2020 WUM Fort Peck Champion Series

By Steve Harada

It was an exciting year with several anglers having at shot and Angler of the Year going into Hell Creek. Brett Normandy from Havre prevailed and finished strong at the Hell Creek Tourney with a second place finish and edged out Jason Eggebrecht and Ross Lien for the Angler of the Year by less than 5/10ths of a point.  Brett also finished in 6^th place at the MT Governor’s Cup with his brother, Trent Normandy.   He fished Hell Creek with his Dad, Bruce, and it’s nice that he kept his fishing a family affair!   Eggebrecht from Fort Peck and Lien from Glendive had a great year and finished tied for 2^nd & 3^rd for Angler of the Year and won the Team of the Year award.  Jason and Ross won the 2020 Gov Cup and had a sixth place finish at the Rock Creek event. 

     Jay Erickson and Garrett Long both from Wolf Point, finished in second place for Team of the Year and started the year by winning Rock Creek.   Third place honors went to the father/son team of Brandon and Brady Babb who also had an excellent year on the water.

     The 2020 Mixed Couple Award winners were another family team of Megan Volbrecht from Circle and her dad, Clint from Richey. They had an outstanding season as they finished in the top ten in Rock Creek and in the top 20% at Gov Cup.  Sam and Andy Rose came in second place of the Mixed Couple and also won the Largest Walleye Caught and Released Award with a 3/4” toad that they popped at Hell Creek!   Joye Murnion and Cal Phipps from Jordan finished in third place for the category with a stellar year.

     Mike and Tristan Dombrovski another father and son team won the Adult/Child competition with an outstanding tournament season.   It’s great to see all of the families involved and in the awards this year.

     Thanks to all of the sponsors of the Fort Peck Championship Series –  The Gateway Club, D & G Sports, The Lakeridge Lodging & Baitshop, Wolf Point Walleyes Unlimited, Rock Creek Marina, J & M Distributing, Hi-Line Ford, Git-n-Go, Fort Peck Marina, Paul’s Glass, Steve’s Bail Bonds, Budweiser/Nemont Beverage, Rock Creek Tournament, MT Governor’s Cup Walleye Tournament and Hell Creek Tournament.  Please support these local businesses that contribute to our cause, they allow us to provide the end of the awards and payouts.  Thanks to all of the volunteers of the tournaments’ staff and all of the Patrol Boat operators, these tournaments would cease to exist without you folks donating all of your time.   Lastly, thanks to the hundreds of angling men, women and kids who fish these events and support Walleyes Unlimited of Montana.