2009 Articles
Congratulations Nebraska Fisherman at the 2009 Cabela’s National Team Championship (NTC) Walleye Tournament held at Devils Lake, North Dakota July 25-26. Top 50 Nebraska teams: 3rd Place (All-Americans)- Scott Willis and Marc Willis, 20th Place (All-Americans)- Treven Stutheit and Derek Behne, 34th Place- Bill Kunze and Greg Belgum, 38th Place- John Pursley and Pat Shaw, 43rd Place- Rick Smutny and Sonet Smutny. Check out all of the results at: http://www.masterswalleyecircuit.com/ or http://www.liveleaderboard.com/
Tom Miller and Ben Pavelka Win NWT Merritt Chamber Open
The competition was intense, there were a bunch of heavy baskets, and only 1 pound separated the top six teams at the Merritt Chamber Open Saturday June 27th. The winning team of Tom Miller and Ben Pavelka from North Platte, NE had a five fish limit that weighed 20.83 pounds which was only a .19 pound cushion between the second-place finishers, Tim Long and Derek Wagner from Holdrege, NE who had a five fish limit weighing 20.64 pounds. The winners were casting spinner-baits to catch their fish, while the runner-ups were slip-bobber fishing. Finishing in third place and weighing 20.53 pounds for five fish was the team of Dave Ishii Jr. and Steve Barajas who were trolling to catch most of their fish. Ron and Seth Green were jig fishing and finished a close fourth place weighing 20.48 pounds for five fish. Finishing in fifth place and weighing 19.89 pounds were Nebraska Walleye Trail fishermen Jeff Telitz and Jared McMurtry from North Platte, NE. Rounding out the top ten were: 6th- James Miller and Jason Cooper, 7th- Tim Hoffman and Scott Placzek, 8th Joe Conroy and Dave Brandon, 9th- Teddy Robinson and Dave Sintak, and 10th- Andy Moberly and Nick Presley. The Chamber Open had 43 participating teams and was a great tournament to fish. The fishing was outstanding and you were able to use just about any technique to catch them. Steve Isom and his staff ran a great event and the payouts to the top anglers were very good as well.
Mekelburg & Terrell Win Cabela’s Nebraska Walleye Trail State Championship at Merritt Reservoir
A tinge of excitement hung in the air as the top anglers readied themselves for an all or nothing one day State Championship Shootout at Merritt Reservoir on Sunday, June 28th. Some felt confident that their big fish have moved in and will bite today, while others who did not do so well the past day were hoping for the same. Conditions were ideal for the 31 championship qualifying teams. The field consisted of the top point accumulating teams who competed during the 2009 NTC season. Jeff Mekelburg and Ev Tarrrell were able to put together a winning combination and outlast the fierce competition to claim top honors at the annual Cabela's Nebraska Walleye Trail State Championship. The duo brought 21.75 lbs. of walleyes to the scale to hold off the second place team of James Miller and Jason Cooper by .33 lbs. The champs were awarded cash prizes, and were also awarded customized championship plaques and a set of Cabela’s gortex rain gear for their crowning achievement. The winners were jig fishing and trolling to catch their fish, while the runner-ups were fishing jigs for the majority of their fish 21.42 pounds of walleye.
Finishing in third place in the Cabela’s State Championship was the team of Jason Erickson and John Hopfer. They weighed 5 fish for 16.19 pounds. Nebraska Walleye Trail fishermen Scott Willis and Scott Oliver from Shelton, NE finished in a close fourth place weighing 16.12 pounds for five fish. Finishing in firth place were NWT newcomers Deon and Dennis Quick from Alliance, NE. They weighed five fish for an impressive 15.98 pounds. Rounding out the top ten were; 6th-Garcia and Childers, 7th- Huff and Curry, 8th-Baker and Kleeb, 9th- Isom and Polak, and 10th- Smutney and Smutney.
Miller and Cooper Crowned 2009 “Team of the Year”, “Chargers of the Year” and “Locators of the Year”
Two of the NWT’s most accomplished anglers, James Miller and Jason Cooper added their second NWT “Team of the Year” title in as many years finishing the season with 587 points out of a possible 600 points for their top 3 tournament finishes. They were also crowned “Chargers of the Year” for being the most consistent anglers over all 4 tournaments and “Locators of the Year” for weighing the most weight (82.44 lbs) over the 4 qualifying tournaments. The duo was awarded $1100 in bonus prize money, $500 in Cabela’s gift cards, 2- Minkota 440 onboard chargers, and 2- Humminbird 778c sonar units for their accomplishments. The winners commented on the season; “The NWT is a great circuit to fish. We have fished a lot of places and the NWT is as good as it gets. The payouts are very good, the people are great and the tournament directors do a great job running the tournaments.”
Finishing in second place in the points with 555 was the Aurora, NE team of John Pursley and Dave Schwartz. Dave and John were awarded $800 in cash for their finish and $400 in Cabela’s gift cards. Third place and $700 in cash and $400 in Cabela’s gift cards went to Brian Regelin and Brett Vinzant with 553 points. All of the top ten teams earned cash prizes and Cabela’s gift cards for their finishes, rounding out the top ten were: 4th- Jeff Meckleburg and Ev Terrrell (551) $500 cash & $300 CGC 5th- Tim Long and Derek Wagner (544) $475 cash $200 CGC 6th- Scott Willis and Scott Oliver (440) $440 cash $100 CGC 7th-Jeff Telitz and Jared McMurty (538) $370 cash, $100 CGC 8th-Joe Conroy and Dave Brandon (536) $240 cash, $100 CGC 9th- Ruben Garcia and Jim Childers (533) $220 cash, $50 CGC 10th- Ron and Seth Green (531) $150 cash, $50 CGC. It was a tight race for the points this year with many teams coming close to cracking the top ten.
We would like to thank Tournament Director Steve Isom for all of his hard work to make these two tournaments happen. Steve did an outstanding job!
Steve would also like to thank the following people for all of their help: Jamie Isom, Mike Polak, Tim and Diane Hoffman, Scott and Cathy Placzek, Steve Kerr, Mark Lindvall, and Ted Robinson. Also, a big thanks to the individuals that helped pick up after the tournament: Ev Tarrell, Jeff Mekelburg, James Miller, Jason Cooper, Rick & Son’et Smutney, Scott Willis, and Scott Oliver. (I hope I did not miss someone).
Also a big thank you to our sponsors, Cabela’s, Trade Winds Motel, Merritt Trading Post, Waters Edge Restaurant, Valentine Beverage, Wells Fargo Bank, Skylite Bar, Cherry County Tourism Board, Dunes Lodge and Suites, Fred’s Bait and Tackle, Subway, Holiday Inn, Rosebud Casino, Super 8 Motel, Motel Raine, Jordan’s Fine Dinning, Henderson’s IGA, Shell Travel Center, Ohlmann Bldg Center, Bomgaars, Ranger ,Minn-kota, and Humminbird.
Check out the photos link for more photos from Merritt!
MILLER & COOPER DOMINATE NWT SHUT-UP & FISH
(LEFT TO RIGHT), 3RD PLACE- TARRELL AND MEKELBURG, 1ST PLACE-COOPER AND MILLER, 2ND PLACE- SCHNEIDER & SCHNEIDER
James Miller of Hershey, NE and partner Jason Cooper of Sutherland, NE put a solid game plan together, to win the third Nebraska Walleye Trail tournament of the season at Lake McConaughy. The Duo used a variety of presentations and locations to run away with the 2009 Shut-Up and Fish tournament victory. With an impressive five fish, 21.40 pound basket on day one, and a five fish, 15.02 pound limit of fish on day two, their total weight was 36.42 pounds for two days. They dominated the field, winning by over seven pounds. Their win garnered them a tournament check for $4618.00. The winners commented; “We had a great couple of days, we just caught the right fish. The fishing was very good and we had great weather. It was a lot of fun. We fished the South Side of the lake the first day and pulled live-bait in 6-12 feet of water, and caught one fish on a jig. On day two we caught fish pulling live bait, trolling crankbaits, and throwing jigs, and we fished two different areas then we did on day one. We would like to thank Darrell Morrow and the Oregon Trail Trading Post staff for putting on another great tournament. They always run a smooth tournament and have a lot of great help.”
Most of the 56 participating teams were fishing live bait rigs in water depths of 5-20 feet, while some fished slip bobbers in the trees, casted jigs, spinner-baits and crank-baits. A few of the anglers were also pulling crank-baits to catch their fish. On Saturday 179 fish were brought to the scales and on Sunday 113 fish were weighed in. The biggest fish of the tournament was a 7.92 pound walleye caught by the team of John and Randy Rowland from North Platte, NE. Their team was awarded the $540.00 big fish pot.
Finishing in second place was Brian Schneider and Bruce Schneider of Mitchell, NE. Their 10 fish, two day total weighed in at 28.70 pounds. They were awarded $2640.00 for their impressive finish. In third place was the team of Ev Tarrell of Sidney, NE and Jeff Mekelburg of Fleming, CO with a total weight of 25.46 pounds. They received $1584.00 for their finish. Nebraska Walleye Trail fisherman Jim Childers and Phil Codina from Alliance, NE finished in fourth place with a ten fish two day total of 25.46 pounds, and were awarded $1056.00. Fifth place and $740.00 went to Todd and Lowell Jacobson from North Plattte, NE. for their 24.56 pounds of walleye. Finishing in sixth place was Brian Regelin and Brett Vinzant from Cozad and Bertrand, NE. They weighed 21.28 pounds and were awarded $598.00. Rounding out the top ten were: 7th- Robert Rowland and Scott Sundstrom (20.64); 8th- Dave Brandon and Joe Conroy (20.58); 9th- John Pursley and Dave Schwartz (20.04); 10th- Ron and Seth Green (19.98)
The Nebraska Walleye Trail will wrap up its final regular season tournament at Merritt Reservoir on Saturday, June 27th. Contestants can download entry forms from this site. Check the Web Site for details on this tournament in a week or so. The NWT Championship sponsored by Cablela’s will be held on Sunday, June 28th at Merritt. To qualify for the State Championship teams must fish in 3 NWT regular season tournaments. The Championship banquet and rules meeting will be held on the evening of the 27th where the top ten teams will receive awards and cash prizes. Check this site for more details and check out the standing link in a few days for all of current standings. We hope to see everyone at Merritt!
ROSE & ROSE WIN THE ROSE & $2000 CASH
Rose Placzek Memorial-Sponsored by State Farm Insurance
It could not have been a more fitting team to win the 15th annual Rose Placzek Walleye Tournament, as the father son team of Eric Rose and Gage Rose of Cairo, NE win the Rose and reeled in $2,000 in cash Sunday, May 3rd. The father son team caught five walleyes weighing 15.5 pounds, while fishing the one day Nebraska Walleye Trail Tournament presented by State Farm Insurance on Sherman Reservoir. Their one day catch gave them a two pound margin of victory over runner up Tim Long & Derrick Wagoner from Holdrege NE, who landed four walleyes weighing 13.45 pounds. “This feels great, it was very exciting” said Eric Rose the father of nine year old Gage. “We caught all of our fish before nine in the morning. We were using crawlers and were fishing the creek channel in about 14 feet of water.” When Gage was asked what he thought when he saw the big fish he said, “HOLY COW!” Their team caught a solid limit of 15-20 inch fish and had one fish over 28 inches, for their five fish giving them $2000 for the win.
The second place team of Tim Long & Derrick Wagoner from Holdrege NE, weighed in at 13.45 pounds for four fish and used tolling crank-baits to catch their fish. They were awarded $1500 for finishing second. “We threw back four 17 inchers and several in the protected slot, and we did not have a fish in the box at noon. After that we kept three fish between 17and 19 inches and with 5 minutes to go we caught the 28 incher.”Long said.”
2ND PLACE TEAM
Third place went to James Miller and Jason Cooper from Hershey and Sutherland, NE as they won $1150 for their 10.49 pounds for 3 fish. They were fishing the west end of the lake and were also pulling crank-baits.
3RD PLACE TEAM
Fourth place and $850 went to Cruz Ramos and Matt Peters with 9.34 pounds. Fifth place and $500 went to Aaron Meier and Cameron Peister. Their team weighed in 4 fish that weighed 9.33 pounds. Sixth place went to Jason Ericson and Chris McKay. Their team was awarded $450 for their 9.14 pounds of walleye. They also won the big fish pot with a 7.54 pound walleye, giving their team a $490 bonus and a total payday of $940.
BIG FISH TEAM
Rounding out the top ten teams were: 7th- Ben Garver and Leland Bailey, 8th-Brian Brinkman and David Brinkman, 9th- Scott Willis and Scott Oliver, 10th-Rick Smutny and Sone’t Smutny
Nebraska Walleye Trail anglers compete in four regular-season tournaments in their quest to qualify for the NWT Cabela’s Walleye Championship on Merritt Reservoir June 28th where Nebraska’s top anglers will fish. This was the second stop on the Nebraska Walleye Trail. Anglers will visit Lake McConaughy , May 30 & 31 and Merritt Reservoir , June 27th for the final qualifying event. Remember you must fish 3 events to qualify for the Cabela’s State Championship, and end of the season awards. The next stop for the Nebraska Walleye Trail is BIG MAC on May 30th and 31st. Entry deadline is Wednesday May 27th. All entries received after Wednesday, May 27th and before the rules meeting on Friday May 29th, will be charged a $30.00 LATE FEE. SIGN UP NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ryan Elsner from Loup City receives the $500.00 Rose Placzek Memorial Scholarship from Larry Placzek. Ryan was very thankful to all of the fisherman for their support and receiving this scholarship. Ryan will be attending UNK and majoring in Physical Therapy.
John Pursley & David Schwartz Win Trade Winds NWT Tournament & $3100- Sherman Reservoir
The Nebraska Walleye Trail held the first event of the season at Sherman Reservoir, Saturday, April 18th, and Sunday, April 19th. The two day event started with 40 teams launching at Trade Winds Marina Bay. The weather conditions were great both days with temps in the mid 50’s and winds calm on day one and 15-25 MPH North winds on day two. There were a number big walleyes landed and released due to the “no-keep” slot of 20 to 28 inches, and anglers had to make critical decisions as to keeping a fish 15-20 inches long. Anglers had to tag each fish before they decided to put it in the live-well, due to the Nebraska no cull regulations, making it a very interested tournament.
Catching a walleye that exceeded 28 inches was like netting a gold nugget. The winning team of John Pursley and David Schwartz from Aurora NE, were one of three teams able to catch a walleye over 28 inches. They dominated the field weighing seven fish over the two days with a total weight of 20.41 pounds giving them a $3100 payday. When asked about the win and where and how they caught their fish they said, “We fished the Thunder Island area of the lake and targeted 30-35 feet of water. Our presentation consisted of pulling lindy rigs and jigs with shiners. There were not a lot of fish there, but we made the most of the bites we had. It was a very well ran tournament, the payouts were great, and it was a lot of fun.”
James Miller and Jason Cooper from Hershey & Sutherland, NE finished in second place with eight fish weighing 15.72 pounds, and were awarded $2275. Third place and $1450 went to Brian Regelin and Brett Vinzant form Cozad and Bertrand, NE for their eight fish weighing 14.75 pounds. Both teams used a combination of live bait fishing with minnows and trolling crankbaits to catch their fish. They fished live bait on main lake points in depths of 25-35 feet and trolled crankbaits in 3-10 feet to catch their fish.
2ND PLACE
3RD PLACE
Nebraska Walleye Trail fisherman Jared McMurty and Jeff Telitz of North Platte, NE finished in fourth place with seven walleyes that weighed 14.42 pounds, earning $800. Fifth place and $500 went to Jeff Mekelburg and Ev Tarrell for their two day total weight of 14.05 pounds for their seven fish. Ryan Obermeier and John Schroeder finished sixth place with seven fish that weighed 12.88 pounds giving them $450 for their efforts. Seventh place and $350 went to Scott Willis and Scott Oliver for their five fish that weighed 11.32 pounds. Rounding out the top ten were: 8th-Rick Smutny and James Real (5 fish- 10.66 pounds) 9th-Aaron Meier and Cameron Peister (6 fish- 10.41 pounds) 10th- Jim Childers and Ruben Garcia (5 fish- 9.19 pounds) Check out the complete results on the results link.
THE TOP 7 PLACING TEAMS
Anglers fished all of the lake including the face of the dam. Many anglers found walleyes relating to the main channel edges and main lake points in 20 to 40 feet of water. Some anglers found fish very shallow and used crankbaits and jigs to catch their fish, but most dragged some form of live-bait. The big fish of the tournament was caught by the team of Andy Huff and Brian Currie with a 30 inch walleye weighing 9.08 pounds, winning their team the $340 big fish pot. Forty teams brought 113 walleyes to the scales over the 2 days. In all, $9265 in prize money was paid out to the top anglers.
BIG FISH WINNERS
The next stop on the Nebraska Walleye Trail is scheduled for Sherman Reservoir Sunday May 3rd. Contestants can download an entry form from this website to enter. Entries will be accepted until the start of the rules meeting at 7:00 PM on Saturday May 2nd. A 30.00 late fee will be charge for entries received after Monday, April 27th. Check this site for complete details on the Rose tournament held at Sherman in a few days. Remember, Anglers must fish 3 out 4 NWT tournaments this year to qualify for the Cabela’s State Championship at Merritt and post season awards. Sign up to fish the NWT today.
Checkout the 2008 Tournament Articles
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