DenHerder, Alverson Win GNWC South Dakota Championship
Category: Tournament
Aug 30th, 2005 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Aug 30th, 2005 at 12:00 AM
$10,000 is quite a payday! That’s exactly what the team of Jeff DenHerder from Sioux Falls, SD and Steve Alverson from Chester, SD earned on their way to capturing the South Dakota State Championship of Walleye Fishing title on Sunday, August 28 at Angostura Reservoir. The South State Championship of Walleye Fishing is the fourth of seven such tournaments on the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) circuit. DenHerder and Alverson’s two-day total weight of 28.31 gave them over a four-pound margin of victory. They pocketed the $4600 first place check, the $4000 Skeeter Boats Award for the top placing team fishing from a Skeeter Boat and for winning the tournament, and the Lowrance “YOU WIN!” award of two Lowrance LMS-332C color sonar/GPS units valued at $1400, making their total first place winnings worth $10,000. Second place and a check for $1500 went to the team of Troy Barthel from Tea, SD and Dean Jacobson from Watertown, SD with a two-day weight of 23.67pounds. Third place and a check for $800 went to the team of Bryan Gaikowski from Watertown, SD and Mike Dorris from Madison, SD with a two-day weight of21.23 pounds. The Cabela’s Big Fish Award of a $200 shopping spree and the optional Big Fish Pot of $380 went to the team of Gordon West and Mel Reilching from Watertown, SD. “The bite this weekend was really a lot better than most people predicted. Pre-fishing was really slow, but we had some really nice fish brought to the scales,” said GNWC Tournament Director Greg Liebel. “I really want to thank the community and the Chamber of Commerce in Hot Springs for all that they did for the GNWC.” What a weekend for DenHerder and Alverson, as they took the lead on Saturday with a six-fish limit weight of 19.64 pounds and held it all the way to the end. They pulled plugs in 25 feet of water and found that by using lead core they could get the plugs to hug the bottom and actually bounce off the bottom, which actually helped trigger the fish. “We started out on Saturday with our limit by 8:30 in the morning. We actually turned back three fish over 20 inches. Our first two fish were over 24 inches,” said Alverson. DenHerder noted that the plug of choice was a Bomber Flat A, but that it was an older model. “It was actually a Specialty Mark Davis color, a green back and a white belly.” Although Sunday was a slower bite, it was still an early one. Alverson said, “We had three in the first hour and a half. Then it went flat calm, and things really shut down.” DenHerder added, “What a weekend. I run a ZX 2050 Skeeter with a 225 hp Yamaha. It’s great to win the Championship and the $4000 Skeeter Boats Award.” Barthel and Jacobson also pulled plugs with lead core, but they went with white jointed Shadaps and orange Rip Shads. According to Barthel, the key depth was 20-25 feet of water. “We trolled at 1.5 to 2.0 miles per hour and worked anywhere from 22 to 35 feet of water. Our best bite came between11 a.m. and 1 p.m.” Gaikowski and Dorris also pulled lead core and crankbaits. However, they felt their bite got better as they downsized and went to #4 and #5 crankbaits. Rip Shads, Tail Dancers and jointed Shad Raps all caught fish.Dorris said, “There was no one bait that worked best. We caught nine fish on eight different plugs. Gaikowski added that he tried for suspended fish during pre-fishing. “I would pick one up once in a while, but nothing consistent. It was really a great weekend. It was lots of fun, the weather was good and we’re very happy with the way things turned out.” Several other special awards were presented at Sunday’s weigh-in. The “Yo So Close” award of a Yo Net folding net valued at $80 went to the teams that placed just out of the money. They include Dennis Womeldorf from Wall, SD and Shaun Johnson from Pierre, SD in 8th place; Gerald Meyer Carlyle Schliem from Sioux Falls, SD in 9th place; and Doug Iverson from Pierre, SD and Rolfe Behrend from Brookings, SD in 10th place. The Towtector Comeback Award of a Towtector boat protector valued at over $269 went to the team advancing the most places from the first day to the second day. This award went to the team of Troy Erickson from Rapid City, SD and Ryan Weekly from Pierre, SD, who moved from 12th place on Saturday to 5th place on Sunday. They ended up with a two-day total weight of 12.98 pounds. The Top Family Angler Award presented by the FoodSource Lure Company of $200 in FoodSource Lures went to Jack and Jim Ellenbecker from Pierre, SD. Those interested in checking out the standings, reading the releases about any of the seven regions or simply learning more about the circuit can access the GNWC website at www.walleyecup.com. Major national sponsors for the GNWC include Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Lowrance Electronics, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, Aqua-VU, Aqua Innovations, Cabela’s and UpNorthOutdoors.com. National championship sponsors are Towtector Shield and the FoodSource Lure Corporation.