2017 Montana Circuit Tournament Results
2017 Tournament Results
2017 Fort Peck Championship Series Wrap-up
[09.28.2017]
By Steve Harada
The 2017 Angler of the Year was captured by Todd Dooley of Sidney, MT. Todd finished 3rd place at the Rock Creek Tourney where he was partnered with his Dad, Alfred. He and his partner, Ryan Dempsey, took 7th place finish at Gov Cup and 36th place at Hell Creek to finish with 195.32 points out of a possible 200. Second place went out to the Adult/Child team of Wendi Ross of Round Up and Owen Wilcox from Laurel who had a 5th place at Rock Creek, 9th place at Gov Cup and 12th at Hell Creek. Third place honors went out to JR Rasmusan of Glasgow who finished 4th at Rock with Norm Sillerud and 6th at Hell Creek with his daughter, Tyana. Congrats to these top Angler of Year anglers! All Series awards are based on the best 2 out of 3 event and anglers must fish 2 or more to quality individually or together for team awards.
Team of the Year Award was won by Wendi Ross and Owen Wilcox and they also captured the Adult/ Child competition, as well. Way to go! Runner up Team of the Year was Father/Son Team of Colby and Bryce Loudon of Circle. Third place went to the Brady McDowell from Froid and Marty Oyloe from Williston, ND. The Loudon’s also won the Largest Walleye Caught & Released award with a 33 ¼” beast that they caught at the last event of the year, the Hell Creek Walleye Tournament.
The Mixed Couple award went out to champions Dayle Lynn and Eric Stahl of Laurel and the Stahls also 5th overall in the team of year competition. Joe Baird and Angela Pitman from Gillette, WY ended up in second place for the 2017 mixed couple award. Traci and Steve Harada finished in 3rd place for the year.
Congratulations to all of the anglers and thanks to all of our sponsors. Budwieser, Rock Creek Marina, Ft Peck Marina, D & G Sports, the Gateway Club, J & M Distributing, Hi-Line Ford, Paul’s Glass, Mon-Dak Marine, Wolf Point Walleyes Unlimited, the Lakeridge Lodging & Bait shop, Git-n-Go, Hell Creek Walleye Tournament, The Governor’s Cup Walleye Tournament & the Rock Creek Walleye Tournament.
Also, thanks to all of the patrol boat operators and other volunteers that help to make these tournaments exist. Thanks to the 808 total anglers that fished the 2017 Fort Peck Championship Series!
2017 Fort Peck Championship Results
2017 Montana Walleye Circuit Wrap-up
[09.28.2017]
The 2017 Montana Walleye Circuit is now history and it was a great year. We are pleased to announce we will be working to increase sponsors for the Montana Walleye Circuit 2018. We have been in contact with some businesses that want to be sponsors this coming year! Overall, most of the sponsorship support went back into each of the 4 individual circuit tournaments which provided benefits to the greatest number of participants and the greatest exposure and promotion for the sponsors.
We had 706 individuals’ fish in at least one if not more of the circuit events this past year! The break down on those was 259 Adult Teams, 52 Mixed Couples, and 42 Adult/Child Teams. We are hoping to increase participation in both the Mixed Couples and Adult/Child divisions by targeting increased sponsors for those divisions.
The Montana Walleye Circuit Facebook page continues to be a huge success. Nearly 500 individuals regularly follow us on Facebook. Some statistics for the year: over 40,000 individual visits, top post received over 5300 visitors, with an average daily visitor number exceeding 500! We put a link to each of your websites during the circuit season. If you have not checked us out on FACEBOOK please look and LIKE us on FACEBOOK as we are trying to keep all of you current with what’s going on with the circuit. We will continue this endeavor while preparing for the 2018 Montana Walleye Circuit Season as well.
The Circuit held 4 events in 2018:
Crooked Creek Walleye Classic-May 6/7
Tiber Tournament-May 20/21
Fresno Tournament-June 10/11
Canyon Ferry Walleye Festival-June 24/25
We will have a circuit meeting in Lewistown on September 30, 2017 and will be setting the schedule for the 2018 season at that time.
The 2017 Circuit Awards for Angler of the Year, Team of the Year, Top Lund, Top Adult/Child Teams, Top Mixed Couple Teams, etc. will be presented at the Walleyes Unlimited State meeting in Helena on April 21. We will let you know the location in Helena.
Angler of the Year –Bob Hickey and Jason Mundel finished first this year with 288.675 points (Mercury/Lund/Ram). Second place finish went to Kennie Williams and Travis Scott with 288.604 points (Mercury/Lund/Chevy). Third Place went to Jeff Ingram and Jake Monroe with 282.196 points (Mercury/Ranger/Chevy). All will be presented year end awards at the Montana Walleyes Unlimited annual meeting and banquet in Helena this spring.
One of the Top 15 Angler of the Year participants will be awarded a Ranger voucher from One Way Marine and Ranger Boats.
Top Lund Team of the Year – Bob Hickey and Jason Mundel were the Top Lund Team of the Year again this year.
Team of the Year --From Huk Performance Fishing. Bob Hickey and Jason Mundel will receive two Huk Foul Weather rain suits, which is probably the best rain gear being made today, and will continue as a Montana Walleye Circuit sponsor for 2018!
Top Adult/Child Team – Scott and Hunter Collinsworth placed first. (Mercury/Lund/Ram). Second Place went to Wayne and Owen Wilcox (Mercury/Triton/Chevy). Third Place went to Marty McLean and Caed Melone (Mercury/Lund/GMC).
Top Mixed Couple Team – Jeff and Kim Meyer placed first (Mercury/Lund/Ford). Second place went to Tom and Roxanne Tubs (Mercury/Lund/Chevy). Third place went to Dewey and Tessa Vogl (Mercury/Lund/Ford).
Largest Walleye Caught and Released Award –Two 33” Walleyes were caught this year. Bob Hickey and Jason Mundel released a 33-inch Walleye at the Crooked Creek Walleye Classic, and Wayne and Owen Wilcox released a 33-inch Walleye at Canyon Ferry.
A big thank you to North 40 for assisting with our advertising needs including: boat boards, posters, banners, and weigh cards.
We also want to give special thanks to all the other sponsors who provided other things that we needed and were able to then use at no additional cost to the circuit:
Boat decals and bags from Townsend Marine and Lund
K2 Laserworks, Todd Koessl for plaques.
Walleyes Unlimited web master Dave Sedlock for making timely updates to the tournament web page.
Fish Tales Magazine for publishing the news and articles and sponsor thank you’s.
For the 2018 Montana Walleye Circuit we look forward to continued support from:
Boat Sponsors:
Lund/Townsend Marine
Ranger/One Way Marine
Crestliner/Western Trailers and Marine
Warrior
Motor Sponsors:
Mercury Marine
Truck Sponsors:
Broadwater Ford/Ford
Snowy Mountain Motors/Ram
Tackle Sponsors:
Fenwick
Kit’s Tackle
Northland Tackle
Snappy’s Sport Senter
Mack’s Lures
Clothing/Other:
Huk Performance Fishing
North 40 Outfitters
K2 Laserworks
Town Pump
Tire Rama
Scheels—Billings and Great Falls
Bob and Patti Hickey
Don’s
Gordy and Tanya Matson
Tri-County Countertops
D and D RV
Midtown Market II
Raffle Sponsors:
Ma’s Loma Café
Don’s
North 40 Outfitters
We are excited to be working for the sponsors and anglers for the Montana Walleye Circuit for 2018! We would like your feedback regarding the Montana Walleye Circuit. We also appreciate the Tournament Directors and the Angler Committee that has stepped up to help out with the circuit in 2017. Brian Olson-Fresno, Ray Cole-Tiber, Matt Zeadow-Canyon Ferry, Kenny Nagel-Fenwick Fall Classic, Bob Hickey-Angler Committee, Kif Meier-Angler Committee, Jeff Ingram-Angler Committee, Kevin Effertz, Angler Committee, and Mike McLean-Angler Committee.
Tournament results and final circuit rankings (top 100) are posted on the Walleyes Unlimited tournament page at: http://montanawalleyesunlimited.net/tournaments.htm under the results tab.
A summary of boats/trucks and motor data:
182 Lund Boats
54 Ranger Boats
39 Crestliner Boats
10 Warrior Boats
261 Mercury Motors
52 Yamaha Motors
26 Evinrude Motors
131 Chevy Trucks
77 Ford Trucks
76 Ram Trucks
55 GMC Trucks
Thanks to all the anglers, sponsors, and supporters of the Montana Walleye Circuit!
Tammy and Don Pyrah, Montana Walleye Circuit Co-Directors
Final results for the Montana Ciruit
2017 Top Adult Child
2017 Top Mixed Couples
2017 Top Final
2017 Rock Creek Tournament
[09.28.2017]
The 2017 Rock Creek Walleye Tournament
By Steve Harada
The Rock Creek Tournament started off the Fort Peck Championship Series the first weekend in June with Townsend anglers, Kristopher Meier and Dewey Vogl garnering first place with a solid 40.26 pound of walleye during the two-day event. 119 teams vied to find the elusive walleye after a thunderstorm rolled through on the Friday night before the event that may have turned off the bite a little bit.
Rock Creek and their sponsors provided all participants with ball caps, a meal on Saturday prepared by Rock Creek Bill and his staff, awarded plaques to the top placing teams, and paid out a 91% payout after the $10.00 conservation fee was deducted that each team pays. This year the conservation money was earmarked for the second year in a row to the Montana Warriors on the Water. We rounded the $1190.00 to $1200.00 to donate to the very worthy cause and to the folks who fought for our great country and help provide us the freedom to still be able to have events like walleye fishing tournaments.
The tournament and Wolf Point Walleyes Unlimited provided monies to a Fish, Wildlife and Parks project on the state fishing access site on the Missouri River near Wolf Point. The boat ramp was in need of additional rip rap to prevent washing out and together $2400 was paid to a contractor to bolster the boat ramp. These are just a few of the things that walleye tournaments do to help promote the mission and goals of Walleyes Unlimited of Montana.
However, these tournaments will cease to exist if we aren’t able to continue to garner the numerous volunteers that allow an event to take place. I’d like to thank the folks that help out with the Rock Creek Tournament and I hope I don’t leave too many peeps out. My wife Traci, Ted & Joy Toavs, Carl & Cathy Seilstad, Cody, Kristen, Kiera & Kally Strohm, Kiyo & Rockie Ruhd, Lee Ann Loucks, Bill Hinrichs, Dennis, Sherry, Jen & Addison Young, Ty Eissinger, Kip Hentges, All of the Patrol Boat Operators, Monte & Linda and all of the Rock Creek Marina Staff and all of the other behind the scenes people that help with the workload. Remember these folks volunteer their time and energy to help ensure fisher-people are able to engage in a friendly fishing competition. Next time you see some of these individuals be sure to give them a little kudos or a thank you. Most tourneys are always looking for more help so maybe offer to help? The tournament also wouldn’t survive without our generous sponsors – Budweiser, Jordan Farmer’s Union Oil, Joe Moline from Big Sky Fire & Affirmed Medical Service, Agland Co-op Wolf Point, John Anderson Lewistown, Montana Tire Billings, Build Pro, Fox Ford, Hilltop Welding Plus, Main Street Grocery, Mon-Dak Marine, Bridger Pipeline, DeadEye Fishing, High Caliber Sports, Lifestyle Taxidermy, Joe Herbold, Interstate Batteries Billings, Hi Country Seasoning, Ryan’s Grocery Jordan, Ezzie’s, Antler Art Lewistown, Big Sky Boat Repair, Bretz RV, Tractor & Equipment Billings, Big R and Scheels. Be sure to shop locally and support your local businesses. Hope to see you next summer on the tournament trail.
Canyon Ferry Results
[06.28.2017]
Congratulations to all tournament fisherman that attended the Canyon Tournament. Here are your top finishers!
Top 5 finishers
1st - Colby Tognetti/Kyle Vine - 37.5 lbs
2nd - Patrick Evanson/Justin Krieger - 34.34 lbs
3rd - Wayne Wilcox/Justing Wilcox - 28.83 bs
4th - Trevor Johnson/ND Mandan - 24.79 lbs
5th - Jake Monroe/Jeff Ingram - 24.38 lbs
Top 3 AC
1st - Wayne and Owen Wilcox - 28.83 lbs
2nd - Lonnie and Rylie Wirtz - 10.75 lbs
3rd - Scott and Hunter Collinsworth - 8.12 lbs
Top 3 MC
1st - Gordy and Tanya Matson - 17.76 lbs
2nd - Randy and Rebekah Larson - 14.89 lbs
3rd - Ben Walker and Jennifer Scytkowski - 13.32 lbs
Click here for the official results!
Fresno Tournament
[06.26.2017]
Congratulations to all tournament fisherman that attended the Fresno Tournament. Here are your top finishers!
1st - Bob Hickey/Jason Mundel - 26.24 lbs
2nd - Nate Molstad/Jordan Overcast - 24.19 lbs
3rd - Wayne Yurek/Bom Johnson - 20.8l bs
4th - Cody Nagel/Lance Breen - 20.74 lbs
5th - Steve Kincaid/Luckie Bethel - 20.72 lbs
Click here for the official results!
Rock Creek Tournament
[06.07.2017]
By Steve Harada
The Rock Creek Walleye Tourney was held on June 3 & 4. The weather was gorgeous with summer like temperatures and light winds both days. The walleye fishing was a little bit tough, maybe because of colder water temperatures and a rogue thunderstorm that passed through on Friday night. 119 two-person teams battled it out to find out what the fickle walleye wanted to bite and where they were hiding out.
Winners of the event were Kristopher Meier and Dewey Vogl both from Townsend, who ended up with 40.26 pounds for the two-day event. Pat McNamee and Jeff Diercks who both hail from Park City, Montana were the Runner’s Up for the event with 38.57 pounds. The first day leaders, Alfred and Todd Dooley, father/son team from Sidney ended up in third place with 38.24 pounds of walleye. Fourth place went to last year’s champs, Norm Sillerud and JR Rasmusan with 38.06 pounds of “eyes”.
Winners of the adult/child competition were Wendi Ross of Roundup and Owen Wilcox from Laurel. They also had the second largest walleye on Day 2, a 32” toad and were fifth place overall. Sidney Team Bryan and McKenzie McDowell from Sidney were the winners of the mixed couple award with 31.44 pounds.
The largest walleye of the tournament was caught by Marty Oyole of Williston, ND and Bill Holmes from Lewistown who caught a 33” beast on Day 1. The largest Northern Pike was caught by Josh Kittleson from Ft. Peck and Jason Mundell from Coram and 42 ½”. The Wolf Point Walleyes Unlimited Wee Walleye Award was won by Wolf Point’s own Ted & Tukker Toavs on Saturday with a miniscule 5 ½” frye which held on to be the wee walleye of the event, too. The Billy D award that goes to the team that measures the first 30” walleye went to Gene Pronto and Cameron Quincy both of Wolf Point. The largest walleye caught on Sunday was a 32.75” brought in by Brady Babb from Wolf Point & Josh Rios from Froid and these two won the “cool under pressure award” by advancing the most places from Day 1 to Day 2.
The next event on the Fort Peck Championship Series is the Governor’s Cup Walleye Tournament held the second weekend in July and hosted by the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce. A huge thank you goes out to our numerous sponsors: Budweiser Nemont Beverage, Farmer’s Union Oil Jordan, Big Sky Fire/Affirmed Medical Service, Agland Co-Op Wolf Point, Rock Creek Marina, Lakeridge Lodging & Bait shop, Mon-Dak Marine, Main Street Grocery, Hilltop Welding Plus, Build-Pro Construction, Fox Ford, Interstate Batteries, Shipton’s Big R, Bridger Pipeline, Ryan’s Grocery, Will’s Office World, High Caliber Sports, DeadEye Fishing, , Antler Art Lewistown, John Anderson Lewistown, Hi County Snacks, Sportsman’s Taxidermy, Ezzie’s, Lifestyle Taxidermy, T & E Billings, Montana Tire Billings, Ezzie’s, Bretz RV & Marine, Joe Herbold, Wolf Point Carquest and Scheels. Thanks to all of the Patrol Boat volunteers, Bill & staff from Rock Creek Marina, the Rock Creek Tournament Staff, and all of course all of the tournament anglers.
Click here for the official results!
TIBER TOURNAMENT
[05.24.2017]
Congratulations to all tournament fisherman that attended the Tiber Tournament this past weekend. Here are your top finishers!
1st - Bob Sherer/Darrell Archey - 41.04 lbs
2nd - Jake Monroe/Jeff Ingram - 39.53 lbs
3rd - Scott Collinsworth/Hunter Collinsworth - 28.71 lbs
4th - Travis Kakalecik/Mike Kalalecik - 27.82 lbs
5th - Bill Novak/Brad Novak - 27.41 lbs
Adult/Child
1st - Scott Collinsworth/Hunter Collinsworth - 28.71 lbs
Mixed Couples
1st - Steve Zetterberg/Nikki Montesano - 26.03 lbs
Click here for the official results!
CROOKED CREEK WALLEYE CLASSIC
[05.08.2017]
Congratulations to all tournament fisherman that attended the Crooked Creek Walleye Classic this past weekend. Here are your top finishers!
1st - Kennie Williams/Travis Scott - 82.85 lbs
2nd - Bob Hickey/Jason Mundel - 45.17 lbs
3rd - Bill Novak/Brad Novak - 42.05 lbs
4th - Randy Redfern/Matt Cowen - 39.5 lbs
5th - Robert Mott/Dustin Flack - 38.78 lbs
Adult/Child
1st - Scott Collinsworth/Hunter Collinsworth - 38.1
Mixed Couples
1st - Eric Stahl/Dayle Stahl - 28.63
Click here for the official results!
