Press
Release's
Illinois
State Championship of Walleye Fishing Slated for Mississippi
River
By Steve Weisman
Gander Mountain GNWC Publicity Director
With the regular season
over, the top teams on the Illinois Region of the Gander
Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) are making final
preparations for the Illinois State Championship of Walleye
Fishing which will be held on the Mississippi River at the
Quad Cities on August 7-8. At stake will be a guaranteed
$2000 for first place plus trophies, and with bonus
opportunities the winners could take home up to $2500.
"The Mississippi
River around the Quad Cities is an excellent fishery,"
said Gander Mountain GNWC Executive Director Bernie
Barringer. "This is the time of year that the wing dam
fishing can be tremendous. During the pre-fishing, I expect
the teams to work several of the pools up and down the
river. However, locking up and down the river can pose
problems, especially if a barge decides to enter a lock.
They can tie up traffic for a long time, but that's all part
of the game when you fish the Mississippi River
system."
Leading the way and
looking to defend their Illinois Region Team of the Year
title is the team of Rob Roush from Des Moines, IA and Mike
Heller from West Des Moines, IA.
Activities for the teams
actually begin at the Holiday Inn on Friday evening, August
6 with the Illinois Championship Banquet, which is sponsored
by Roehlk Construction and Dan Timmons of Edward D. Jones
Co.
"I am really looking
forward to the Illinois State Championship. We have some
excellent teams contending for the title. The Quad Cities
area is a great place to hold the Illinois championship, and
I look forward to having good crowds at the weigh-ins,"
said Barringer.
The competition gets
underway Saturday at Sunset Park boat ramp with opening
ceremonies and takeoff at 7 a.m. Weigh-in begins at 3 p.m.,
and Barringer expects to see some impressive baskets of fish
brought to the scales. "The weigh-in is the perfect
time for the public to find out some of the secrets of
taking fish on the Mississippi River. Since it is a two-day
event, not many answers will be given on Saturday, but at
Sunday's weigh-in we'll find out from the top teams exactly
what their strategy was."
On Sunday, the same format
is followed with take-off at 7 a.m. The weigh-in and awards
ceremony takes place at 3 p.m.
Covering all of the
tournament action will be the Walleye Wisdom television
crew. They will be capturing footage of all eight
Championships, including the Illinois Championship, for the
popular 13-week television program Walleye Wisdom which airs
on the Sportsman Channel, Fox Sports and several regional
outlets. "Our goal is to showcase the successes of our
walleye teams, share the techniques that the GNWC teams used
to catch their fish and to finally give fishing hints that
will help our viewers become better walleye anglers
themselves," said Barringer.
Special awards will be
give out at the including the Berkley Big Fish Award of $400
in Berkley product for the team that catches the largest
walleye during the two-day Championships. In addition, an
optional Big Fish Pot will go to the big fish taken during
the Championships.
Next, will be the $200
Gander Mountain Shopping Spree. A drawing will be held of
teams who do not weigh a fish, and the winner will be able
to spend the $200 on gear of their choice at any Gander
Mountain Store. If all teams weigh fish, all will be entered
in the drawing.
YoNet Folding Nets by
AMFYOYO will offer the Yo So Close Award of an $80 folding
net to the three teams finishing just out of the money.
The VIB"E" Lure
Company will sponsor the VIB"E" Lure award of two
six-piece lure sets valued at $40 to the two teams who
finish behind the Yo So Close award. Lure sets will also be
given away as door prizes at the Championship banquet.
TowTector, maker of the
premium boat protector for towing vehicles, will offer the
Towtector Comeback Award of a Towtector Shield valued at
$250 for the the team advancing the most places from day one
to day two.
Skeeter Boats is offering
any owner of a Skeeter boat who wins the Illinois State
Championship while fishing in the Skeeter an additional
$1000 above their GNWC winnings.
Aqua Innovations will give
an additional $250 to any team who wins the Illinois State
Championship if their boat's livewell is equipped with the
Aqua Innovations oxygen enhancement system. Plus they will
be awarding systems to the anglers as door prizes at the
Championship banquet.
Those interested in
checking out the standings, reading the releases about any
of the eight regions or simply learning more about the
circuit can access the Gander Mountain GNWC website at
www.walleyecup.com.
Title Sponsor for the GNWC
is Gander Mountain. Other major national sponsors include
Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, the Sportsman Channel,
Berkley, Aqua Innovations, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO,
VIB"E" Lure Company, TowTector Shield and
UpNorthOutdoors.com.
