Wisconsin Pros Lead at Winneconne PWT
Category: Tournament
Apr 20th, 2006 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Apr 20th, 2006 at 12:00 AM
Wisconsin pro anglers took commanding leads after day two of the Mercury Pro-Am in Winneconne, Wisconsin. They were among the full-field of 120 In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail pro anglers fishing the first stop of the Regional Tournament Series presented by MotorGuide. Day two, Thursday, April 20, dawned bright and sunny with temperatures rising to nearly 80 degrees. It proved to be one of the best spring days in Winneconne, which has seen an unusual spate of dry weather.Water flows in the Wolf River and conditions on the big lakes have favored the fish rather than the fishermen. Local event coordinator Doug Nelson, Winneconne, has watched the fishing for decades. He said, “This is the slowest walleye action I’ve seen for this week ever.” However, Merrill pro Tom Gatzke weighed a day two limit of 11 pounds for a total weight of 20.12 pounds. He leads second place pro Ken Van Oss, Chilton, by 1.37 pounds, and third place pro Tom Kemos, Oconomowoc, by five pounds. Pro Brad Davis, Jackson, is seven pounds back, and fifth place pro Ryan Standke, Oshkosh is one-half pound behind Davis.The PWT is a Pro-Am, with amateurs fishing three days with three different pros in a boat-weight format. The leading amateur is Dan Gosenheimer, Wild Rose, Wis. If his lead holds, he will win a Lund walleye boat rigged with a Mercury outboard worth $15,000. The winning pro earns $50,000. The top 30 pros and amateurs win more than $200,000 in cash and merchandise.Davis leads the Coleman Big Fish list with a 5.99-pounder on day one. Van Oss leads the E-Cell Heavyweight race with his day one 11.30-pound catch. Anglers landed thousands of walleyes, but they were from the last two year-classes (6 to 8 inches and 12 to 13 _ inches). On day one, they brought 150 fish to the scales, and on day two, they upped the catch to 238.Two pros were disqualified from the tournament for inadvertently going faster than “no-wake” through no-wake zones. The PWT penalty was a disqualification from the competition for not abiding by this rule. They were Jeff Taege, Rhinelander, Wis., and Bruce Samson, Minnetrista, Minn.Both pros will be returning for the Super Pro event at Chamberlain, SD. Winneconne’s Waterfront Park was a busy place with kids, dogs and families enjoying the PWT Outdoor Festival. Kids of all ages enjoyed the leaping Dock Dogs (www.dockdogs.com), the rock-climbing wall, the catfishpond and the air rifle shooting gallery. These free Festival activitieswill take place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday. The stage ceremonies with pros and amateurs spilling their secrets takes place starting at 3 p.m., with awards ceremonies immediately following.The Mercury Pro-Am will be followed by three Regional events, and four Super Pro tournaments. Amateurs may still enter some events. Check the PWT website at www.professionalwalleyetrail.com for details. The PWT is an integral element of the In-Fisherman Communications Network headquartered in Brainerd, Minnesota, and PRIMEDIA, America’s leading producer of targeted media. PWT promotional partners include:Mercury Marine, Lund, The Outdoor Channel, Berkley, Optima Batteries, Realtree, MotorGuide, Lowrance, MinnKota, Trilene, Frenzy, Blue Fox, Powerbait, Johnsonville Brats, Northland Fishing Tackle, Lindy Legendary Fishing Tackle, GULP!, Coleman, Storm, Tommy Docks, Smooth Moves Seat Mounts, E-Village, Kwik Pfyt, Raymarine, Rapala, Pflueger, Ram rod holders, Gerbing’s Heated Clothing, Aqua-Vu, Plano, Stowmaster.net, Navionics, Yellow Bird, Beckman, Drift Control, Gemini Sport Marketing, Yo-Zuri and Reef Runner. The PWT is an integral element of the In-Fisherman Communications Network headquartered in Brainerd, Minnesota, and PRIMEDIA, America’s leading producer of targeted media.