Chris Gasser - 9/20/2003

Oshkosh - Consistency pays off in tournament fishing and being consistent paid off in a big way for Bill and Matt Bobber of Wisconsin in the World Walleye Association Team Challenge National Championship presented by Patriot Powerboats held out of the Pioneer Inn on Lake Winnebago September 18th, 19th,and 20th 2003.

Before the tournament started, teams were finding relatively good fishing at various locations on the lake. But as many people who know Lake Winnebago will tell you, late August and September can be a brutally tough time to find fish. With the changing weather patterns and an overabundance of forage at this time of year, a good bite can turn tough in a matter of days. And that is exactly what happened to the teams in the Championship.

Day one welcomed the anglers with a strong southwest wind blowing 10 to 15 miles per hour. Teams that were having success trolling crankbaits found that the bite wasn't as good as the previous days. But in tournament fishing there are always those teams that find a technique or location that produces fish. Steve Butchart and Kenny Hoge from Minnesota were able to put together a good trolling pattern and become the first day leaders with a weight of 9.25 pounds.

Butchart and Hoge trolled crankbaits along a rock reef on the north end of the lake for their leading weight. Their basket also included the big fish of day one weighing 5.43 pounds.

Veteran Lake Winnebago walleye anglers Gordon Schwartz and Brett Wilkens from Wisconsin came in second place on day one with a weight of 7.46 pounds. Sticking to their expertise, they fished spots on the east shore for the only five fish limit on day one.

Steve Ward and Randy Iwanski of Wisconsin came in third on day one with a weight of 6.75 pounds. They were working the south end of the lake catching their three fish by a combination of trolling crankbaits and jigging structure. As the first day results proved, different parts of the lake gave up fish to the right presentation at the right time. Day two proved even more challenging for the teams with the wind changing to the East at 15 to 20 MPH with sustained gusts of 35 MPH.

This proved to put a severe damper on teams that were going to the east shore to fish. Though some teams attempted it, with five foot plus rollers on that side of the lake whipped up by the wind, teams were forced to go to back up spots on the west side of the lake. But Butchart and Hoge continued to stick with their pattern on the North end of the lake and caught 2.62 pounds to remain in the lead. Bill Bobber and his son Matt vaulted into second place with a 5.52-pound catch. The Bobbers were working rock piles with slip bobber rigs and were about the only team to welcome the increased wind. According to Bill, "When we woke up and saw the wind we were happy because we knew it was going to help with our bite." Schwartz and Wilkens remained in third place with a catch of .98-pounds. The big fish for the second day was caught by Troy Skorich and Terry Olson of Minnesota which weighed 5.63-pounds. Their big fish of day two also ended up being the big fish of the tournament. The third and final day once again brought on a drastic change in the weather for anglers to deal with. Morning temperatures were in the low 40's but with the wind dying down to 5-10 mph and switched from the Southwest again, teams were able to go back to their East shore locations and try their patterns again. "We were a little nervous that the wind died down from the previous day as our spots go better with wind." Said Bill Bobber,' But we just kept working them hard until they produced fish.' And though the Bobbers had to work up to 15 different locations to find their fish, going back to previous ones over and over until they produced, Bill and Matt Bobber ended the day with a catch weighing 4.90-pounds for a three day total of 15.50-pounds and the win. Steve Butchart and Kenny Hoge caught 1.81-pounds on day three but still managed to hang on to second place place with a weight of 13.68-pounds. "Though our prefishing was fair at best, we are still pretty happy with the results." Said Steve. Third place finishers Tim Cain and Dan Strehlo from Minnesota caught 4.04-pounds giving them a three-day total of 12.24-pounds. They also had the big fish of day three weighing 2.85-pounds. Cain and Strehlo jigged and slip bobbered in the mornings and trolled crankbaits around shoreline points in five to six feet of water in the afternoon for their fish. Though Bill and Matt Bobber predicted to themselves before the tournament that their spots would yield at least ten pounds a day. By catching near five pounds consistently each day was good enough to give them the win, a $20,000 payday and the title of World Walleye Association National Champions. "Not to sound like I was being conceited or anything," Bill said,' But I told my family before the tournament that anything less than winning this tournament would be disappointing. I placed third in another national circuit that was held here about the same time of year several years ago and I really felt that our spots and pattern could produce the winning weight." After the tournament once the points were all tallied up, the team of Larry Zimmerman and Dennis Andruski of North Dakota were awarded the National Team of the Year in the World Walleye Association. They accomplished this feat by accumulating the most points in both their qualifying tournaments and their finish in the National Championship. Steve Worral, National Sales Manager of Patriot Powerboats was on hand to answer questions about Patriot Powerboats, Sponsor of the World Walleye Association. Gary Gray, professional walleye angler and multiple tournament champion on Lake Winnebago was the MC of the event. "We would like to thank all the competitors that traveled from all our qualifying divisions to participate in the 2003 WWA National Championship." Stated Steve Poll, Executive Director of the WWA. " Their professionalism both on and off the water made for an excellent championship." And for the second time in as many tournaments, WWA anglers had to provide assistance to boaters in distress on the water. After they checked in the final day and were heading back to where they launched their boat up the river in Oshkosh, Luke and Eric Lund came upon a group of teens that had just had their canoe capsized apparently from a passing powerboat and were stranded in the middle of the river. Luke and Eric stopped and assisted the victims to friends waiting helplessly on shore.

WWA Championship - Winnebago Lake Results