Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit Regular Season Finale At Minnesota’s Cass Lake Sept. 13-15
Category: npaa
Sep 10th, 2013 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Sep 10th, 2013 at 12:00 AM
 |
 |
|
|
Ponca City, Okla.-Sept. 9, 2013-An all-out battle for championship berths, team-of-the-year honors and over $42,000.00 dollars in cash and prizes, will unfold when the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit caps off its 2013 regular season schedule on Minnesota’s Cass Lake Chain Sept. 13-15.
The team-format tournament offers two days of competition on the structure-rich system, with one day reserved in case of bad weather. The Circuit’s time-tested team format lets anglers choose their favorite fishing partner to share the excitement.
Two-person teams will be allowed to weigh five walleyes per day, and the team with the heaviest two-day total weight will be crowned Cass Lake tournament champions. A total of 75 teams registered to compete in the season ending event where every single point, finish and fish will count.
The MWC Big Fish Pot, along with added sponsor bonuses including Cabela’s Angler Cash, Ranger Cup, Lowrance HDS Gen2/Elite-7, Berkley Baits and Optima True Blue add thousands in cash and prizes to the payout totals. And as an added incentive, the first-place team will not only take home $10,400.00 in cash but a $1,000 Cabela’s National Team Championship Prize Package including paid 2014 NTC entry, travel stipend, team jerseys and plaques.
Circuit veterans Travor Diegel and Paul Steffen, of Pierre, South Dakota, will be gunning for their third straight Cass Lake MWC victory. They won the 2011 and 2012 qualifiers after using their Lowrance HDS electronics to locate walleyes hugging steep, deep breaks, then targeting those fish with a variety of tactics, including trolling Berkley Gulp! Leeches and Flicker Shads.
|
 |
|
|
“Winning two in a row here, against the phenomenal local anglers and traveling teams in the field, is incredible,” Steffen said at last fall’s Cass Lake tournament, moments after topping the field of 164 anglers from 15 states in a wild, come-from-behind victory. After winning the Circuit’s special artificial-lures-only 2013 qualifier on Devils Lake, North Dakota, August 2-3 by an 11-pound margin, Diegel and Steffen are on a roll and a force to be reckoned with at Cass Lake.
Adding to the excitement, the regular season finale will see teams from across the Walleye Belt battle for coveted berths in the 2014 Cabela’s MWC Championship, set for Oct. 8-11, 2014 at Devils Lake, North Dakota. In addition, teams that have fished at least four 2013 qualifiers are competing for Team of the Year awards, including a $25,000 “Living the Dream” sponsorship package, which includes fully paid entries to the Cabela’s National Walleye Trail as a pro and co-angler, use of a 600 series Ranger boat, travel stipends and more.
Walleye fans of all ages are invited to watch the drama unfold live at the weigh-ins, which are free and open to the public. The festivities begin at 4 p.m. daily at Stony Point Resort on Cass Lake. The Cabela’s MWC, National Professional Anglers Association, Pure Fishing and Zippo Outdoor Brands will present a Youth & Family Fishing Clinic immediately after the first day’s weigh-in. The first 50 youths will receive rod-and-reel combos courtesy of the NPAA.
The Cass Lake event is the last of 10 Cabela’s MWC qualifying tournaments in 2013. The season concludes Oct. 17-19 with the 2013 Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Championship at Escanaba, Michigan.
Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is in its 11th season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors include: Berkley Gulp!, Lowe Equipment Attachments, Lowrance, Mercury Marine, MotorGuide, Ranger Boats, The Walleye Federation and Zippo Outdoor Brands. Associate sponsors include: Berkley Trilene, Church Tackle, Optima Batteries, O2 Marine Technologies and Sea Grant.
Based in Ponca City, Oklahoma, the Cabela’s MWC is oldest running national walleye circuit in America. Cabela’s MWC is owned by The Walleye Federation and is open to two-person teams regardless of club or sponsor affiliation. Entry fees are $650 per tournament, of which more than 100 percent is returned to anglers at the qualifiers, World Championship and Team of the Year races. Registration remains open through the Sunday night prior to each tournament. For more information, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com, email [email protected], or call (580) 765-9031.