By Steve Weisman
GNWC Publicity Director
    The itinerary for the 2003 Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) Wisconsin
State Walleye Championship has been released by GNWC Executive Director
Bernie Barringer.
    The championship will feature up to 30 teams who have qualified for the
two-day tournament at Lake Wisconsin August 9-10. Leading the way will be
John Bella from Stevens Point and Joseph Besieda from Wisconsin Rapids, who
captured the Mercury Team of the Year as the top team on the Wisconsin
Circuit. 
    "I look forward to the Wisconsin State Walleye Championship," said
Barringer. "After seeing the way these teams worked to catch fish during the
regular season, I know it will be an exciting championship. Part of the
excitement will also be the filming of the championship by the Walleye
Wisdom television crews. The action will be part of our new walleye fishing
show that will be aired on the Sportsman Channel this fall."
    First place for the Wisconsin State Walleye Championship is a guaranteed
$2,500 in cash plus trophies.
    In addition, each day the team that catches the big walleye of the day
will be awarded two Abu Garcia 6500 Linecounter reels. An optional Big Fish
pot is $20 per team with a 100 percent payback to for the largest fish of
the tournament.
    Another prize will be the GNWC Loyalty Bonus. "For those teams who
fished all of the regular season tournaments, the highest placing team will
received an extra $500, while the second highest placing team will receive
an extra $250," noted Barringer.
    Although the tournament begins on Saturday, the activities actually
begin on Friday with an awards banquet and supper at Bay View Resort. "The
meal is complimentary for all qualifying teams, and at the awards banquet we
will present John Bella and Joseph Besieda their Mercury Team of the Year
certificates. There will also be lots of door prizes to give out."
    Following the Friday evening banquet will be the Official Rules Meeting.
    Saturday, August 9 is the first day of the State competition. Boat
inspection begins at 6:30 a.m., followed by the opening ceremonies and
take-off at 7 a.m. The weigh-in will begin at 3 p.m. sharp and will be held
each day at
Bay View Lodge. The weigh-in will be followed by interviews with media for
the top three teams.
    "Even though Saturday is the first day of the tournament, we hope to get
a lot of people out to the weigh-in. To catch all of the action, people
should be at the weigh-in by 2:45. There is a lot of excitement at the
weigh-ins, and I think the crowd will be able to catch the excitement of the
Championship atmosphere," said Barringer.
    Sunday's competition begins at 6:30 a.m. with inspection, following by
take-off at 7 a.m. However, the teams will take-off in reverse order. "We do
that to be fair to the top and bottom of the order," noted Barringer.
    Teams must be back in for the 3 p.m. weigh-in. "We really encourage
people to come to the second day weigh-ins. It is exciting to see the
baskets of fish come to the scales, and it is also educational for the crowd
because they get to find out what the teams did to catch their fish."
    Following the weigh-in, trophies and checks will be awarded.
For those interested in learning more about the GNWC, call 1-800-890-3474,
email the GNWC at info@walleyecup.com or check out the official GNWC website
at walleyecup.com. The website has all of the latest in GNWC information in
not only Wisconsin, but also in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Illinois.
    Major sponsoring partners for the GNWC include Ranger Boats, Mercury
Outboards, Berkley, Abu-Garcia, The Sportsman Channel and
UpNorthOutdoors.com.
    Television viewers who do not have The Sportsman Channel and want to
watch the GNWC's television series Walleye Wisdom, are encouraged to call
their cable company or satellite television provider and ask them to include
it in their package.

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