleye world, the winners will earn serious cash and prizes. Cabela’s MWC payouts are based on the number of teams entered in each event. Plus, the MWC Big Fish Pot, along with sponsor bonuses including Cabela’s Angler Cash, Ranger Cup, Lowrance HDS Gen2/Elite-7, Berkley Baits and Optima True Blue add thousands more in cash and prizes to the total. And as an added incentive, the first-place team wins a $1,000 Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package including paid NTC entry, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques.

Western walleye fans of all ages are invited to the weigh-ins, which are free and open to the public. The festivities begin at 3 p.m. daily at Spring Creek Resort and Deep Water Marina. The Cabela’s MWC, National Professional Anglers Association, Pure Fishing and Zippo Outdoor Brands will present a Youth & Family Fishing Clinic immediately after the first day’s weigh-in. The first 50 youths will receive rod-and-reel combos courtesy of the NPAA.

This is the sixth of 10 Cabela’s MWC qualifying tournaments in 2013. The remaining schedule includes Lake Winnebago at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, June 28-30; Devils Lake, North Dakota, August 2-4; the St. Mary’s River at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, August 22-23; and Cass Lake, Minnesota, out of Stony Point Resort, Sept. 13-15.

Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is in its 11th season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Berkley Gulp!, Lowe Equipment Attachments, Lowrance, Mercury Marine, MotorGuide, Ranger Boats, The Walleye Federation and Zippo Outdoor Brands. Associate sponsors include: Berkley Trilene, Church Tackle, Optima Batteries, O2 Marine Technologies and Sea Grant.

Based in Ponca City, Oklahoma, the Cabela’s MWC is oldest running national walleye circuit in America. Cabela’s MWC is owned by The Walleye Federation and is open to two-person teams regardless of club or sponsor affiliation. Entry fees are $650 per tournament, of which more than 100 percent is returned to anglers at the qualifiers, World Championship and Team of the Year races. Registration remains open through the Sunday night prior to each tournament. For more information, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com, email info@masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call (580) 765-9031.

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