FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


MATTHEES AND CONWAY GRAB SECOND WIN ON CABELA’S MWC LAKE PEPIN/MISSISSIPPI RIVER TOURNEY– PRESENTED BY RANGER BOATS

Sunday, May 17, 2009 from Lake City, Minnesota – St. Charles and Winona, Minnesota residents Aaron Matthees and Paul Conway, respectively, bested a field of 73 teams to capture their second MWC victory on the mighty Mississippi River. Employing a simple live bait rig technique on wing dams or other structure spot-on-spot locations produced their two day total of 43.02 pounds cashing in $14,000. The second-largest basket of the tournament at 28.54 pounds on day two paired up with a 4th place day one basket of 14.48 pounds to garner the victory. The two carried smiles as wide as Lake Pepin on stage with their fish. A beautiful 9.12 pound walleye on Sunday was the biggest fish of the day providing a bonus of $575 for a total of $14,575.

Day one produced hefty winds that put strategic ‘spot’ fishing in jeopardy. Boat control was impossible to manage, assuming that one could even get to the spot that you wanted to fish. Aaron and Paul didn’t produce anything super on Saturday, but they did give themselves enough to head into Sunday in fourth place – knowing that the calmer winds on day two would allow them to be more strategic and close in on the holds of big fish.

“We had 6 spots or so that held nice fish and we moved around as we needed to,” shared Matthees. Aaron and Paul have been friends since high school and now, even in their 40s with families, they still share their love of the outdoors and hunt, fish and trap together. Their technique was a simple live bait rig – nothing too ornate – egg sinker and barrel swivel with 1’-2’ leaders. They used all types of live bait rigs and adjusted the hook size to fit the bait, but everything was working including willow cats, crawlers, red tail chubs and leeches. Predominantly the duo felt the leeches were most productive – credited for the 9 pounder on Sunday.

“We go to huge extremes to have the best bait and we take excellent care of our bait,” shared Paul Conway. “The more active your bait the better,” chimed in Matthees with enthusiasm. “Walleyes really pick up on the movement and you need bait producing that for the most bites.”

Local knowledge of the river played a big part in their success. “It’s so much harder for someone out-of-the-area to come in and know the fish in this system, their holding places and seasonal adjustments,” shared Aaron. “We fish this river all the time and that just gives us so much more information, developed over many years and changing conditions to draw on, as we need to make adjustments.” Matthees and Conway won back in 2004 and were excited to get another win under their belt. “This is really so amazing,” added Conway. “Our families were here to cheer us on and it was so much fun to bring in this basket today. The reality that we won again is just now sinking in!” The duo worked hard for the win pre-fishing for 7 straight days and being on the water for several weekends before the tournament.

Second place went to a young Minnesota team, Ryan Holm (Goodhue) and Tim Zimmerman (Red Wing) with 38.64 pounds. Sunday’s basket at 32.73 pounds was the largest basket of the tournament and netted $6,100 plus $1,000 for Ranger Cup for a total of $7,100.

Third place was awarded to the day one leaders, brothers Joe and Don Marx of Clearwater and Rockford, Minnesota, respectively. A monstrous 10.84 pound walleye for the Marx boys was the largest fish of the tournament and brought in a $575 bonus on Saturday. Third place paid $4,100 plus a $200 bonus from the Oxygenator for having an Oxygenator system in their live well for a tournament total of $4,875.

Fourth place went to Thomas Skulski of Hager City, Wisconsin and Eric Eichorn of Red Wing, Minnesota weighing in 36.16 pounds. Fourth place paid $3,400.

Rounding out the top five places was the Wisconsin team of Gary White (Prairie du Chien) and David Siegele (Patch Grove) with 33.09 pounds. Mercury Motors has awarded this team with a $500 bonus for the highest Ranger Cup program team that was also running a Mercury motor, for a total of $3,700.

Other sponsor bonuses were awarded to several teams, including the 8th place team of Kevin Dahl and Steve Stack, both of Muskego, Wisconsin. Dahl and Stack received $100 from Farm & City Insurance Services for receiving a quote which enrolled them in Team FCIS. Eighth place paid $2,200 for a total of $2,300.

Craig Saeger of Lake Elmo, Minnesota, received the National Professional Anglers Association bonus of $100 for the top finishing member in the NPAA. Saeger fished with partner and fellow Minnesotan Jeffrey Harken (Inver Grove Heights) and came in 10th place with 26.62 pounds cashing in $1,660 for a total of $1,760.

The Lowrance Electronics HDS bonus of $500 was awarded to the 19th place team of Randy Harwood of Oshkosh, Wisconsin and Brad Skupas of Wautoma, Wisconsin.

Big Fish Results were as follows:
Day 1
Joe Marx of Clearwater, MN & Don Marx of Rockford, MN – 10.84 pounds for $575
DJ Siewert of Lake City, MN & Tim Dick of Lake City, MN – 9.86 pounds for $345
Dan Zwick of Wrightstown, WI & Tony Kobriger of Chilton, WI – 5.65 pounds for $230

Day 2
Aaron Matthees of St. Charles, MN & Paul Conway of Winona, MN – 9.12 pounds for $575
Kevin Oyen of Dubuque, IA & Steve Kopp of Dubuque, IA – 8.94 pounds for $345
Brian Ernat of Seatonville, IL & Jerry Ernat of Princeton, IL – 8.54 pounds for $230

The Frontenac Sportsmens Club hosted the Cabela’s MWC and will be the beneficiary of the Walleye Conservation Fund of $1080 for their work on conservation in the local area. The active group has hundreds of members and does a superb job of assisting the staff with tournament operations and logistics. “This club works so hard – making the logistics work with a small boat launch and shuttling traffic,” shared Kristine Houtman, executive director of the MWC. “We love working with them and they really help the anglers feel welcome in their town.”

This tournament was the second stop in the Central Division. Currently in the lead with division points is the veteran river-specialty team of Maury Schmerbach and Marty Berns of Dubuque, Iowa. Their fourth place finish at Spring Valley and 11th place finish at Lake City have put them at the top of the division. For complete results see www.masterswalleyecircuit.com/leaderboard.

The overall Cabela’s MWC team of the year comes from the group of anglers taking the MWC Challenge – fishing a full division of three tournaments plus a fourth outside your division. Currently, Berns and Schmerbach are in the lead for Challenge points, as well. Full results can also be seen at www.masterswalleyecircuit.com/leaderboard.

Five qualifying tournaments are open to the general public are available for entry for the rest of the season plus the invitation-only Championship at the end of the year as follows:

MWC 2009 Tournaments
May 29/30/31 – Sandusky, Ohio (Central Lake Erie)
July 11/12 – Marinette, Wisconsin/Menominee, Michigan (Bay of Green Bay)
July 25/26 – *Devils Lake, North Dakota (Devils Lake)
August 21/22/23 – Dunkirk, New York (Eastern Lake Erie)
September 12/13 – Webster, South Dakota (Waubay Lake)

World Walleye Championship – by invitation only
October 8/9/10 – Dundee, Michigan (Lake Erie & Detroit River)

*The Devils Lake tournament will be run in conjunction with the Cabela’s NTC.

Cabela’s, the world’s foremost outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is entering their eighth season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Ranger Boats, Mercury, MotorGuide, Lowrance Electronics, Versus (Vs.) Television Network and North American Fishing Club. Associate Sponsors include: Farm & City Insurance Services, O2 Marine Technologies, 3-IN-ONE No Rust Shield, Fin-tech, Ryjus and Reflections.

The Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit is the longest running professional walleye tournament circuit in the United States and is celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2009. For more information on the Cabela’s MWC or to view the 2009 schedule, visit: www.masterswalleyecircuit.com.

Questions – email: events@masterswalleyecircuit.com or call: 877-893-7947.

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