Green Bay Offers Challenge to GNWC Anglers
Category: Tournament
Jul 20th, 2005 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Jul 20th, 2005 at 12:00 AM
A lot is at stake as the teams competing on the Wisconsin Region of the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) prepare for their final regular season tournament at Green Bay Oconto scheduled for Sunday, July 31. First, it is the last chance for the teams striving to make the Regional Championship on the Minoqua Chain, September 10-11 and secondly, the coveted Yamaha Outboards Team of the Year is on the line. Heading into the Green Bay Tournament, the team of Michael Gengalo, Jr, from Wausau, WI and Michael Gengalo, Sr, from Pelican, WI have a 14 point lead over the team of Lune Leanna from Oakfield, WI and Ed Goehring from Wisconsin Rapids, WI. “When you get to this point in the season, there is a lot riding on that final tournament. For several of the teams, it comes down to the Green Bay Tournament to see if they will make the top 30 teams and qualify for the Regional Championship.” According to Daryl Warren, who guides and also manages Bob’s Bait and Tackle, the recent warm weather has caused fishing to be up and down, but there have still been a lot of fish taken. “At this end of the Bay, guys are catching a lot of fish, but they are smaller. There was a two-day tournament a week ago out of Menomminee, and the winning team had over a six-pound average. I’m sure most of those guys with the big weights ran north.” Pulling crawler harnesses has been producing the best. “I would expect 80 percent of the teams fishing the Green Bay Oconto Tournament will be open water trolling with crawler harnesses. There will be teams pulling crankbaits, but most will be using harnesses,” added Warren. The tournament director will have the trailer at Oconto Park from 6-8 p.m. the evening before the tournament to take late entries and answer questions. Take-off is at 7 a.m. with the weigh-in commencing at 3 p.m. sharp at Oconto Park. “The weigh-in will provide lots of excitement. I encourage the public to come out and witness the weigh-in, and even though it starts at 3, it’s a good idea to come out early. It’s free to the public, fun and educational. I expect to see some impressive weights come to the scale, and this will be a good opportunity for people to hear what presentations these teams used to catch their fish,” added Barringer. For those interested in entering, the entry fee remains at $210 per team for each tournament. Openings do still exist for the Green Bay qualifier, and Barringer encourages interested anglers to contact him at 1-800-890-FISH (3474), or email the GNWC at [email protected]. “I also encourage people to check out our website at www.walleyecup.com. The Green Bay Oconto Tournament is the final regular season tournament for the GNWC, and we will soon be starting our Regional Championships,” added Barringer. 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 VIB”E” Lure Company.