Vernon, Warnke Take GNWC Opener at Mosquito Creek
By Steve Weisman GNWC Publicity Director
Sorting through numbers was the name of the game for the teams
fishing the Ohio Region of the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC)
at Sunday's opening tournament at Mosquito Creek. The team of
Kevin Vernon from Westerville, OH and Derik Warnke from Aurora,
OH made the most of their 6-fish limit weight of 13.29 pounds
to capture the $1600 first place check. Vernon and Warnke echoed
the sentiments of many of the competing teams saying, "It was
tough and took a lot of work to get a limit." Even so, 43 of
the 46 teams weighed fish, and 15 teams brought six-fish limits
to the stage. Lyle Heidenwith, GNWC Tournament Director, was
pleased with the efforts of the teams' efforts. "They all gave
a great effort. I think the Ohio Region is going to be a lot
of fun this year." Heidenwith continued, "It was tough work
for these teams, and team after team talked about the numbers
of short fish they caught. It took a lot of persistence to get
a limit." Mike and Tom Defibaugh from Bellefontaine, OH took
second place and a check for $800 with a 6-fish limit weight
of 12.41 pounds, while Joe and Darren Dossi from Louisville,
OH cashed a check for $520 with their third place six-fish weight
of 11.78 pounds. The big walleye of the tournament was taken
by William Christopher from Smithville, PA and Edward Thomas
from Farmington, PA with a 5.50-pound walleye. Although the
teams tried a variety of presentations, the presentation that
seemed to trigger the fish was casting plugs. The Yo So Close
Award, provided by AMFYOYO, manufacturer of the innovative stowable
folding landing net, went to the three teams just finishing
out of the money. They went to Chuck Sadatose from Brockport,
PA and Rick Fike from Farmington, PA in 13th place; William
Christopher from Smithville, PA and Edward Thomas from Farmington,
PA in 14th place; and John Cook from Dayton, OH and Marc Colwell
from Springfield, OH in 15th place. Heidenwith added, "I think
the Ohio Region is going to be an exciting circuit. Last year
at the first tournament we had 18 teams, so having 46 teams
this year is a great way to start the season." Next up on the
Ohio Region is the Lake Erie qualifier on April 30. For those
interested in entering this or any of the remaining qualifiers,
call 1-800-890-FISH (3474), or email the GNWC at info@walleyecup.com.
GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer said, "I encourage
people to check out our website at www.walleyecup.com. With
the season now underway, I think people will find it extremely
interesting to see how the teams do in each of the seven regions."
Major national sponsors for the GNWC include Skeeter Boats,
Yamaha Outboards, Lowrance Electronics, YoNet Folding Nets by
AMFYOYO, Aqua-VU, Aqua Innovations, Towtector Shield, VIB"E"
Lure Company and UpNorthOutdoors.com.
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