Cabela’s MWC Team of the Year Butz & Frederick Prove Deserving of the Title With Win at Detroit River/Lake Erie
-- Presented by Versus Television Network

Sunday, April 26th, 2009 - Trenton, MI – Veteran Wisconsin walleye anglers Wayne Butz (Hobart) and Don “Freddy” Frederick (Appleton) proved their worth as the reigning Cabela’s MWC Team of the Year by adjusting to the conditions and bringing in 53.01 pounds at the first stop of the MWC East Division for 2009. Located out of Elizabeth Park in Trenton, Michigan, the team bested a field of 64 teams and cashed a total of $14,600 with sponsor contingency bonuses. Butz and Frederick have each fished the MWC for 20 and 16 years respectively. This is their second circuit victory, the first occurred in 2000 on the Bay of Green Bay.

The key to their success was adjusting to the different conditions as things changed. The fact that the river and lake were in bounds and the weather conditions fluctuated dramatically between the two days meant there was a lot to consider. They made the right choices for the win.

On day one they intended to head out to the lake – but the wind was just blowing too hard when they arrived and a quick decision to head back to the river and vertical jig fish proved wise. They settled into 14’ water by the Two Rocks at the Steel Mill on the Michigan side of the river. They used 5/8 ounce jigs, chartreuse or orange, tipped with an artificial ring worm and a minnow. Freddy hand-made the jigs they used, air brushed and pre-tied with stingers in every color and in every weight they would need. “The key is really having these custom jigs that Freddy is so good at making, and having them in all the different weights and colors all organized ahead of time,” shared Butz. They weighed 22 pounds even on Saturday and were sitting in 7th place.

After looking at the internet satellite photos at noaa.gov on Saturday night they were pretty excited about the forecast and the improved water clarity for heading to Lake Erie on Sunday. “We were looking for just the right stained water,” shared Butz. “Not too clear and not too dirty either, about half way.” Their strategy for finding the right location was noting visibility on their prop. They found their ideal location about 2-3 miles out from Luna Pier. They trolled at 1.2 m.p.h. with purple and fire-tiger deep diver crank baits, but were careful to position them in the top half of the water column. “The bigger fish seemed to come higher in the water column, that’s where they like to come up to feed,” shared Frederick. They were a little nervous when the first pass did not produce any hits, but luckily there were two on the second pass, and another on the third and they were upgrading their five fish basket by 9:30 a.m. They ended up with a whopping 31.01 pounds, the largest basket of the event.

During pre-fishing they split up and eliminated water that they did not want to go to and tuned their stick baits so they were running straight in the water. “That’s really an important step in preparation,” shared Butz. “You’ve got to tune your stick baits so they run true and straight, you really do.”

Butz and Frederick were the beneficiaries of additional sponsor contingency bonuses. The Ranger Cup $1,000 bonus along with the $500 Mercury bonus, $200 Oxygenator bonus and $100 Team FCIS (Farm & City Insurance Services) gave the duo an additional $1,800 to add to the $12,800 in payout for a total of $14,600.

The tournament was filmed by North American Media Group for airing on Versus Television Network. Airdates are Tuesday, June 2nd and Thursday, June 4th, both at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.

Second place went to Nate “Butch” Capton of Niagara Falls, New York & Dave Waldeck of Sanborn, New York with 52.18 pounds netting $5,860. Capton and Waldeck also had the second biggest fish of the tournament on day two at 8.81 pounds and cashed an additional $350 for a total of $6,210.

Third place was awarded to the reigning Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Champions Jeff Manz of Vanderbilt, Michigan and Greg Yarbrough of Port Clinton, Ohio. Manz and Yarbrough had the lead by a pound-and-a-half after day one with 26.35 pounds. Their two-day total was 49.77 pounds and they cashed $3,740 plus $100 from NPAA for being NPAA members. An additional $350 was awarded for the second biggest fish from Saturday at 7.62 pounds for a total payout of $4,190.

Fourth place went to a new Ohio team on the circuit, John Csizmadia of Cortland and James Dean of Salem. They had 23.27 pounds on Saturday plus 25.42 pounds on Sunday for a two day total of 48.69 pounds cashing in $3,130.

Rounding out the top five from Chilton, Wisconsin, were brothers Steve and Dan Bodinger with 48.22 pounds netting $2,930. They also caught the third heaviest fish on day two at 8.76 pounds worth an additional $250, totaling $3,180.

For using the new Lowrance HDS (High Definition System) sonar/chart plotter display unit during the tournament a bonus of $500 was awarded to Robert Jones of Redford, Michigan fishing with Maurice Hall of Rochester Hills, Michigan. They came in 11th place with 42.80 pounds for $1,300 cashing in a total prize money of $1,800.

The biggest fish of the tournament was caught on day two by Mark Zillges and Dave Schmidt of Oshkosh, Wisconsin at 9.21 pounds providing $675 in big fish cash.

Jay Walsh of Chicago, Illinois and Dave Gossar of Wedron, Illinois brought in the largest walleye on Saturday at 7.87 pounds for $675.

The third biggest fish from Saturday was awarded at $250 to the father and son team of Jeff and Ken Seyka from Milford and Dewitt, Michigan, accordingly, for their 7.14 pound walleye.

In all, 212 fish were caught on day one totaling 802.96 pounds and 248 fish on day two totaling 1103.99 pounds for a total of 460 fish for 1906.95 pounds – a 4.14 pound average . This was a catch-and-release tournament and the Downriver Walleye Federation (DWF) assisted with tournament operations and the release of the fish. In appreciation the Cabela’s MWC Walleye Conservation Fund of $960 was awarded to the Club for their assistance and for the fisheries improvements that the DWF undertakes on the Detroit River.

Next up for the Cabela’s MWC is the first MWC West division tournament out of Mobridge, South Dakota on Lake Oahe May 2nd and 3rd. The rest of the season is as follows:

MWC 2009 Tournaments
April 25/26 – Trenton, Michigan (Detroit River & Michigan Lake Erie)
May 2/3 – Mobridge, South Dakota (Lake Oahe)
May 16/17 – Lake City, Minnesota (Lake Pepin & Mississippi River)
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.

• Ranger Cup Bonus: $1,000 to the top finishing team who fishes out of a Ranger Boat and is signed up for Ranger Cup.
• Mercury Motors / Ranger Cup Bonus: $500 to the top finishing team whose boat is powered by a Mercury Motor and is part of the Ranger Cup program.
• Lowrance HDS Bonus: $500 to the top finishing team who uses a Lowrance HDS (High Definition System) sonar/chartplotter display unit during the tournament.
• Oxygenator Bonus: $200 to the top finishing team who uses a Pro Livewell Flush Mount or Livewell Portable oxygenation system during the tournament.
• Team FCIS Bonus: $100 to the top finishing angler on Team FCIS (Farm & City Insurance Services). To become qualified for Team FCIS, simply receive a quote from FCIS by calling 1-800-331-1520 or going online at: www.fcisinsurance.com/anglers-choice.asp
• NPAA Bonus: $100 to the top finishing angler who is a member of the National Professional Angler’s Association.

For more information on the Cabela’s MWC visit: www.masterswalleyecircuit.com. Questions – email: events@masterswalleyecircuit.com or call: 877-893-7947.

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