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2017 Nebraska Walleye Trail Schedule

December 14, 2016

Harlan May 6-7
Big Mac Shut Up & Fish May 20-21
Merritt July 9…
State Championship McConaughy Aug 26-27

The Harlan tournament will once again be combined with the Harlan Anglers and the Rod Marshall Memorial Tournament. This will be the third year working with the HAWC and this has developed into a great partnership and a very well paying tournament. It has paid out over 100% the past two years.

The Big Mac Shut Up and Fish will once again be run by Vogl’s Lodge & Lure. Chad runs a great tournament and the schedule change should allow for some new tactics to catch fish.

The Merritt tournament is going to be a one day shootout with a higher entry fee. We are trying something new to hopefully attract more teams.

The state championship will be combined with the NWA at Big Mac. We will award the top ten in our point standings and have a banquet on Saturday night like we have in the past.

We also worked with the NWA to not overlap ant dates with their circuit and also allow adequate time to go fish the Cabelas NTC and the Regional tournament.

 


2016 Shut Up & Fish Tournament – Lake McConaughy

June 27, 2016

The 2106 Shut Up and Fish was held on June 11-12 at Lake McCounaughy. Vogls Lodge & Lure put on the tournament out of the Lemoyne Bay area. This tournament was part of The Nebraska Walleye Trail and also The Nebraska Walleye Association tournament trail meaning that both circuits used the points and had one entry fee and payout. Both sides have been working together to try and increase the number of teams and having better payouts. This also allows teams to fish both circuits and still have time to enjoy the summer. The fishing was “hot” but not as hot as what mother nature had in store. 65 teams braved the 100 degree heat and caught fish in a variety of ways. The two main tactics seemed to be pulling live bait with bottom bouncers or trolling crankbaits over the tops of the trees on the South side across from The CedarVue Boat Ramp. Teams were targeting areas as shallow as 4-5 feet all the way out to 30 feet of water.

Mike Woerth and James Paul II took home the title and $6,039 for their efforts. They were using night crawlers and targeting the deeper water to catch their fish. They trailed by 2 spots after day one but with steady weights of 16.34# and 17.14# totaled 33.48 and secured the victory. Congratulations to Mike and James on their win!

Travis Sanger and Terry Zimmerman were the 2nd Place team and also had the big fish of the tournament. They took home $4115 and $540 for big fish. They relied on a variety of tactics to catch their fish including trolling spinnerbaits on the dam for the big fish. The big fish went 10.22# and they had 31.62# for the tournament.

Locals Randy Rowland and John Rowland were 3rd and took home $2341. They were targeting the 20-25 feet of water and 26.06#.

The Green team of Ron and Seth placed 4th with 25.52# and took home $1472. The 5th place team of Robby Rowland and Scott Sundstrom earned $905 with a close 25.36. 6th place went to Bill McGannon and Brian Hunke for $377. Jeff Synak and Logan Spanel rounded out the last paying spot with $301. Brian Reglin and Brett Vinzant were 8th, Scott Willis and Ben Seim were 9th and the Thielen brothers were 10th.

Once again this was a very well ran tournament. We would like to thank Chad Vogl and all his help for putting this on. We would also like to thank all the sponsors. The NWT continues to grow and we hope to see you all at Merritt for the last events of the year.

 


NEBRASKA WALLEYE TRAIL FIRST EVENT HELD IN CONJUCTION WITH THE FIFTH ANNUAL ROD MARSHAL TOURNAMENT

May 16, 2016

First Place at a cash prize of $5,400 went to Brian Regelin from Cozad, Ne., and Brett Vinzant from Bertrand, Ne. Total weight of fish caught for both days was 20.96 pounds.

Saturday April 30 and Sunday May 1, 2016, the Fifth Annual Rod Marshal Fishing Tournament, hosted by the Harlan Anglers Walleye Club, was held on Harlan County Lake. Saturday the weather was overcast and cold with a slight mist. Sunday was cloudy and cold, yet dry. Fishing was tough both days. A total of 71 fish were caught Saturday and 79 fish were caught Sunday. 68 teams from Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado participated in this year’s tournament.

The “Big Fish,” caught by Gail Anderson and Dakota Haines from Lexington, Ne., weighed 8.72 pounds and paid $680. This tournament had 100% payouts that were paid to a total of 13 winning teams. Listed are the top five teams:

First Place at a cash prize of $5,400 went to Brian Regelin from Cozad, Ne., and Brett Vinzant from Bertrand, Ne. Total weight of fish caught for both days was 20.96 pounds.

Second Place at a cash prize of $3,800 went to Brent and Blaine Janssen of Alma, Ne. Total weight of fish caught for both days was 19.04 pounds.

Third Place at a cash prize of $2,300 went to Randall Horine and Branden Sinsel of Minden, Ne. Total weight of fish caught for both days was 19.02 pounds.

Fourth Place at a cash prize of $1,150 went to Justin Debrin of Gibbon, Ne. and Randy Coffman of Kearney, Ne. Total weight of fish caught both days was 15.62 pounds.

Fifth Place at a cash prize of $800 went to Cliff Doty and Scott Haes of Lincoln, Ne. Total weight of fish caught both days was 15.02 pounds.

Reglin and Vinzant were using live bait in the Mill Creek area. They were anchored up and using a combination of nightcrawlers and creek chubs. The Janssen brothers were also anchored but fished in the Prairie Dog area. Horine and Sinsel were trolling leadcore on the drops along the dam and Northeast ledges. Debrie and Coffman were using live bait in the Mill Creek area also. The bite was tough but congradulations to those that figured it out.

The Nebraska Walleye Trail would like to thank the Harlan Anglers Walleye Club for hosting this event. In the 2 years this has become a great tournament with tremendous payouts. We look forward to the rest of the season and hope to see you at Big Mac. That tournament will be hosted by Vogl’s and held in conjuction with The Nebraska Walleye Association. We are anticipating good numbers for fisherman and the bite has been good. Water levels should be great and many different tactics will come into play. See you there!

 


2016 Tournaments Announced

February 21, 2016

April 30 & May 1 – Harlan County Reservoir

June 11&12 – Lake McConaughy

August 6 – Merritt Reservoir

August 7 – Merritt Reservoir – State Championship

* Entry form will be available soon *

 


 

Garver and Sikes take the 2015 TEAM OF THE YEAR honors

February 17, 2016

The 2015 Nebraska Walleye Trail regular season came to an end on Saturday August 1st at Merritt Reservoir. All the teams that fished the trail in 2015 were treated to a free dinner in Valentine at the Bull Market restaurant. The free meal was provided by Ranger Boats. The top 10 teams in the final point standings were honored after the dinner with plaques, sponsor prizes, and bonus checks. The bonus money comes strictly from the sale of raffle tickets that are sold at each tournament. The raffle at every tournament during the season had prizes that were donated from several of the Nebraska Walleye Trail’s sponsors. Proceeds from this years raffles totaled $5700. Be sure to thank and support our sponsors so they will continue to support the NWT.

Finishing at the top with Team of the Year honors was the team of Ben Garver and Brody Sikes. These guys had a great season which included a big win at the Lake McConaughy Shut Up and Fish tournament and a strong 4th place finish at the Merritt Reservoir Open. They ended the season with 543 points and caught 85.10 lbs of walleye in 3 tournaments. For their efforts they were rewarded with $1500 cash, custom St.Croix Rods embossed with “2015 NWT Team of the Year” and a ½ Price Minn Kota Trolling Motor Certificate.

Finishing in second place in the points was the team of Scott Willis and Ben Seim. They had 539 points and caught a total of 82.88 lbs of walleye in all 3 tournaments. They won $1200 and a pair of Smooth Moves Seat Mounts for their points finish.