Last update 10-15-98
Kawasaki / Tasco
"Mississippi River Quest"

Day One Mississippi River Quest

Red Wing Minnesota  -Falling water temperatures and temperatures have forced NAWA anglers to adjust their approach to fishing the famous waters of the Mississippi River here this week during the Kawasaki.Tasco "Mississippi river Quest".
It's been changing every day and there seems to be no specific pattern emerging said day one leader Brad Davis.  "What was working yesterday is not necessarily producing fish today, as these fish are in a transition mode and moving."
Weighting 17.42 lbs. of walleyes , Davis a veteran river angler from Jackson Wisconsin and amateur angler Hal Joyce , Waunakee Wisconsin weighted one of only ten six fish limits brought to the day one scales.  Davis said the bigger fish are scattered and the only way to bring in a respectable catch is to cover a lot of water.
"You also need to get your bait in front of the right fish" said Davis.  "I'm a crank bait fisherman  and this technique is currently working very well on the Mississippi river walleyes .  The way things are changing , let's just hope what I am doing works again tomorrow.
One big key to finding these Mississippi River walleyes , day one runner up Dale Sprouse said, is to closely monitor the depth of the lures.  He said the walleyes instead of dropping to the bottom, have suspended much nearer to the surface one would realize.
"In a transition period like this , walleyes are on the move " he explained "Instead of moving along bottom contours , these fish can be found swimming in open water and not relating to structure."  Sprouse of Blaine Minnesota and his amateur partner Greg Olsen of Poulaski Wisconsin weighted a six fish limit of 13.09 lbs.
Starting the day two competion in third place are Grand Rapids Pro Scott Glorvigen and amateur Troy hagberg of Lakeville Minnesota who weighted 12.80 lbs.
Pro Standings Day one

Place	Name	City	State	Weight	Winnings
1	Brad Davis	Jackson	Wisconsin	17.42 lbs.
2	Dale Sprouse	Blaine	Minnesota	13.09 lbs
3	Scott Glorvigen	Grand Rapids	Minnesota	12.80 lbs
4	Pat Foster	Little Canada	Minnesota	12.75 lbs
5	Dave Hanson	Bemidji	Minnesota	11.91 lbs
6	Keith Kavaecz	Kaukauna	Wisconsin	11.87 lbs
7	Norb Wallock	Conover	Wisconsin	11.77 lbs
8	Rick Olsen	Mina Lake	South Dakota	11.64 lbs
9	Ross Grothe	Apple Valley	Minnesota	11.34 lbs
10	Sam Anderson	Eagan	Minnesota	10.82  lbs

Mississippi River Quest Day two results
 

Red Wing Minnesota  -After two days of intense angling competition, veteran NAWA pro Dale Sprouse leads an all star field going into the final day of the Kawasaki/Tasco "Mississippi River Quest"  a world class fishing event held at Red Wings Colvill Park.
Sprouse a Starcraft Boats pro , will be the first angler to depart the dock for tomorrow's final showdown, where the top ten finisher's out of the original field will fish off for tomorrow's top prize.  His strategy of targeting the river's sparser population of larger walleyes paid off big with two consecutive six fish limits weighing a total of 27.40 lbs.  Sprouse's day two basket of walleyes weighting 14.31 lbs combined with the previous days catch, earned him the pole position in the final days competition.
Because of falling river level's , everyone looking for deeper water's to produce the bigger fish"  Sprouse said during the day two press conference, "I'm finding my best success with the larger fish in depths of five to seven feet.
Like many of the anglers, Sprouse is fishing Lake Pepin, a large lake type area crated by the Mississippi River navigational area.
"I'm trolling crankbaits behind planer boards" he revealed "The trick is to keep the lure in contact with the bottom.  The ore the lure is hitting the bottom , the better success I seem to have."
In second place going into the final day is Grand Rapids , Minnesota pro Scott Glorvigen another veteran angler who is capable of winning the event.  Glorvigen with a day two catch of 25.76 lbs. is also fishing the same general  area and using the same techniques.
"I'm using a slightly different approach then most of the field" said Glorvigen "instead of using smaller baits like most anglers, I'm taking a Pradco #35 "perch colored" Shad-R {a slightly larger mid depth lure} and hammering the bottom.  While this approach has kept me on the edge of my seat most of the day, it is producing slightly larger fish."
In third place is veteran NAWA pro Keith Kavajecz of Kaukauna Wisconsin.  Kavajecz, a strong contender in the NAWA "Angler of the Year" race weighed a six fish limit totaling 13.61 lbs. for a two day total of 25.48 lbs.
In general the most productive patterns being pursued are classic river trolling techniques.  The majority of the field is using a variety of crankbaits and are focusing there attention to the larger open waters of Lake Pepin.
Under NAWA "Quest Series" format only the top ten pro's and amateurs return to the water for the final day.  Though more than 13 pounds separate the first and tenth place finishers this will have no affect on the fianl outcome.  The remaining contestants start from scratch non Day Three.
Pro Standings Day Two

Place	Name	City	State	Weight	Winnings
1	Dale Sprouse	Blaine	Minnesota	27.40 lbs.
2	Scott Glorvigen	Grand Rapids	Minnesota	25.76 lbs
3	Keith Kavajecz	Kaukauna	Wisconsin	25.48 lbs
4	Norb Wallock	Conover	Wisconsin	25.21 lbs
5	Rick Olsen	Mina Lake	South Dakota	25.15 lbs
6	Todd Riley	Amery	Wisconsin	25.13 lbs
7	Brad Davis	Jackson	Wisconsin	24.88 lbs
8	Dave Hanson	Bemidji	Minnesota	24.70 lbs
9	Sam Anderson	Eagan	Minnesota	24.06 lbs
10	Mike Livermore	Wyoming	Minnesota	23.93  lbs

Day three Quest Results

Red Wing Minnesota  -With a last minute adjustment that paid off big, Conover Wisconsin walleye veteran Norb Wallock earned top honors here today in the  Kawasaki/Tasco "Mississippi River Quest"  a world class fishing event held at Red Wings Colvill Park.
Wallock outdistanced an elite field of the nations top professional anglers by weighing the heaviest six fish limit  brought to the scales during the day three  competition on this famous river.
Like most of the top anglers in this field Wallock was fishing the murky waters of Lake Pepin a popular Mississippi river walleye hot spot.  here he refined his approach  to catch three bigger walleyes needed to win the events top prize.
"Ive been shad colored crankbaits all week and finding success. " Wallock told the press contingent.  "The pattern changed today and the shad colored baits were not producing  I switched to a perch colored  lure and found much better success."
During the final day of competition, wallock maintained the same game plan he used thruout the week , however today he moved slightly deeper,  and that is where he found the majority of the larger walleyes.
Wallocks day three weight of 18.01 lbs earned him $14,286 and a  Tournament Pro 170 boat,   150 EFI Mercury motor and trailer valued at $20,000 making his total purse worth $34,286.
Finishing in the runner up position was veteran NAWA pro Scott Glorvigen of Grand Rapids Minnesota  who stayed in the shallower waters managed to boat enough quality walleyes to out fish most of the other anglers in the star studded field.
Glorvigen stuck to a game plan he used all week  taking a Pradco #35 "perch colored" Shad-R {a slightly larger mid depth lure} and hammering the bottom.
Glorvigens day three catch of 17.52 lbs earned him a total of $8,571
Keith Kavajecz of Kaukauna Wisconsin finished in third with a a catch weighing 15.44 lbs.  Kavajecz third place finish earned him $7,714 in cash winnings.
"I found many of my strikes came as the boat was making a turn " Kavajecz told reporters after the award ceremony.  " I must have looked like a drunken sailor this week the way I kept the boat weaving back and forth during trolling passes."
In addition to finishing third in the Kawasaki/Tasco Mississippi River Quest  Kavajecz also captured the highly coveted NAWAwill be the first   "Angler of the Year" title.  For his efforts he received a Chevy Tahoe as his reward.
Pro Standings Day Three

Place	Name	City	State	Weight	Winnings
1	Norb Wallock	Conover	Wisconsin	18.01  lbs.	$34,286.  Including a Starcraft Tournament pro 170 and Mercury 150 EFI motor For Sale Click here
2	Scott Glorvigen	Grand Rapids	Minnesota	17.52  lbs	$8,571
3	Keith Kavajecz	Kaukauna	Wisconsin	15.44  lbs	$7,714
4	Mike Livermore	Wyoming	Minnesota	13.53 lbs	$6,857
5	Rick Olsen	Mina Lake	South Dakota	13.19 lbs	$6,000
6	Todd Riley	Amery	Wisconsin	12.29  lbs	$5,143
7	Dave Hanson	Bemidji	Minnesota	12.26 lbs	$4,286
8	Sam Anderson	Eagan	Minnesota	11.53 lbs	$3,857
9	Dale Sprouse	Blaine	Minnesota	11.47  lbs	$3,429
10	Brad Davis	Jackson	Wisconsin	10.42   lbs	$3,000

Sitting atop the amateur standings at the conclusion of the final day was Tim Tjosvold of Lakeland Minnesota who came to the scales with 18.01 lbs after being paired with Norb Wallock.  Tjosvold took home a a  Starfire 170 boat,  90 hp motor and matching trailer valued at $14,000.  finishing second in the amateur division was Troy Hagberg of Lakeville Minnesota and $1200 payday finishing in third place was Hal Joyce of Waukanee Wisconsin who won $1,000
 

Amateur standing's Day Three

A total of 295 walleyes were caught during the three day competition weighing 623 lbs.

1998 NAWA sponsors



Nautimatic Marine Systems
LUHR-JENSON