SANGER AND BRAUN
NWT STATE CHAMPIONS
Just 2 months after winning the Cabela’s National Team Championship Travis Sanger and his partner Beau Braun, were crowned Cabela’s Nebraska Walleye Trail State Champions, on Sunday, August 19th, to finish an unbelievable season. For their win Sanger and Braun received over $5,200 in cash and prizes for the honor, which included $3,500 in cash, $500 in Cabela’s Anglers Cash, a $1,000 Ranger Boats Certificate, $200 Ranger Cup bonus and two NWT State Champion Plaques. The duo bested a field of 24 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 37.18 pounds. Sanger commented about thewin; “It was my partner Beau’s first tourney. We were both pretty excited about the win but it was pretty cool to hear Beau talk about all of the standout people he met. Props to the nwt for a great year and a standup organization.” Sanger and Braun were using jigging spoons in 3 main areas for the win.”
Second Place and $2100 went to Todd Weber and Mark Hunter who weighed 36.18 pounds for 10 fish. Third and $1300 went to Jason and Rylan Ericson with 9 fish for 34.72 pounds. Fourth and $600 went to Greg Mekelburg and Rob Martenson with 10 fish for 33.38 pounds. Fifth place and $300 went to Jeremy and Sabrina Canning. They also earned $230 for day 2 big fish a 9.12 pounder. Day one big fish and $230 went to Ev Tarrell and John Miller who caught a 8.90 pound walleye. In all just short of $10,000 in cash and certificates was paid out to the top teams. For having just over $6200 in entry fees that is a pretty amazing 24 boat tournament payout.
The anglers gathered on Friday evening for the Rules Meeting, Champions Banquet and a Meal sponsored by Ranger Boats at Marina Landing, and the food and camaraderie was awesome! Nebraska Walleye Trail “TEAM OF THE YEAR”, James Miller and Jason Cooper and the top ten placing NWT teams received their cash and prizes. Over $9,000 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 Ranger jackets, two Smooth Moves seat mounts, and $1000 in cash for their NWT circuit win. Ron and Seth Green were the runner-up in points and were also the Locators of the Year which earned them two Humminbird locators along with their cash prize. The NWT end of the year prizes were drawn for as well. Two Terrova I pilots, 2 huminbird fish finders, 50 ribeye steaks and many other prizes won by our anglers. Let’s just say: Telitz, Mekelburg and Martenson are LUCKY!
A big thanks to all of the sponsors that supported the NWT this season: Cabela’s Lowrance, Minn Kota, Ranger Boats, Black Hawk Marine, Humminbird, Johnson Outdoors and Smooth Moves. Thanks to all that fished the NWT this year and we hope to see everyone again next season!
MILLER AND COOPER
WIN TEAM OF THE YEAR
Completing an incredible 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 595 points over three qualifying events. In addition to the “TEAM OF THE YEAR” honors Miller and Cooper are also are the winners of the “SMOOTH MOVES TEAM OF THE YEAR “for being the most consistent anglers over all 4 tournaments with four solid finishes. “They will be awarded 2 Smooth Moves seat mounts and all mounting hardware in August.
Ron and Seth Green of North Platte fishing the year on a high note winning the final tournament of the year and were second at Merritt, secure second place in the team of the year standings.They had a 3 tournament total of 568 points. They will also be crowned “LOCATORS OF THE YEAR “for having the most total weight in all 4 tournaments will 62.10 pounds of fish for the season. They will receive 2 Humminbird locators at the awards banquet.
All of the top ten teams will receive their awards at the Awards banquet on Friday August 17th at BIG MAC.
GREEN AND GREEN WIN SHUT UP AND FISH IN A CLOSE FINISH
The father son duo of Ron and Seth Green of North Platte, NE caught a two-day total of 6 walleyes weighing 32.36 pounds to claim victory at the 17th annual shut up and fish at BIG MAC and a check for $3930. Green and Green said they were trolling 2.5 ounce spinnerbaits to catch their fish and were thrilled to win this tournament. They held off second place team by just .02 tenths of a pound to earn the title.
Finishing in second place was the team of Jeff and Georgiann Dewey weighing 8 fish for 32.34 pounds. They stated they caught their fish on 2.5 ounce Big Eye Spinnerbaits in Big Mac Attack color with gold blades and were fishing the trees. They were awarded $2200 for their finish.
Finishing in a close third just a little over a pound out of first was the team of Robert Purcell and Ken Jindra who weighed 6 fish for 31.32 pounds and took home $1650 for their impressive finish. Bob and Ken said they were pulling 2.5 ounce Big Eye Spinnerbaits white in color and were targeting a little deeper water than most teams.
Spinnerbaits,Spinnerbaits and more Spinnerbaits seemed to be the pattern for most of the top finishers. Fourth Place and $1015 went to John Rowland and Randy Rowland who weighed 6 fish for 29.84 pounds. Fifth Place and $616 went to Dan and Mitch Rosencutter with 6 fish for 23.44. Sixth and $440 goes to Jeremy and Sebrina Canning with 21.10 pounds for 7 fish. Seventh Place and earning the $100 Cabela’s anglers Cash was the team of Chris Augustine and Dave Rosenthal with nine fish for 20.42. The Big Fish of the tournament went to Brad White and Mike Suchan with a 9.98 pounder earning them $550.
SANGER AND ZIMMERMAN
CROWNED CABELA’S NATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONS
The Nebraska Walleye Trail team of Travis Sanger and Terry Zimmerman were named the 2012 Champions of the Cabela’s NTC at Mille Lacs, MN Saturday July 2nd. Sanger and Zimmerman went wire to wire leading the tournament all 3 days to get the big win. They were awarded $30,000 in cash, 2 brand new Ranger boats powered by Evinrude motors, day one big fish and big basket awards along with 2 awesome Cabela’s National Team Championship Trophys for their top finish.
Nebraska was represented well as third place went to NWT fisherman Jake and Gene Brueggemann. The father son duo recived $10,000 in cash for their impressive finish. Many other Nebraska teams finished well in this event.
**Teams and individuals that sign up to be a member of the WALLEYE FEDERATION please register under the NEBRASKA WALLEYE TRAIL club #6000018.**
MILLER AND COOPER WIN AT MERRITT
Getting a couple big bites was the key that propelled the team of James Miller and Jason Cooper to the top, earning them the NWT Merritt Chamber Open title. The duo weighed in 5 fish for 16.73 pounds including a 6 pound and 5 pound walleye to secure the win over the elite 35 boat field. Miller and Cooper were fishing the weeds and sand with jigs to catch their fish.
Finishing in a close second place was the team of Ron and Seth Green with a five-fish weight of 14.77 pounds. The father son duo was fishing bouncers and spinners and jigs to catch their fish.
Third place went to the team of John Miller and Ev Tarrell who had a very nice 4 fish weight of 10.52 pounds. Ev and John were pitching jigs to catch all of their fish.
Fourth place was Jeff Telitz and Joe Johnson with 4 fish for 10.47 pounds. Fifth place with 4 fish for 9.48 pounds was Steve Isom and Mike Polak. Rounding out the top ten were: 6th- Gayle Anderson and Jory Wood-9.45, 7th- Dave Brandon and Joe Conroy-8.6, 8th-Sean Hoffman and Kelli Hoffman 9.42, 9th- Weaver and Shada 7.75, and 10th Randell Horine and Caleb Quinn 7.32. Big Fish of the tournament was caught by Shawn Stone and Jeff Zerr with a 6.60 pound walleye.
The Merritt tournament was the third tournament on the Nebraska Walleye Trail this year. Anglers that fish 3 tournaments will qualify for the Cabela’s state championship, have a chance to win post season awards, and earn an invite to the Cabela’s regional championship. The final tournament of the season will be the “Shut Up and Fish” see information below!
MILLER AND COOPER WIN THE ROSE AND $3100
The NWT team of James Miller and Jason Cooper knew they had to have a big basket to win the 19th annual Rose Placzek title. When their 5 fish basket was placed on the scale and showed the weight of 13.62 pounds they had enough weight to top the elite 60 boat field at Sherman Reservoir. The win gave the duo who was fishing live bait with crawlers a check for $3100. They had the big fish of the day a 6.70 pounder, giving them $500. They were also the top placing Cabelas Anglers cash team giving them $100 in gift cards. When asked about winning they stated “It was a great tournament with fish biting in all areas of the lake which made it a fun and exciting weekend. A big thanks to the people that put on the tournament, they did a great job.”
Travis Sanger & Terry Simmerman weighed in 4 fish for 9.57 pounds for a second place finish and a check for $2100. They were live bait fishing to catch all of their fish.
Ben Seim and Scott Willis brought 4 fish to the scales totaling 8.87 pounds giving them a check for $1,450. The duo was trolling and casting cranks for their fish.
Robert Purcell and Ken Jindra weighed in a 4 fish basket for 8.60 pounds netting them a 4th place finish for $800. Fifth place and $550 went to the team of Gene Bruggeman and Jason Seim who weighed 4 fish for 8.53 pounds. Sixth place and $350 went to the team of Todd Weber and DJ Rieck. They weighed 4 fish for 8.48 pounds.
It was a very impressive day with 30- 4 fish limits, 169 fish and 299.74 pounds brought to the scales. Many fish in the protected slot were also caught and released during the tournament. The conditions were tough with winds increasing to about 35 mph out of the North. Many of the teams revealed today that their presentation included live bait presentations and trolling crankbaits. Rounding out the top ten finishers were 7th-Kevin Larkins and Jason Korth, 8th-Deon and Dennis Quick, 9th- Gale Anderson and Jory Wood and 10th-Mike Polak and Les Gitt.
A big thanks to Tim and Diane Hoffman and Scott and Cathy Placzek for running the last 2 NWT tournaments at Sherman! We hope to see everyone at Merritt! SIGN UP TODAY!
BRANDON SCHWISOW ANNOUNCED WINNER OF $1000 ROSE PLACZEK MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
The recipient of the Rose Placzek Memorial $1000 scholarship was announced at the Rules meeting on Saturday, May 5th. The winner was Brandon Schwisow from Dorchester High School. Congratulations Brandon!
KUNZE AND GARVER WIN $4000 AND CROWNED TOURNAMENT CHAMPS AT SHERMAN
Bill Kunze and Ben Garver landed $3,900 in cash and a $100 in Cabelas Cash for a $4000 total pay day after catching 8 walleyes and bringing a total weight of 18.17 pounds to the scale over 2 days at Sherman reservoir to take the title. When Kunze was asked how it feels to have just won he stated. “Ben and I were thrilled to win and the payouts were exceptional. Sherman is a great fishery with a challenging size limit creating tough decisions on which fish to keep. The Trade Winds Tournament is always an exciting tournament as it’s the first tournament of the year and we wanted to start off the year in a good position. Anytime you can compete with the quality of fisherman that fish this tournament, you feel great. We fished with live bait presentations on Saturday morning to land two of the keepers for the day, once the live bait bite slowed for us we pulled crank baits in 16 to 22 feet of water to pick up the other two keepers. All the fish on Saturday were nice fish on the upper end of the 15”-20” allowed size limit. On Sunday, we caught all 4 keepers pulling crank baits. The ever changing weather patterns affected the bite differently each day requiring a change in tactics and presentations.”
Anglers fished the entire lake, from the face of the dam to the west end. Anglers caught the majority of the fish by trolling crank baits, live bait rigging, and casting jigs. 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. Many anglers reported catching a good number of walleyes in the protected 20-28 inch slot, and only one fish over 28 was caught. This fish weighed 7.84 pounds and was caught by Blaine Presley and Frank Toszer.
Jason Cooper and James Miller landed 8 walleyes weighing 16.94 pounds, and earned $2800 for their second place finish. The duo was fishing bait and jig fishing both days to catch their fish.
Third place and $1850 went to Brian Regelin and Brett Vinzant. They fished live bait for their 16.56 pounds of fish.
Fourth place went to Scott Willis and Ben Seim who weighed 15.73 pounds of fish and cashed a check for $1250 for their impressive finish. Fifth Place and weighing 14.97 pounds is the team of Todd Weber and DJ Rieck who earned a check for $600.
Rounding out the top finishers were: Sixth Place- David Brandon and Joe Conroy; Seventh Place- Bill McGannon and Brian Hunke; Eighth Place- Robert Purcell andKen Jindra; Ninth Place-Jason Erickson and John Hupfer Tenth Place- Ron Schroder and Devin Schroder.
Rose Placzek Memorial Scholarship
Given by T& S Promotions & Nebraska Walleye Trail
This Scholarship is for any High School senior who is planning to attend a post secondary institution. The recipient of this scholarship will be chosen by the Rose Placzek Scholarship Committee. The scholarship will be in the amount of $1000.00.
Eligibility Requirement: Based on financial need. If chosen as a scholarship recipient, it is mandatory that you appear at the rules meeting of the Rose Placzek Memorial Tournament to be recognized. You will be notified of the date and time at a later date. In order to receive the scholarship funds you must send a copy of proof of enrollment in a college, showing full time status to:
Rose Placzek Memorial Scholarship Committee
723 N 10th Street
Loup City NE 68853