John Artz and Donovan Reynolds Hoist Championship Plaques

 

   Although the trees had yet to begin to tell the tale of the impending fall season the air was undeniably trying to spread the word.  A misty early morning fog rose from the cooling waters of West Battle Lake to greet the top 30 teams of the 2006 MWT season.  Spring and summer have passed and it was time to see who would hoist the plaques, collect the checks and claim the Championship title.

 

   Day One dawned with higher than anticipated easterly winds and lower than average fall temperatures.  During morning boat inspections it seemed as though everyone had a good selection of live bait in their boats indicating that with the clear water the bite may have been too deep for most crankbaits.  Boat control on this 5,600 acre with winds pushing to well over 15 mph would be critical in presenting live bait.  Many of the teams had found a bite along the north shore of the eastern basin, which was partially protected from the ENE wind.  Ben Petersen and Bob Henderson of Worthington would fish this section of the lake and catch their 6 fish limit weighing 12.21 lbs and sit in 2^nd place.  John Artz and Donovan Reynolds from Lakeville and Apple Valley also concentrated on this location and would land 5 fish weighing 11.26 lbs for the 4^th place position.  Duane Kriese, Sr. and Ron Lambrecht, both of Shakopee, would have the “Big Fish” of the day at 7.76lbs, pushing the MWT record of 7.90lbs, but could only find 2 other smaller walleyes to go with it for an 11.80 lb total.  Still, it was good enough to sit in 3^rd place – a great position to be in for the final day.  Finishing Day One in 1^st place would be Jason Oman & Allen Vasquez from Andover and Oak Grove with a 6 fish limit weighing 13.69lbs, giving them a 1½ lb lead going into Sunday.  They had fished their own spot towards the NW corner of the western basin.

 

   Day Two would greet the tournament field with the same cool temps and an even more vigorous wind.  By 9 o’clock the clouds had taken over making it seem even cooler.  The walleyes didn’t seem to mind and continued to bite throughout the morning hours.  By noon, rumors of a couple 30”+ walleyes had reached the dock and the anticipation for the afternoon weigh-in built.

 

   Vasquez and Oman returned to their Day One location in the NW corner of the western basin and found their fish were still there.  They were moving very slowly with 3 hook crawler and spinner rigs utilizing tiny sized 00 silver blades on 36” leads at least 100’ back in 30’ – 40’ of water.  The guys held up to 1^st place pressure and did well putting a 6 and a 7 lber in the boat.  They would come in at 3 o’clock with more weight than they had the previous day – at 15.58lbs, but were 1 fish short of a limit.  Jason & Allen thought that maybe they had enough to hold on for the win, but it wasn’t to be.  They would finish in 2^nd place with 29.27 total pounds and take home a $2,000 check and plaques.

 

   This would leave the door open for Ben Petersen and Bob Henderson from Worthington who were sitting in 2^nd place after Day One.  Ben and Bob were presenting leeches on chartreuse floating jig heads along a 24’ –36’ breakline on the north side of the eastern basin using an ounce of lead with 6’ leaders.  Their bite was definitely in the morning as they were able to land a 6 fish limit by 9:30am giving them plenty of time to upgrade their catch.  Their Day Two catch was almost identical to their Day One basket giving them a total weight of 24.34lbs.  Their 6 fish limit lacked the big fish they would to claim 1^st place.  They would have to settle for the 3^rd place plaques and a $1,000 check.

 

   John Artz and Donovan Reynolds were in a great position to claim the title sitting in 4^th place after Day One – only 2 ½ lbs back from the leaders and without the 1^st place pressure.  John and Donovan were also fishing on the north side of the east basin utilizing 2 ½ oz bottom bouncers on Fireline 115’ back in the 24’ – 46’ range near “the cut”.  They pulled crawlers and gold holographic spinner blades along at 1–1.2 mph while using a Drift Control Sea Anchor to help them maintain boat control in the 20 + mph easterly wind.  With no shortage of bigger fish being caught John and Donovan got into the act with a 9.25 lb beauty to anchor their 6 fish limit at midday from 33’ of water.  They continued to land fish throughout the day, but lost another nice one off of Pig’s Point.  As it turned out they would not need it as their huge basket of 22.63 lbs added to their Saturday weight of 11.26 lbs gave them a 33.89 lb total and the 2006 MWT Championship title by a 4 ½ lb margin.

 

   Artz and Reynolds hoisted the Championship plaques, collected a $5,000 check, a $1,000 gift certificate from Warrior Boats, a $300 gift certificate from Glasstite Truck Caps, two Aqua Innovations Livewell Keeper units and $180 cash for the 2^nd largest fish of the event.  John was using a LakeLady Custom Fishing Rod so he will also receive another custom rod from Kris Kristufek valued at up to $400.

 

   Big Fish honors went to Kevin Beyer and Tank Hagen with a 32 ½” behemoth pushing the scale to 12.26 lbs.  Wow, a tank indeed!  The monster came from 20’ of water on the north side of the east basin using a live bait rig tipped with a crawler.  They received the Beckman Net and $400 cash plus $800 for 4^th place.  They now hold the new MWT Big Fish record, which was previously held by Mark Willand and Danny Lee with a 7.90lber caught in 2004 from Lac qui Parle.