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Updated: 07/12/04
Brockmeyer, Cochran Capture Ohio State Championship
of Walleye Fishing Title
By Steve Weisman
Gander Mountain GNWC Publicity Director
After finishing the first day of the Ohio State
Championship of Walleye
fishing in second place, it simply took a little fine tuning for the
team of
Jason Brockmeyer from Westerville, OH and Chad Cochran from Powell,
OH to
leave the competition behind and capture the coveted championship plaques
and the $2500 first place check.
Brockmeyer and Cochran ended with a two-day total
of 16.12 pounds to
outdistance Gary Schiller from Fairview, PA and Rick Winkelman from
Erie,
PA, who totaled a two-day total of 11.42 pounds. They pocketed a check
for
$750.
Third place and a check for $500 went to Scott Yarman
from Vernon, OH
and Tom Kemper from Marion, OH with 7.92 pounds.
The action for the Ohio State Championship of Walleye
Fishing, which is
the first of eight such tournaments on the Gander Mountain Grand National
Walleye Cup (GNWC) circuit, took place on Mosquito Creek Lake. According
to
Gander Mountain GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer, it was a
great
place to start the Championship events.
"It was a great time for all of us involved with
the Ohio State
Championship of Walleye Fishing. Gander Mountain really rolled out
the red
carpet for the GNWC teams, and we had a great response from the Trumbull
County Convention and Visitor's Bureau."
Mother Nature played a major roll in the outcome
of the tournament as
the winds that made for a great pre-fishing bite totally died. "That
really
made things tough," noted Barringer. "Both days were flat calm, and
it
really shut down the bite. But that's what makes championship fishing
so
exciting. When things like that happen, the teams have to adjust."
That's exactly what Brockmeyer and Cochran did.
They used lead core line
to troll chrome/black, chrome/blue and gold/black Shad Raps on the
main part
of the lake. However, after experimenting, they determined that they
had to
keep their crankbaits within a foot of the bottom. So, they let out
the lead
core until it was on the bottom, then slowly reeled up until it wasn't
dragging. They found 2.0-2.2 mph to be the key speed.
Yarman and Kemper, meanwhile, also pulled crankbaits
and built almost a
three pound lead on Saturday, but then only had a two-fish weight of
3.25
pounds on Sunday and slipped to second place.
Several other special awards were presented at Sunday's
weigh-in. The
Berkley Big Fish Award of $400 in Berkley product and the $240 Big
Fish Pot
for the largest walleye of the two-day tournament went to Brockmeyer
and
Cochran for their 4.43-pound walleye.
The "Yo So Close" award of a Yo Net folding
net valued at $80 went to
the teams that placed just out of the money. They include Mark Drotar
and
Sam Cappelli in 6th place; Steven DeHart and Leonard Horton in 7th
place;
and Jim Corey and Brian Biggio in 8th place.
The VIB"E" Lure award of two six-piece lure sets
valued at $40 went to
the two teams who finished behind the Yo So Close award. They include
Mike
and Tom Defibaugh in 9th place; and Curt Braden and Jeff Matthews in
10th
place.
The Towtector Comeback Award of a Towtector boat
protector valued at
$250 for the team advancing the most places from day one to day two
went to
Yarmon and Kemper.
The winner of the Gander Mountain "Need More
Stuff" drawing of $200 for
a Gander Mountain Shopping Spree went to the 2004 regular season Ohio
Team
of the Year, Todd Kunk from St. Henry, OH and Adam Harlamert from Cold
Water, OH.
The Walleye Wisdom camera crew was also on hand
to film footage of the
Championship. "The Walleye Wisdom camera crew will be at all of the
State
Championships to capture the excitement of the tournament action. This
weekend they were in the right place at the right time and captured
some
great fishing action. The highlights of these State Championships and
the
National Championships, along with some great walleye fishing tips
will
appear on our 13-week Walleye Wisdom television program," added Barringer.
Those interested in checking out the standings,
reading the releases
about any of the eight regions or simply learning more about the circuit
can
access the Gander Mountain GNWC website at www.walleyecup.com.
Title Sponsor for the GNWC is Gander Mountain. Other
major national
sponsors include Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, the Sportsman Channel,
Berkley, Aqua Innovations, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, VIB"E" Lure
Company, TowTector Shield and UpNorthOutdoors.com. The Ohio Regional
Skeeter
Boats sponsor is Boat Boys out of Newark, OH.
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