Montana Circuit

Montana Walleyes Circuit Info

Fall Classic Walleye tournament (Crooked Creek Bay, Fort Peck Lake, August 4th and 5th, 2012)

July 21^st is the deadline to get in to Fall Classic without paying the $25.00 late fee.

Click on the image below to download the full size poster for this event!

We are very excited to be able to hold this tournament for the second year back at Crooked Creek, where it all started. If you were not at the 2011 tournament you definitely missed out, the weather and bite were awesome. We are expecting a phenomenal bite this year with more tournament fun as our sponsorships grow.

Fall Classic Walleye Tournament will be held August 4th and 5th, with the rules meeting at 7:00 pm Friday Night. One member of each team must attend the rules meeting. Come down and spend the whole week with us, you definitely can’t go wrong! Keep in mind, Crooked Creek boat ramp is the only official launch site, you must camp and launch at Crooked Creek to be part of the tournament.

We just wanted to give you an overview of all the great things Fall Classic will be offering this year. We plan on paying back 100 %( of entries) to the top 25% of the field. Along with the top 25% of the field we’ll also be paying out to these categories: Adult/Child, Mixed Couples, Dinosaur, Family/Novice, closest to 5lbs, Multi-species, highest boat places, largest Smallmouth bass, tough luck award, and of course largest daily Walleye and Northern Pike. Plaques will be given to the top 3 teams, and 1st place Adult/Child, Mixed Couples, Dinosaur, and Family/Novice divisions. If you ad all of this up with the increase in the Montana Circuit prize payouts, we could possibly be giving out to 40% of the fishing field.

Some of our great sponsors that have committed are: Crooked Creek Chapter of WUL, Billings Chapter of WUL, Don’s Store, Coca-Cola, Tammi’s Travel, Mike McElvain (State Farm Insurance), Thad’s Tackle Shop, Midtown Market, Flathead Chapter of WUL, Lewistown News Argus, Rich Nearhoof, Bar 19/Western lounge, Lewistown Honda, Pourman’s Café, Intermountain Distributing/Budweiser, Deer Creek Dental, Do All Construction, KDA Enterprises and Mid-State signs. It has always amazed me on how these Montana business’s always come through for us, please make sure to support our local businesses.

We will also be giving out custom lanyards, with clippers and jig-eye busters again to all participants, the last couple years they were a huge success. They will be a different color and customized with Fall Classic 2012, Crooked Creek bay. The tournament crew will also be selling great looking t-shirts and hoodies commemorating having the Fall Classic Walleye tournament back at Crooked Creek, for the second year, after 11 long dry years.

Fall Classic will be providing a meal free of charge on Saturday night for all participants, Pourman’s Café out of Lewistown will be catering the meal for us. Pourman’s Cafe will also be stationed above the marina at tournament headquarters selling combo meals to anyone that may not want to cook. They will be offering dinner from 3-7pm Thursday and Friday night and 2 to 5 on Sunday, so if you’re getting off the water and don’t want to cook swing up and have Tammy take care of that appetite. They will also be selling breakfast burritos and coffee before tournament launch Saturday and Sunday mornings.

The last few years we have had no Marina services down at Crooked Creek, but as of now the Crooked Creek Marina is open for business. I talked with Destry Harris this week and as of June 8th he has cold drinks, ice, and bait and will be adding weekly to his inventory. They are shooting to have beer, fuel and the rest of services rolling by July 1st. They have also added air conditioning to the 4 cabins they have for rent. They have been doing some clean-up and mowing on the grounds, it will be really nice once again, to have someone down there maintaining and providing services at Crooked Creek. If you have any questions on hours, cabin reservations, etc, you can give Grant a call at 406-429-2999.

As you can see, we are gearing up to have an unbelievably fun tournament. We hope to see you down there, come spend the whole week with us. Remember Fall Classic is the last of 4 tournaments on the Montana Walleye Circuit, try to hit 3 of them and compete for tons of year end prizes. Angler of the Year, Team of the year, top mixed couples and top Adult/Child will be decided at this tournament. You must be a member of Walleyes Unlimited to fish circuit tournaments. Entries for Fall Classic and membership applications can be downloaded from our website, montanawalleyesunlimited.net, at Don’s Store, or in this season’s issues of Fish Tales magazine.

If you go to our website, then to the tournament page, you will find the Fall Classic tournament boundary map and roster of signed up anglers. The roster will start in April and I’ll have it updated monthly, spots are going fast so get your entry in soon!

If you have any questions please give me a call!
Travis Scott, 2012 Fall Classic tournament director, 406-366-5603

Thank you to our sponsors!!

Crooked Creek, Billings, and Flathead Chapters of Walleyes Unlimited
Bar 19 and Western lounge, Lewistown, Mt.
406-538-4949 406-535-9075
Don’s Store, Lewistown, Mt. / 406-538-9408
Lewistown News Argus, Lewistown, Mt. / 406-535-3401
Midtown Market, Harlowton, Mt. / 406-632-5570
Mike Mcelvain/State Farm Insurance, Billings, Mt. / 406-248-1213
Coca-Cola of Great Falls and Havre
Tammi’s Uniglobe Travel, Lewistown, Mt. / 406-538-4994
Thad’s Tackle Shop, Olney, Mt. / 406-881-2819
Lewistown Honda / 406-538-9435
Deer Creek Dental Lewistown, Mt. / 406-535-6317
Pourman’s Café, Lewistown, Mt. / 406-535-4277
Crooked Creek Marina, / 406-429-2999
Intermountain Distributing & Budweiser, Lewistown, Mt.
406-538-3150
KDA Enterprises, Billings, Mt. / 406-861-2781
Do-All Construction, Lewistown, Mt. / 406-538-2509
K2 Laserworks, Billings, Mt. / 406-794-1292
Rich Nearhoof, Lewistown, Mt.

UPDATED June 12th - 2012 Montana Walleyes Unlimited Circuit

Montana Walleye Circuit Update - By Dale Gilbert

On June 2nd, the 2012 Montana Walleye Circuit kicked off with day one of the 2012 Fresno Walleye Challenge at Fresno Reservoir near Havre, MT. A total of 92 teams ended up on the roster for the tournament from MT, Idaho, Washington, and North Dakota. Anglers were looking forward to one of the best bites the system has seen for some time. Fish sampling by the FWP in recent years have been setting records with an average of 22 fish per net – the highest number of walleye per net than any other system in the state.

Pre-fishing was good for most of the field even though conditions had changed over the past week after the snow, wind, cold etc. the area saw over the Memorial weekend. Water temps dropped about 9 degrees and the fished had moved out a little deeper.

Day one found the teams spread from one end of the reservoir to the other. Teams were jigging, rigging and pulling crankbaits. The weather turned out really great with light to variable winds and mostly overcast with some very light precipitation and temps in mid-60’s to 70 degrees.

The team of Robert and Daniel Rooney took top honors day one with 5 fish weighing 12.80 pounds.
Phil and Kim Kumm were 2nd with 5 fish weighing 11.84 pounds
Leonard Roberts and Tim Marsh were 3rd with 5 fish weighing 11.20 pounds.
Fourth place went to Allan Ranes and Steve Worden with 5 fish weighing 11.14 pounds.
Firth place went to Darrell Archey and Cory Loecker with 5 fish weighing 10.56 pounds.

$4350 in Day One money was paid out to the top 20 teams.

Biggest walleye and a check for $910 went to team of William "Jake" Monroe and Jason Hernandez 3.38 pounds on day one.

Biggest northern and a check for $820 went to the team of Allan Jackson and Matt Zeadow -- a 31 1/2 inch fish on day one.

Multi - species award went to Terry and Cody Eisenbarth who caught 4 species of fish -- northern, perch, walleye, and whitefish.

All in all it was a great day with only 4 teams with no fish, one no show.

The weather on day two was even nicer but as usual the bite got a little tougher for most.
Long story short, it was a great tournament. The final day saw some teams really struggling yet others had a great day which is fairly typical of tournaments as a result of fishing pressure and changes in the weather, etc.

Top honors went to the team of Luckie Bethel and Bob Sherer with a total of 22.42 #'s. Bob and Lucky had a great day, with the best weight of the day of 12.24 #'s with 5 fish. Between the day money and final payouts they netted some$2500 in cash payouts, plus the Top Lund award of $500, a Townsend Marine voucher worth $500 on a qualified purchase, a Navionics HotMaps Platinum West card, 2- $50 gift certificates from Mack's Lures, and a $30 Rock Chip repair voucher from Falls Auto Glass in Great Falls.

The leaders on day one, Robert and Daniel Rooney had a very tough day, not weighing a fish so they dropped to 29th place overall.

Actually the fishing was a lot tougher for most of the field on day 2 with only 31 teams weighing 5 fish. Nineteen teams had zero on day two and one of those did not make it out and another had motor troubles and were towed in.

The team of Phil and Kim Kumm of Great Falls ended up in 2nd place with 22.02 #'s.
The team of Darrell Archey and Cory Loecker ended up in 3rd place with 20.6 #'s.
Forth place went to the team of Gordon and Tanya Matson with 19.52 #'s.
Fifth place went to the team of Allan Ranes and Steve Worden with 19.4 #'s.

The tenth place team of Ray Cole and Steve Thomas weighed a total of 17.32 #'s so the race was pretty tight and overall a lot more weights than we have seen in the past. In 2010, 20.29 #'s won the tournament, and in 2011 19.8 #'s won. And in 2010 10th place was at 13.88 #'s and in 2011 10th place was 12.85 #'s.
Top Lund Team -- Bob Sherer and Luckie Bethel received $500 from Lund and Townsend Marine in Townsend, MT.
Top Ranger Team -- Pat Slater and Sam Cotterell received a $500 Ranger Certificate from Ranger and One Way Marine in Helena, MT
Top GMC Team -- Ray Cole and Steve Thomas received $500 from Rimrock GMC in Billings

Top Adult Child honors went to Andy Rose and Breydan Rose -- winning a pair of nice Scheels rod combos, Scheels hats and decals from Scheels in Billings, MT and also $100 from Bob and Patti Hickey.

The 2nd place Adult Child team was Glen and Channing Briese -- winning $50 from River Techniques/Luckie Bethel.

Top Mixed Couple honors went to Phil and Kim Kumm with 2-$100 gift certificates from Snappys Sport Senter in Kalispell.

Cool Under Pressure Award went to the team of Jim Lindquist and Mark Magers -- receiving a set of trailer tires from A-Z Tire.

Hardest Charger Award went to the team of Dave Jones and Scott Huntly -- winning a pair of Scheels "shorty" trolling rods/combos with a nice line counter reel spooled with lead core from Scheels in Great Falls.

The Fenwick Largest Walleye award went to William "Jake" Monroe and Jason Hernandez with a 3.38 # walleye. They received a check for $250 and an assortment of lures from Mack’s Lures.

Largest Northern paid out $820 each day -- and Largest Walleye paid out $910 each day.

The Dinosaur Award from Scheels in Billings was won by Luckie Bethel and Bob Sherer -- which they donated back so it went to a random draw to another lucky winner.

Ranger Incentive Clarification

WU-Circuit directors wanted to make sure you all are aware and understand that the $500 Ranger Incentive that can be won at any of the Montana Walleye Circuit tournaments is only if you have registered online and are a Ranger Cup qualified boat.

This has to be done prior to fishing the event. I am attaching the website address and the Ranger Cup terms. https://www.rangerboats.com. Your Ranger dealer can probably help you if you have questions or call the number below.

2012 Ranger Cup registration is open to any registered Ranger boat owner. To be eligible for Ranger Cup payout the boat owner must sign up each year and pay the $19.99 registration fee. Once the registration is received Ranger will send a Ranger Cup card along with a Ranger Cup decal for your boat. Ranger Cup registration is not retroactive and to be eligible one must sign up each year. For more information please contact the Ranger Cup department at 870-453-2222.

2012 Montana Circuit Rules

Official 2012 Rules
2012 Montana Circuit Kickoff

Enroll now for the 2012 Montana Walleye Circuit E-Blast!

If you are interested in the Montana Walleye Circuit or have any friends who may be interested, the Montana Walleye Circuit E-Blast will give you the opportunity to stay in tune with what is going on in the circuit. By signing up per the below enrollment form, you will receive timely updates sent to the email address you provide below. This will include information about the circuit, pre-tournament conditions, fishing reports, tournament results, including daily results where internet access is available for it to be sent, and information on products and promotions from the circuit sponsors.
Even if you aren’t fishing the circuit, you may be interested in how the bite is on your favorite water. Or maybe you want to see how your friends are doing. Either way, this will be the best way to stay in touch with what is going on. The cost is $10 per email account and the account will expire 12/31/2012.
Click here for Enrollment form

Montana Walleye Circuit Teams Qualify

2012 Cabela’s National Team Championship
May 31-June 2
Lake Mille Lacs
Isle, Minnesota

The Montana Walleye Circuit was given 7 slots/invitations for teams who fished the Montana Walleye Circuit in 2011 that would like to go back and participate in the 2012 Cabela’s National Team Championship tournament on Lake Mille Lacs at Isle, Minnesota May 31 – June 2, 2012.

The Cabela's National Team Championship is a result of partnerships formed with walleye tournaments, circuits and clubs across the nation. Anglers that have secured invitations through these organizations have an opportunity to compete for added cash and prizes in a true national championship tournament.

The 2012 Cabela's National Team Championship (NTC) will be held May 31-June 2 on legendary Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota. The first two days will feature the entire field, with on-the-water inspections and weigh-ins based at Izaty's Resort on the south shore just west of Isle. On Day Three, the top 25 teams from the first two days will compete for the prestigious title of Cabela's National Team Champions. The final day's launch and weigh-in will be held out of McQuoid's Inn just north of Isle.

The first two days of the event will be held in conjunction with a Cabela's Masters Walleye Circuit's tournament. NTC qualifying teams may register to fish the Cabela's MWC side of the event at the same time. Last year, Derek Navis and Korey Sprengel collected more than $180,000 in cash and prizes for their huge double-victory at the NTC/MWC dual tournaments on Bays de Noc, Michigan.

Information about the tournament is available at http://www.masterswalleyecircuit.com/ntc.asp.

Registration started January 3. Teams need to register or submit their intent to participate in writing by February 28th. The entry fee is $300 per team with an expected full field with 250 boats.

This is a great opportunity and experience so if you are interested in going contact Dale Gilbert, Co-Director, Montana Walleye Circuit at dgilbert.montanawalleye@gmx.com or call 406-788-3824 for more information and the registration/invitation forms.

Priority will be given to the top qualifiers based on the Team of the Year Standings for 2011, yet as we have found in the past, not all of them will be able to go back and fish, so if you are interested please let me know.

This can be your chance to be a National Champion and Mille Lacs is a great fishery.

Fort Peck Circuit

The dates for the Hell creek tournament have been resolved and the 2012 Fort Peck Circuit is a go! Below are the official dates of the 3 tournaments.

Rock Creek - June 2-3
Governor’s Cup - July 12-14
Hell Creek –July 21-22

Other Tournaments

Click here for a list of every Montana Fishing tournament for 2012

Broadwater Rod and Gun Club, July 14th - Townsend

The Broadwater Rod & Gun Club Walleye Derby will be held on July 14, 2012 from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM on Canyon Ferry out of Goose Bay.

Entry Fee: $80/team - Limit 90 two-person teams.
Location: Goose Bay, Townsend

For more information contact Doug Breker at 266-5279 (work) or 266-3102 (home) before 8:30 p.m. Or e-mail him at te@townsendelectric.com

Womens Walleye Fishing Tournament, July 28th

SATURDAY JULY 28, 2012 - 80% PAYOUT of CASH & PRIZES - $80.00 PER TEAM - Ages 12 through 17 must be with an adult partner.

**Enter by July 10th and your team will be entered to win $500.00 in Chamber Big Bucks !!

John Arnold Fish Derby, August 4th - York Bridge

Location: Hauser Lake, York Bridge Fishing Access Site
Date: Saturday, August 4, 2012 Fishing Time: 8:30am to 2:30pm
Contest Rules Meeting and Boat Inspection: 7:30am
Fishing Boundaries: Base of Canyon Ferry Dam to Hauser Dam and Causeway Arm

Entry fee is $40 per team and must be received prior to July 24, 2012. You must be a member of Walleyes Unlimited of Montana to enter the contest. Make check payable to Upper Missouri River Chapter. Mail application and entry fee to: Adrin Clark, PO Box 639, Townsend, MT 59644-0639. Questions; call Adrin at 406-439-9473.

Fishin' For the Cure August 18th - Fort Peck

Location: Rock Creek Marina, Fort Peck
Date: Saturday, August 18th

Fishin' For the Cure August 18th at Fort Peck, Rock Creek Marina, all proceeds to benefit childhood cancer research. www.fishinforthecure.com

For more info, please email Tracy Russo

Results

2012 Tournament Results

Walleye Circuit Standings

As of today, here are the WU-Circuit standings!

Adult/Child

Mixed Couple

Top 30

2012 - Jordan Chapter - Hell Creek Results

[07.23.2012]

It was a fantastic tournament! Saturday EVERY tournament fisherman brought in a 5 fish limit and only one team had less than 5 measurable walleye on Sunday. What a great year to be fishing Fort Peck! Below are your top 5 finishers, full results listed below.

1st - Norm Sillerud-JR Rasmasan - 53.34 lbs.
2nd - Levi Sugg-Kris Keller - 37.72 lbs.
3rd - Clyde Phipps-Brim Phipps - 30.44 lbs.
5th - Jimmy Weaver-Jerry Wiesbeck - 29.72 lbs.
5th - Casey Thomas-Marvin Loomis - 26.18 lbs.

Click here for complete results!

2012 - Gov Cup Results

[07.23.2012]

Write-up Pending. Here are the results - Click here for complete results!

2012 Canyon Ferry Festival Results

Day 2 of the 2012 Canyon Ferry Walleye Festival was disappointing for some, but others had a great day. Overall it was a tougher bite today with a total of 368 walleyes being caught weighing a total of 541.4 pounds and a 1.47 pound average. Thirty three of the teams were still able to scratch out a limie of five fish. Some were consistent, some that had a tough day on day one, had a great day today and few others had a long day. Thirty five teams had no fish today. No northerns were caught today.

But the big news was the winning team of Kit and Trevor Johnson of Helena, MT -- owners of Kit's Tackle and one of the circuit sponsers weighed in another nice weight of 19.96 pounds for a total of 41.76 pounds to win the $10000 first place prize. They also were awarded the Top Lund Team with a check for $500 from Townsend Marine and Lund, a Navionics voucher worth $200 for a new map card, a Townsend Marine voucher worth $500 on a qualified purchase, and a couple of gift certificates from Mack's Lures worth $50 for each team member. Overall a pretty nice day for the father and son team from Helena. Congratulations guys -- Great Job.

The 2nd place honors went to Dan Spence and Tianna Workman from the Bozeman and Belgrade area. Dan and Tianna were leading the tournament going out on day one, but struggled some on day two weighing 5 fish for 6.6 pounds and dropping to 2nd with a weight of 37.42 pounds and a check for $5000. They also received to Top Mixed Couple Award for the Circuit with 2 - $100 gift cards from Snappys Sport Senter in Kalispell and another $200 check from the CFWF. They also received a check for $250 for the Fenwick Largest Walleye Award for their day one 15.08 pound walleye and an assortment of lures from Mack's Lure -- which are great walleye rigs.

3rd place went to the team of Dave Greger and Jim Muscat from Bozeman and Gallitin Gateway with a total of 30.54 pounds. They weighed in the largest walleye of the day a 13.69 pound whopper. Last year Dave and Jim ended up in 2nd place by less than a quarter pound. They did a great job again today and if they had been using Jim's GMC a little richer....

4th place went ot the team of Ken Seay and Marlin Cross with big weight of the day with 26.76 pounds and a total of 27.82 pounds. This got them the Cool Under Pressure award for improving something like 128 places from day one, winning a set of trailer tires from A-Z tires in Billings. They also won the Dinosaur Award from Scheels Sports in Billings -- a couple of gift cards, hats and tee-shirts. And on top of all that they took home the TOP GMC Tow Vehicle Award and a check for $500 from Rimrock GMC & Cadillac in Billings, MT.

Rounding out the top 5 was Ken Schmidt from Glasgow and Mark Jones from Billings with a total of 26.57 pounds. They also took the Top Ranger Team award with a $500 certificate from One Way Marine in Helena and Ranger Boats. If they had won the tournament as a Ranger Cup Qualified team they would have added another $500 check to their pockets.

Other Circuit Awards and Prizes are as follows:

Top Adult Child Team was John and Patrick Bannon with nice rod/reel combo and hats from Scheels Sports in Billings, a check for $100 from Bob and Patti Hickey and another $200 check from the CFWF.

2nd Place Adult Child Team was Dan and Kasey Chovanak with a check of $50 from River Techniques/Luckie Bethel and $150 from the CFWF.
3rd Place Adult Child Team was Mike and Bobbie McElvain from Billings with a check of $100 from the CFWF.

Top Mixed Couple Award Team was Dan Spence and Tianna Workman who overall finished in 2nd place as noted above.
2nd place Mixed Couple was the Team of Gordy and Tanya Matson of Ennis who were leading the Montana Circuit going into the tournament -- those results will be updated and posted in the next day or so.
3rd place Mixed Couple went to Phil and Kim Kumm from Great Falls.

The Hardest Charger Award went to the team of Gene Mccommon and Matt Workman who had zeroed on day one and came back with 5.81#'s on day two - winning 2 - $100 gift cards from Scheels Sports in Great Falls.

Overall, it was a great event with a lot of nice fish being caught. Congratulations to all who participated and all the volunteers who helped put this all together. A big thanks to all the sponsors -- Townsend Marine for the plaques and Big R for all the scoring cards, boat boards, weigh boards, etc.

Thanks, Dale R Gilbert

Click here for full results

Below is a photo of 1st and 3rd place finishers from Canyon Ferry

2012 Tiber

Montana Walleye Circuit E- Blast Tiber 2012 Final Results

The finale day for the 2012 Tiber Walleye Tourney was a much tougher day for several teams with high, gusty winds that made boat control and fishing pretty tough. Yet as usual some teams made some adjustments and did fairly well.

1st place and top honors went to Ray Cole and Steve Thomas of Great Falls who weighed in another 12.12 pounds on day two for a total of 27.52 pounds.

2nd place went to Allan Jackson and Matt Zeadow of Townsend weighing 10.96 pounds on day two for a total of 26.88 pounds.

3rd place went to Kerry Parsons and Doug Rohlf of Great Falls weighing 12.22 pounds on day two for a total of 26.6 pounds.

4th place went to Robert and Terri Mills of Ulm with 10.02 pounds on day two and a total of 25.52 pounds.

Rounding out the top 5 was the team of Gordon and Tanya Matson of Ennis with a total of 25.50 pounds.

On day two because of the conditions only 22 teams weighed 5 fish for the day and 23 teams weighed no fish. Some teams called it quits fairly early because of the 25-30+mph winds

Top weight on day two went to Darren Raney and Jim Brown of Livingston with 12.56 pounds.

Largest northern was 10 lbs 15 oz. caught by Wayne and Rick Urick.

Largest walleye on day two was a 4.42 # 23” fish and a tie with 3 teams each splitting 1/3 of the day pot – Dick Wunderlich and Ken Druyvestein, Robert and Terri Mills, and Ron Groseclose and Mike Mclean.

Overall the largest walleye of the tournament was a 7.58 pound fish caught on day one by Randy Snyder and Ron Clausnitzer of Lewistown. This netted them a check for $250 for the Fenwick Largest Walleye Award as well as a selection of Mack’s Lure products.

Cool Under Pressure Award went to the team of Darren Raney and Jim Brown who advanced the most places from day one and won a set of trailer tires from A-Z tires.

The Dinosaur Award went to Terry and Paul Druyvestein with 2 -$25 gift cards, hats and t-shirts from Scheels Sports in Billings, MT.

The Hardest Charger Award went to the team of Jeff Shamley and Mike Reed with 2-$100 gift cards from Scheels Sports in Great Falls. This award goes to a team that had zero weight the first day and does the best on day two. They weighed in 7.96 pounds on day two to claim the prize.

The Top Ranger Team was Brian Olson from Havre and Dan Chovanak from Helena winning a $500 Ranger certificate.

Top Lund Team was awarded to Ray Cole and Steve Thomas netting them another $500 check from Townsend Marine and Lund. They also received a Townsend Marine certificate worth $500 towards a qualifying purchase.

Top GMC Tow Vehicle Award went again to the team of Ray Cole and Steve Thomas of Great Falls with another $500 check from Rimrock GMC/Cadillac in Billings.

Top Adult/Child honors and a check for $100 from Bob and Patti Hickey and 2 nice rod/reel combo, hats, and t-shirts from Scheels Sports in Billings went to the team of Mike and Ryan Green of Great Falls.
2nd place Adult/Child team and a $50 check from River Techniques/Luckie Bethel went to the team of Terry and Cody Eisenbarth from Great Falls.

Top Mixed Couple Award went to the team of Robert and Terri Mills of Ulm, MT – receiving 2 - $100 Gift cards from Snappy Sports Senter in Kalispell, MT.

In addition to the final cash payout for the tournament of $3000 Ray Cole and Steve Thomas also ended up as the top team winning a Navionics voucher for a $200 map card, 2 – Mack’s Lure Gift Cards worth $50 each, and the Townsend Marine Certificate worth $500 towards a qualifying purchase of $10000.

Overall, even with only 89 teams signed up this year for the tournament the top team ended up with almost $5000 in cash and prizes for their efforts from Day money payouts, final payout and the additional circuit awards.

Also we ended up drawing for the Lowrance and Minn Kota raffle Saturday evening during the awards ceremony since we sold the rest of the tickets. The lucky winners will be notified by phone on Monday – I am having a little difficulty in reading the names -- a Clarence K. from Billings won the Lowrance HDS , 8 with Insight USA maps and a Shannon C. from Absorkee won the Minn Kota Terrova with i-Pilot.

Congratulations to everyone.

And thanks to all the sponsors and volunteers that made the 2012 Tiber Walleye Tourney happen. Please show your support to both the local and the tournament sponsors.

Click here for full results

2012 Fresno Walleye Challenge

Long story short, it was a great tournament. The final day saw some teams really struggling yet others had a great day which is fairly typical of tournaments as a result of fishing pressure and changes in the weather, etc.

Top honors went to the team of Luckie Bethel and Bob Sherer with a total of 22.42 #'s. Bob and Lucky had a great day, with the best weight of the day of 12.24 #'s with 5 fish. Between the day money and final payouts they netted some$2500 in cash payouts, plus the Top Lund award of $500, a Townsend Marine voucher worth $500 on a qualified purchase, a Navionics HotMaps Platinum West card, 2- $50 gift certificates from Mack's Lures, and a $30 Rock Chip repair voucher from Falls Auto Glass in Great Falls.

The leaders on day one, Robert and Daniel Rooney had a very tough day, not weighing a fish so they dropped to 29th place overall.

Actually the fishing was a lot tougher for most of the field on day 2 with only 31 teams weighing 5 fish. Yet only 4 teams had zero on day two and one of those did not make it out and another had motor troubles and were towed in.

The team of Phil and Kim Kumm of Great Falls ended up in 2nd place with 22.02 #'s.
The team of Darrell Archey and Cory Loecker ended up in 3rd place with 20.6 #'s.
Forth place went to the team of Gordon and Tanya Matson with 19.52 #'s.
Fifth place went to the team of Allan Ranes and Steve Worden with 19.4 #'s.

The tenth place team of Ray Cole and Steve Thomas weighed a total of 17.32 #'s so the race was pretty tight.

Top Lund Team -- Bob Sherer and Luckie Bethel received $500 from Townsend Marine and Lund
Top Ranger Team -- Pat Slater and Sam Cotterell received a $500 Ranger Certificate from Ranger and One Way Marine
Top GMC Team -- Ray Cole and Steve Thomas received $500 from Rimrock GMC in Billings

Top Adult Child honors went to Andy Rose and Breydan Rose -- winning a pair of nice Scheels rod combos, Scheels hats and decals from Scheels in Billings, MT and also $100 from Bob and Patti Hickey.
The 2nd place Adult Child team was Glen and Channing Briese -- winning $50 from River Techniques/Luckie Bethel.

Top Mixed Couple honors went to Phil and Kim Kumm with 2-$100 gift certificates from Snappys Sport Senter in Kalispell.

Cool Under Pressure Award went to the team of Jim Lindquist and Mark Magers -- receiving a set of trailer tires from A-Z Tire.

Hardest Charger Award went to the team of Dave Jones and Scott Huntly -- winning a pair of Scheels "shorty" trolling rods/combos with a nice line counter reel spooled with lead core from Scheels in Great Falls.

The Largest Walleye award went to William "Jake" Monroe and Jason Hernandez with a 3.38 # walleye.

Largest Northern paid out $820 each day -- and Largest Walleye paid out $910 each day.

The Dinosaur Award was won by Luckie Bethel and Bob Sherer -- which they donated back so it went to a random draw to Clyde Dobek.

Click here for full results!

Rock Creek Results

Keller and Redfield win Rock Creek Walleye Tournament
By Steve Harada

Kris Keller and Charlie Redfield dominated the field at the 2012 Rock Creek Walleye Tourney after posting a 44.10 pound day and almost 11 pound lead after Day 1. Keller and Redfield came back to defend their 2010 crown to be champions 2 out of the last 3 years. Their total weight for two days of fishing was 58.52 pounds and the runner-up team was the mixed couple team of Carly and Whit Rush, also from Wolf Point who finished with 35.38 pounds. Carly and Whit popped the big fish of the tourney on Saturday with a 33”/14.72 pound giant. The third place team was the always tough team of Norm Sillerud and JR Rasmusan from Glasgow. Norm and JR weighed in 33.75 pounds for the event. Jigs and minnows were the bait of choice for the top 3 teams. Mother Nature provided two exceptionally nice days for the 55 teams from across Montana, North and South Dakota and Wyoming who competed in this year’s event. A few storms before and after the angling hours did light up the sky and saturate the ground but allowed almost perfect weather for being on the water. Not too warm, not too cold, no torrential wind, not to calm, no rain, wicked lightening, snow or hail, and no bugs – hmmm extremely weird Rock Creek Tournament climate?? Thanks Mother Nature!

The 2011 Fort Peck Championship series 2nd place team of the year of Todd Dooley and Randy “Sundance” Hurst from Sidney and Fairview made a good charge on Day 2 by posting a 22.63 pound day and ended up finishing fourth place and advanced 20 places. Dooley and Hurst also caught the largest walleye on Day 2 with a 32 ½” walleye and used crank baits to entice the walleye. Last year’s champions Dan Majeske and Scott MacKenzie, of the Rock Creek Tourney and the Fort Peck Series ended up in 8th place with a total 22.92 pounds. The adult/child team was Ryan Dempsey of Miles City and Garrett Pronto from Wolf Point who finished in 30th place overall. The big Northern of Day 1 was a 40” pike caught by Levi Sugg and Seth Morehouse of Glasgow. Marty Oyloe and Sheldon Meidinger from Williston and Bismarck, ND pulled in the largest Northern for Day 2 with a 42” monster that provided them with a very enduring battle.

Overall the bite seemed to be a little off from recent years and many teams struggled to find the fish and/or what the presentation the fickle walleye wanted. Lots of pike and perch kept anglers busy and provide for a very optimistic future fishing for Fort Peck, especially for the northern pike aficionados. The perch, pike and smallmouth bass seemed to be very prevalent throughout the Big Dry Arm. Thanks to the patrol boat volunteers and all of the other folks who contribute their own time and efforts to help make the Rock Creek Walleye Tournament a successful event. A huge thanks goes out to our cooks, Kiyo and Rockie Ruhd, scorekeeper/all around helper Lee Ann Loucks, and to Bill and all the staff from the world famous Rock Creek Marina who always take excellent care of their customers. . Thanks to the Rock Creek Walleye Tournament sponsors Nemont Beverage of Glasgow, Rock Creek Marina, Hi Line Sports and NAPA from Wolf Point, and Community First Bank of Glendive. The next event for the Ft. Peck series is the Montana Governor’s Cup and this year is the 25th annual, with lots of new and exciting plans for this year’s event! See you there!

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