Cabela's Regional
Walleye Championship Page
KUNZE AND GARVER WIN NWT AT MERRITT RESERVOIR
Bill Kunze and Ben Garver weighed a five fish limit that topped the scales at 18.34 pounds to win the second NWT event of the year on May 18th. When asked about the win Garver commented; “All of our fish were caught on slip bobbers using crawlers and leaches” Finishing in a close second was the team of Ruben Adams and Sheryl Steenson. They weighed 16.99 pounds for five fish. Ruben commented; “We had good luck in the Powder Horn. It was an early bite in 5 to 9 feet using slip bobbers and leeches.”
Third place went to Caleb and Cyrus Quinn with a total weight of 16.32 pounds. Fourth Place was the team of Jason Cooper and James Miller with 16.28 pounds. Fifth place with 13.85 goes to Travis Sanger and Beau Braun. Sixth Place with 13.66 pounds was Joe and Jesse Thielen. Seventh place with 13.12 pounds was Brian Regelin and Brett Vinzant. Eighth Place with 12.90 pounds was Steve Isom and Mike Polak. Bart Weaver and Rick Mallo finished 9th with 12.61 pounds. Tenth goes to Nicholas and Cameron Werner with 11.88 pounds.
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. A big thanks goes to the Valentine Chamber and Tournament Director Steve Isom for putting on this event.
Shut-up and Fish-Next event coming soon
The third stop on the Nebraska Walleye Trail will be at Nebraska's largest reservoir, Lake McConaughy. The two day event will be held on June 1st and 2nd.
The Mandatory Rules Meeting will be Friday, May 31st at the Sands Edge Bar & Grill at 6:00 PM MST located at the North End of the Dam. Registration will be from 5:00-6:00 PM MST. Sands Edge will have food and drinks available for purchase. The tournament will start at 7:00 AM MST both days and weigh-ins will begin at 4:00 PM MST on Saturday and 2:00 PM MST on Sunday. Remember all times for the Shut-up and Fish Tournament are MST. Entry deadline is Wednesday May 29th. All entries received after Wednesday, May 29th and before the rules meeting on Friday May 31st, will be charged a $30.00 LATE FEE. SIGN UP NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Contestants may download entry blanks and check entry status from this site. (See the Tournaments link)
WORTH & KUTA WIN THE ROSE & OVER $5000 IN CASH AND PRIZES
Mike Woerth and Ray Kuta were crowned the 19th annual Rose Placzek Walleye Tournament Champions and reeled in over $5,000 in cash and prizes on Sunday, May 5th at Sherman Reservoir. The winning team caught three walleyes weighing 12.14 pounds, while fishing the one day Nebraska Walleye Trail Tournament event. Their one day catch gave them less than a pound margin of victory over runner up Casey Williams and Chad Knispel, who landed three walleyes weighing 11.36 pounds. “This is absolutely unbelievable and to also qualify for the National Tournament has always been a dream of mine. It feels like shooting a Bull Elk with a Bow” said Mike Worth after their teams first ever tournament win. “We were drifting and vertical jigging with live bait in 25-30 feet of water.” Their first tournament win earned them a pay day including: 2 first place plaques, $3950 cash for first, $480 cash for big fish (8.75 pounder), $100 Cabela’s Anglers Cash, $300 paid entry to next year’s NTC, a gas stipend, and walleye federation custom jerseys and plaques.
BIG FISH 8.75 pounds
The second place team of Casey Williams and Chad Knispel weighed in at 11.36 pounds for 3 fish and used live bait to catch their fish. They were awarded $2500 for finishing second. “We marked a good school of fish, anchored up on them and fished live bait over them all day” Stated Casey Williams after the tournament.
2ND PLACE TEAM
Third place went to James Miller and Jason Cooper from Hershey and Sutherland, NE as they won $1330 for their 9.02 pounds for 4 fish. They were fishing jigs and live bait for their fish. They also were the winners of the Ranger Cup award for this event.
3RD PLACE TEAM
Fourth place and $700 went to Jake Bruggemann and Gene Bruggemann with 8.58 pounds. Fifth place and $500 went to Devin Schroder and Ryan Obermeier with 8.53 pounds. Sixth place and $400 went to Travis Sanger and Terry Zimmerman with 8.49 pounds.
Rounding out the top ten teams were: 7th- Travis Riley and Cody Conell, 8th-Todd Weber and mark Hunter, 9th- Craig Zikmund and Mike Schaul, 10th-Scott Placzek and larry Placzek. 62 teams fished the first event of the year.
Nebraska Walleye Trail anglers must compete in three regular-season events to qualify for the Cabela’s State Championship and end of the season awards and the Regional Championship at Lake Oahe in July.
The next stop for the Nebraska Walleye Trail is Merritt Reservoir on Sunday May 19th. THE MERRITT TOURNAMENT IS AN OPEN TOURNAMENT- ANYONE CAN ENTER. Contestants can download entry forms from this site. All entries received after Monday, May 13th will be charged a $30.00 LATE FEE. SIGN UP NOW!!!!!!!!! The Mandatory Rules Meeting will be Saturday, May 18th at the Water’s Edge Bar at 6:00 p.m. CST located at Merritt Reservoir. REMEMBER ALL TIMES ARE CENTRAL TIME. Registration will be from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. CST at the Water’s Edge Bar. The Chamber Open tournament hours will be from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM CST.
Rose Placzek Memorial Scholarship
Congratulations to Jordan Boyles from Loup City who received the $1000.00 Rose Placzek Memorial Scholarship at the rules meeting!
The Walleye Federation
The NWT is now an Official Club for the National Walleye Federation. Anyone interested in joining the side pot for the next tournament and becoming a federation member go to www.walleyefedertion.com and click on side pot. If you are only interested in only the membership or need assistance, please call Scott Willis at 308-216-0434. Thanks Scott for all of your work in organizing this.
Cabela’s Angler Cash Contingency Program Requirements
- Angler must fish in a Cabela’s Angler Cash qualifying tournament circuit in 2013.
- Regular Tournaments $100 Cabela’s Gift Card per team
- State Championship $100 Cabela’s Gift Card per team
- Angler or team must wear a Cabela’s Angler Cash patch during the event if allowed by the rules of the circuit they are fishing. Patch is provided by Cabela’s upon successful registration.
- Cabela’s Angler Cash logo must be at least four inches in length and sewn or monogrammed on the upper right front side of the shirt. If the upper right front side is not available, logo must be placed on the front of the shirt as close to the right side as possible.
- Cabela’s Angler’s Cash logo must be worn from take-offs through weigh-ins during all days of qualifying tournaments.
- Angler or team must place Cabela’s Angler Cash windshield decal on the driver’s side of their boat.
- Angler or team must register for the contingency cash award prior to fishing the event. Participants must renew their registrations every year. Registration may be completed online at www.cabelas.com/anglercash.
- The highest finishing Cabela’s Angler Cash participant or team will win that event's contingency amount. The Angler must be registered for the tournament circuit events in the current year to receive the maximum payout.
- An extra bonus of $500 Cabela’s Gift Card will be awarded to the Cabela’s Angler’s Cash participant winner that has purchased their boat from a Cabela’s retail location. Angler must be registered for the boat bonus prior to the event.
- For information or questions regarding the program you can e-mail your questions to anglercash@cabelas.com.
- The names of each entrant shall be shared with tournament staff, and authorized agents of tournament staff, in order to carry-out the tournament, and may be used in a manner consistent with Cabela’s Privacy Policy
Nebraska Walleye Trail Announces 2013 Tournament Schedule
Sherman Reservoir- Rose Placzek Memorial
Sunday, May 5th
Merritt Reservoir- Chamber Open
Sunday, May 19th
Lake McConaughy- Big Mac Shut Up and Fish
Saturday & Sunday, June 1st and 2nd
Sherman Reservoir- Trade Winds Marina
Saturday & Sunday, June 15th and 16th
Sherman Reservoir- - Cabela’s NWT State Championship
Saturday & Sunday, June 29th-30th
Regional Champtionship Qualifier- Lake Oahe, Pierre, SD
Saturday & Sunday, July 13th & 14th
The NWT has set its schedule for the 2013 season, and has also again teamed up with the surrounding states to bring the fourth regional championship to South Dakota’s Lake Oahe for our top anglers. The NWT also gives our top anglers the opportunity to qualify for the 2014 Cabela’s NTC.
Highlighting the 2013 season will be 4 regular season qualifying Tournaments (2 one day events, 2 two day events)
Cabela’s State Championship Qualifier at Sherman Reservoir (to qualify teams must fish in 3 regular season tournaments) *10$ will be added from each regular season entry
Regional Championship Qualifier (to qualify for this tournament teams must fish in three regular season tournaments) See the Regional’s link for complete details.
Team of the Year, Chargers of the Year, Locators of the Year, Top Ten Awards (Anglers that finish in the top ten in points will be awarded cash and prizes at the awards banquet at the end of the season.)
2014 Cabela’s National Team Championship Qualifying Circuit (the top teams will be invited to this tournament in 2014.)
Check out the 2008 Tournament Articles
Check out the 2009 Tournament Articles
Check out the 2010 Tournament Articles
Check out the 2011 Tournament Articles
Check out the 2012 Tournament Articles
