NWT ANNOUNCES 2009
TOURNAMENT DATES AND LOCATIONS

April 18th and 19th- Sherman- Trade Winds Marina
May 3rd- Sherman- Rose Placzek Memorial
May 30th and 31st- Lake McConaughy- Shut-up and Fish
June 27th- Merritt- Chamber Open
June 28th- Merritt- NWT State Championship

The NWT will have 2 one day tournaments, 2 two day tournaments, and a one day State Championship. Anglers can fish all five tournaments and only have to make 4 trips!  The NWT board and tournament directors are working very hard to make this the best year ever with even better payouts!  More information will be made available soon. 

 

 

 

Regelin & Vinzant Win $4,300 in Cash & Prizes & the 2008 Cabela’s NWT State Championship on Lewis & Clark Lake

Brian Regelin of Cozad, NE and Brett Vinzant of Bertrand, NE were crowned Cabela’s Nebraska Walleye Trail State Champions, on Sunday, August 10th, cashing over $4,300 in cash and prizes for the honor, which included $2,500 in cash, $200 in Cabela’s Gift Cards, a $1,000 Ranger Boats Certificate, and two sets of Cabelas Gortex Rain Gear.  The duo bested a field of 29 of the top fisherman in Nebraska and the surrounding states to take home the title of NWT State Champions. Their two-day ten fish winning weight topped the elite field at 25.59 pounds, a 2.59 pound average. This two day Cabela’s Championship sponsored by State Farm Insurance was a great tournament to win according to the winners; “It was a tournament that everything just went our way.  We were fishing the far west end of the lake trolling crankbaits in 6-10 feet of water. The second day late we switched to some bigger baits and we caught a couple of real nice fish. We knew we would need a big weight on day two to have a chance to win. There were a lot of great fishermen fishing this tournament.  The fish came in a better order for us today.  On Saturday we caught our smaller fish first and our last 3 fish were all upgrades so we kept them and had to go in an hour and forty-five minutes early. Today we caught some nice fish early and were able to fish later in the day when the bite seemed to pick up, and were able to get a couple of real nice upgrades later in the day. Our last fish was a 21 incher, and after we caught it we thought we would have a good shot at wining. It was a lot of fun, and was a great tournament to win.  For having only 29 teams the payouts were great.” 

Day one leaders, Mike Polak and Steve Isom of Norfolk and Valentine, NE put together a different, yet successful, program that resulted in a second-place finish. When it comes to live bait fishing the duo with Mike on the tiller are as good at it gets. “We were dragging ¼ ounce jigs with a half of crawler and lindy rigs with crawlers and leaches.  We were fishing the chutes and the west end for our fish. “ stated Polak.  Their leading weight on day one was 12.3 pounds, and they ended with a two day ten fish basket that weighed 20.64 pounds, and were awarded $1700 for their finish.

After yet another first-class performance, the team of Travis Sanger and Bill Anderson from Chamberlin, SD and Holdrege, NE finished in third place weighing 10 fish that weighed 19.22 pounds. Sanger and Anderson went for the ride of their lives literally.  They were making a 50 mile run up river past the High Lines through 1 foot of water and 10 feet from shore at times to get to their fish.  When asked about the ride & their fishing Sanger commented: “It took us 58 minutes to go 50 miles, we didn’t slow down. We were trolling crankbaits to catch our fish.  On the second day we only caught two fish up river so we had to come back down to finish our limit.”  Sanger and Anderson were awarded $1,100 for third place and were also the highest placing Ranger Cup qualifying team winning $300 from Ranger Boats. 
The team of Scott Madison and Kelly Jensen earned $600 and finished in fourth place with a final-round weight of 18.41 pounds for nine fish.  Fifth Place with a two day total of 18.01 went to Kevin Larkins and Guy Horn who weighed 10 fish over the two days and collected $500 for their finish.  Sixth place went to Zachary Fries and Kenneth Roy Jr. who weighed in seven fish for 17.87 pounds winning them $400. They were in 18th place after day one and jumped to 6th place with an impressive 13.43 pound day two weight. Their team caught the big fish of the tournament, a 4.01 pound walleye and earned their team $310 for the honor, and also won $200 from the Boat Dock for the highest placing team fishing out of a Boat from the Boat Dock. This gave their team a $910 total payday.
 In all 29 teams brought 152 walleyes to the scales over the two days. A big thanks to Tournament directors Tim Hoffman and Scott Placezk, who did an outstanding job with putting on this tournament. The Cabela’s NWT Walleye Championship sponsored by State Farm will be televised on Fox Sports Network sometime after the first of the year, check this website for details on the dates and times. Copies of the show will be made available at that time.

The anglers gathered on Friday evening for the Rules Meeting, Champions Banquet and a Meal sponsored by Ranger Boats.  Nebraska Walleye Trail “TEAM OF THE YEAR”, James Miller and Jason Cooper and the top ten placing NWT teams received their cash and prizes. (see the photos link for pictures) Over $12,000 in cash and prizes was paid out to the top ten teams.  Miller and Copper received their “TEAM OF THE YEAR” prizes that included: two 4 bank Minn Kota on board chargers, two Minn Kota jackets, two Lowrance 520 sonar units with GPS, two Lowrance jackets, $200 in Cabela’s Gift Cards and $2300 in cash for their NWT circuit win. The Tournament Directors and the NWT Board did a wonderful job this year, and many expressed their sincere appreciation for them hosting this years trail and all of the great prizes and quality tournaments they put on.  In all the NWT paid back over 120 percent of the entry fees received this season to the 5 tournaments and top ten placing teams in the circuit, in cash and prizes. This totaled over $80,000 in cash and prizes paid back to the anglers.   The NWT board and tournament directors have prided themselves on trying to make the NWT a great paying circuit for their anglers, and they will continue to make improvements for next season. Thanks again to all of the board members who make the NWT possible and an awesome circuit to fish.

Also, a big thanks to all of the sponsors that supported the NWT this season: Lowrance, Minn Kota, Ranger Boats, State Farm Insurance, The Boat Dock, Black Hawk Marine, Humminbird, Johnson Outdoors, and Rapala.  We hope to see everyone again next season! 

BRINKMAN AND BEISNER WIN SQUEAKER & $2500.00 1ST PLACE PRIZE

 

 

 

In a dramatic finish, Brian Brinkman and James Beisner of Holdrege and Loomis, NE were the winners the final NWT tournament of the season at Sherman Reservoir.  Brinkman and Beisner produced a 2 day basket weighing 19.50 pounds, which was only .24 pounds ahead of 2nd place finishers Bob Eaton and Thomas Pekerek who had a total weight of 19.36 pounds. The winners had a 4 fish day one weight of 12.58 pounds and on day 2 caught 2 fish that weighed 6.92 pounds to hold on for the win.  They caught their final fish a 5.32 pounder with less than an hour to go to seal the deal and bring home the win.  When asked about the win they said; “We were trolling Rapalas at 2.2 MPH and were catching suspended fish on the west end of the lake.  We did not have a fish in the boat at noon, but we just stuck with it.  For only 25 teams this was an excellent paying tournament and it was a lot of fun.”

The weather was perfect, the bite was excellent and the fish were big as the 24 participating teams brought 83 walleyes to the scales, including 10 fish over 5 pounds and a 9.32 pound fish caught by the team of Mark Hunter and Jeff Sykes.  Hunter and Sykes were the winners of the $240 big fish pot. It was a troller’s delight as the majority of the anglers were trolling to catch their fish.  Several of the top finishers attributed their success to trolling crankbaits.
The second place team of Bob Eaton and Tomas Pekerek missed winning by less than 3 tenths of a pound, but collected $1600 for their second place finish. They were also the top placing Ranger qualifying team winning the $300 Ranger Cup bonus.  When it comes to trolling, Bob is one of the best in the state and he showed that, as this was his team’s presentation during the entire 2 day event. 
Day one leaders, Jim Childers and Phil Codina finished third place with 19.08 pounds and were awarded $800 for their finish. Childers and Codina were less than a half of pound from the winning weight.  Fourth place and $700 went to Brian Regelin and Brett Vinzant for their 15.85 pounds of fish. Fifth place and $400 went to James Miller and Jason Cooper for a two-day catch that totaled 14.30 pounds.  The biggest catch on day two was caught by Gale Anderson and Robert Sheckler who had a 12.87 pound basket and ended in sixth place overall. A big thanks to Tournament Directors Tim Hoffman and Scott Placzek for putting on another great event. 

JAMES MILLER AND JASON COOPER WIN NWT “TEAM OF THE YEAR”

Completing an incredible 2008 season, James Miller and Jason Cooper of Hershey and Sutherland, NE won the “TEAM OF THE YEAR” award on the Nebraska Walleye Trail Tour with 583 points over three qualifying events. This is the first year a team has won the “TEAM OF THE YEAR” honors and are also the winners of the “CHARGERS OF THE YEAR” and  “LOCATORS OF THE YEAR”.  Miller and Cooper were also the most consistent anglers winning the “CHARGERS OF THE YEAR” race with four solid finishes; 1st at Merritt Chamber, 2nd at Rose Placzek, 5th at Trade Winds and 17th at the Shut-up and Fish. They also had the most total weight in the four events with 66.08 pounds winning them the “CHARGERS OF THE YEAR” award.  They showed their versatility using trolling, throwing jig, casting spinner baits and live bait rigging throughout the 4 tournaments to catch their fish. When asked about winning the NWT they stated; “It was a good circuit and we had a lot of fun.  The tournaments were held at the right time of the year and the fish cooperated well for us.”

It came down to the final day of the final qualifying tournament to determine a very close point race and who would finish in the top spots and earn end of the season cash and prizes and also who would put themselves in position to qualify for the Largest Walleye Tournament in the Nation, the 2009 Cabela’s National Team Walleye Championship.  James Beisner and Brian Brinkman from Loomis and Holdrege, NE finished second place in the point’s standings with 564 total points. Third Place with 555 points was Brian Regelin and Brett Vinzant from Cozad and Bertrand NE.  Ted Robinson and Dave Sintek from Alliance and Ansley, NE finished a close fourth with 554 points.  Fifth Place with 547 points goes to Todd Weber and Caleb Quinn from Waverly, NE.  Aurora, NE fisherman John Pursley and Pat Shaw finished sixth place with 546 total points.  The teams of Jeff Telitz and Jared McMurtry and Scott Willis and Marc Willis both ended the season with 539 total points.  With the total weight in the three qualifying tournaments as the tie breaker, Telitz and McMurtry end the season in seventh place and Willis and Willis end the season in eighth place overall.  Rounding out the top ten places were ninth place Jim Childers and Phil Codina with 536 points and tenth place Andy Huff and Brian Currie with 534 points.  See the Standings link for all of the final point standings.

 

MILLER & COOPER WIN THE NEBRASKA WALLEYE TRAILS THIRD TOURNAMENT AT MERRITT RESERVIOR

Only two week after losing their boat’s lower unit at the Cabela’s National Team Walleye Championship, James Miller and Jason Cooper of Hersey and Sutherland, NE, had their boat back and working fine and their fishing skills were working even better. The duo caught five walleyes weighing an impressive 23.32 pounds Sunday, June 29th and were crowned the winners of the 3rd Nebraska Walleye Trail Tournament of the season. Miller and Cooper were fishing two primary weed beds for their fish. “We were casting Priel Style Spinner Baits deep into the weeds.  We only had seven bites all day.” commented the winners.

The fishing on Merritt Reservoir had been amazing.  With a few storm fronts rolling through the area throughout the week, it made the bite a little more challenging, but the fishing was still very good.  This one day event found anglers using a variety of presentations to catch their fish.  Second Place went to Tim Hoffman and Scott Placezk of Loup City, NE. They were live bait fishing points for their impressive 5 fish limit weighing 21.36 pounds. Scott and Tim were also the top placing Ranger qualifying team, winning the Ranger Cup Bonus.  
Casting spinner baits and live bait rigging was the combination used for the third place team of Jeff Telitz and Jared McMurty from North Platte, NE.  They had a five fish limit and a total weight of 18.28 pounds.  Fourth place went to Scott Willis and Marc Willis of Shelton and Kearney, NE.  They fished live bait and concentrated on the Snake River for the majority of their fish.

Rounding out the top seven finishers who cashed a check were: 5th Scott Philipi and David Howell (4 walleyes, 15.07 pounds) 6th Bob Skates and Gary Leaf (4 walleyes, 13.70 pounds) 7th- Curt Baker and Kerry Kleeb(3 walleyes, 13.33 pounds) Curt and Kerry also had the big fish of the tournament and were winners of the big fish pot with a 6.18 pound fish.

In all, anglers brought 95 fish to the scales for the one day event. With 36 teams participating the payouts were very good paying back over 85 percent of the entry fees to the top seven teams.  It was a great tournament to fish and very well ran.  A big thanks goes to the Valentine Chamber and Tournament Director Steve Isom for putting on this event. The final Tournament will be at Sherman in a couple weeks. Check out all of the details below. 

NEBRASKA FISHERMAN EARN ALL-AMERICAN STATUS AT THE 2008 CABELA’S NATIONAL TEAM WALLEYE CHAMPIONSHIP IN MOBRIDGE, SOUTH DAKOTA

(check out photo gallery)

Congratulations to the following Nebraska fisherman who finished in the top 25 and earned All-American status last week at the 2008 Cabela’s National Championship Walleye Tournament : Andy Moberly 2nd Place, Robby Rowland and Scott Sundstrom 5th Place, Chuck Craig 7th Place, Tim Hoffman and Scott Placzek 8th Place, and John Pursley and Dave Schwartz 15th Place.  Nebraska teams were represented well with several other teams finishing in the top half. Check the Photos link in a few days for Cablela’s NTC Photos.  Good luck to everyone the remainder of the fishing season and we hope to see you at Merritt in a couple of weeks! 

Check out all of the results live- http://www.liveleaderboard.com/

 

SKATES & LEAF WIN SHUT-UP & FISH & $10,000--2nd NWT Tournament of the season

Ogallala. NE—Bob Skates and Gary Leaf of North Platte, NE, landed $10,000 in cash after catching 5 walleyes and bringing a whopping 18.44 pounds to the scale on the second day of the two day tournament May 17th and 18th at Lake McConaughy. With the water temps in the low 50’s fish were tough to come by, but persistence was the key for the winners at the Nebraska Walleye Trails 2nd tournament of the season. When the winners were asked how it feels to have just won $10,000 they said, “It feels good; we have been working at it a long time. Persistence paid off, we just kept working at it.” They caught one fish the first day of the tournament weighing 4.12 pounds and did not have a fish in the boat with only 2 hours remaining in the tournament. They went on to catch five 21-inchers to take home the title. Skates & Leaf topped the elite field by throwing jigs and concentrating on fish in less than 10 feet of water for their 22.56 total pounds of fish.

Anglers fished the entire lake, from the face of the dam to the west end, and found some walleyes relating to the new weeds with the higher water levels. Anglers caught the majority of the fish by trolling crank baits, pulling spinners, live bait rigging, and casting spinner baits. Some anglers found fish very shallow in 4 to 8 feet, and fished live bait, or threw jigs, while others fished the main channel edges in 10 to 30 feet for their fish.   

Cody Gamble & Shawn Dillahay landed 4 walleyes weighing 16.80 pounds, and earned $5,000 for their second place finish.
Third place and $3,000 went to, Eric Sylvester & Troy Bosard who were leading the tournament after the first day. The duo fished the dam, casting spinner baits for their 11.40 pounds of fish. “The fish were there, but the conditions were not very favorable. There were only 4 or 5 fish caught up there today” commented Bosard.
Fourth place and Big Fish of the Tournament went to Ted Robinson and Dennis Quick both from Alliance, NE.  They landed the big fish only minutes into the first day of the tournament, pulling a white spinner with a leach in 16 feet of water. The massive 28.5 inch fish weighed in at 10.42 pounds giving their team enough weight to hold on for fourth place. Their team won $2,000 for the tournament and an $840 bonus for the big fish, giving their team a $2,840 total payday.  When asked about the big fish and fourth place finish Robinson replied, “It was a lot of fun. I knew it was a big fish, but did not think it was that big until we put it in boat. We were both shaking for 30 minutes after we caught it.  It was a great tournament and I would like to thank Darrell Morrow and all of the sponsors including Steve Isom with Isom Agency who donated the big fish plaque.”

Fifth Place went to Dan Stringer and Shandra Stringer,  they weighed 1 walleye, 9.30 pounds and earned a $1,000 check. They also won the Ranger Cup $300 bonus giving their team a $1300 payday.
 Rounding out the top finishers were: Sixth Place- Jason Erickson and Chris McKay (2 walleyes, 9.30 pounds, $500); Seventh Place- James Beisner and Darrin Aue (1 walleye, 9.04 pounds, $500); Eighth Place-Scott Willis and Scott Oliver  (4 walleyes, 6.72 pounds, $500); Ninth Place- Mark Joslyn and J.D. Baker (1 walleye, 6.18 pounds, $500) Eighth place finisher Scott Willis stated, “It was exciting and nerve-racking going into the second day sitting in sixth place and having a good chance to win $10,000.  We thought if we could catch a couple fish we would have a chance.  We caught one fish on a jig and shiner, and 3 fish on lindy rigs with crawlers.  It was a great tournament.” 

Overall, 90 teams participated and 28 teams caught fish giving their teams quality points needed for the cash awards and prizes at the end of the fishing season and a chance at earning “TEAM OF THE YEAR” honors. See the results and standings links, for all of the results and NWT season standings.   The top 2 finishing teams also qualified for the 2009 Cabela’s National Team Championships.  At the rules meeting there were a number of great raffle prizes given away including a Humminbird 997c SI Combo valued at $2200.00 which went to Scott Oliver. A special thanks to Tournament Director Darrell Morrow- Oregon Trail Trading Post in Lewellen for yet another great tournament.   Two tournaments remain before the State Championship.  The next stop on the Nebraska Walleye Trail will be Merritt Reservoir on Sunday, June 29th.  Contestants can download entry forms from this site.  Check the Web Site for details on this tournament in a week or so