2011 Walleye Classics--Lake Minnewaska, Alex Chain, Bitter Lake

[Corey Bohn]

Dates for the 2011 Walleye Classic tournaments are as follows:

May 21-22 Lake Minnewaska, Glenwood, MN

June 10-11 Alexandria Chain of Lakes, Alexandria, MN

July 16-17 Bitter Lake (NE South Dakota) Webster, SD

Sept. 23-24-25 Fins N Feathers Outdoor Challenge year-end championship

*OPEN CLASS walleye tourney held in conjunction with the

championship. Bitter Lake, Webster, SD

Team registrations for the 2011 Walleye Classic tournaments are now being accepted. Teams have the option of paying either a $350 entry fee per tournament or a $400 entry fee per tournament. Those teams that pay the added $50 per tournament and fish at least two of the three qualifying events will be eligible for the Fins N Feathers Outdoor Challenge year-end championship. *There is no entry fee for the year-end championship.

Teams that fish all three qualifying tournaments and that pay the added $50 per tournament, can drop their worst finish and count their best two finishes toward qualifying for the Fins N Feathers Outdoor Challenge. Teams will be awarded the same number of points as the place in which they finish at each tournament. The top 20 teams with the lowest combined point total after fishing at least two of the three tournaments will be eligible for the no entry fee Fins N Feathers Outdoor Challenge, which features a Day 1 competitive pheasant hunt followed by a Day 2 walleye tournament.

Teams must decide initially when entering if they want to be eligible for the Fins N Feathers Outdoor Challenge and pay entry fees accordingly. Teams can pay the $350 entry fee and fish any or all of the tournaments but will not be eligible for the year-end championship. 100% of the added entry fees will be applied to the championship payouts.

In conjunction with the 2011 Fins N Feathers Outdoor Challenge year-end championship, we will be holding an OPEN CLASS walleye tournament run simultaneously with the championship event on Bitter Lake in NE South Dakota. Teams that qualify for the no entry fee Fins N Feathers Outdoor Challenge will have the option of jumping into the OPEN CLASS walleye tournament as well, and can compete for the payouts in both events. Entry fee for the OPEN CLASS walleye tourney held in conjunction with the Fins N Feathers Outdoor Challenge is $350.

The intent of having an OPEN CLASS walleye tournament in conjunction with the Fins N Feathers Outdoor Challenge, is that it provides the teams that qualify for the Fins N Feathers Outdoor Challenge the opportunity to greatly enhance their potential winnings over the weekend if they want to jump into the OPEN CLASS tournament as well. They will already be fishing at Bitter Lake for the championship and will have the option to jump into the OPEN CLASS event if they desire.

By having a qualifying event on Bitter Lake in July, it provides teams an opportunity to learn the lake and to be familiar with it when the championship rolls around in September. At 15,000 acres Bitter Lake is a premiere walleye fishery and one of the top producing inland lakes in the upper-midwest. Unlike a lot of lakes in the region that slow down in July, the bite actually heats up on Bitter and is prime come mid-July.

Bitter Lake is loaded with 17 to 25 inch football-shaped walleyes, and the teams should enjoy a quality bite with a lot of fish caught during the tournament. Look for this to be the kind of bite everyone dreams about, and for a variety of techniques to come into play while fishing sunken gravel and asphalt road beds, rockpiles, sunken islands, timber and submergent weedbeds. Spinners and crawlers, slip-bobbers, jig and a minnow and crankabaits will all come into play on Bitter.

The Lake Minnewaska tournament has been moved from September to May 21-22. After seven years of continuously tough bites, the decision to move it to May was an easy one. Look for a much better bite and for a lot more bigger fish to be caught. Fishing on Minnewaska at this time in May has been very good the past couple years, and I anticipate many of you will really wonder where those fish were in September after seeing the fish brought to the scales on May 21-22.

The Alexandria Chain of Lakes tournament will be held June 10-11. This is one week later than the previous two years and helps to eliminate conflicts with several other tournaments. As with the past two years, look for the Alexandria Chain to produce impressive fish and impressive weights.

Fins N Feathers Outdoor Challenge (details). The competitive pheasant hunt for each qualifying team member is free. Each team member will have a total of 3 shells to hit three rooster pheasants with the guide and dog from point. Each bird is worth 10 points for a possible 30 points per team member and 60 points per team. Team members will hunt with the guide and dog one team member at a time. After firing three shells the next team member will step in with the guide and dog. Points from the competitive pheasant hunt will transfer to the walleye tournament, where inches will be converted to points. Teams must keep track of fish caught and who caught the fish on a scorecard so that we can track team and individual points. The top 3 teams with the highest point total will receive cash payouts, while the overall individual winner will receive a prize payout consisting of hunting and fishing related items. Prize payouts will also be awarded to the teams finishing out of the money, and will be determined by the total number of teams competing.

Payouts for the 2011 Walleye Classic tournaments are listed below. All teams finishing in the money will be paid immediately following the conclusion of the weigh-ins at each tournament. The first 40 teams registered will be eligible for the Shoot-Outs, a mini-tournament within the overall tournament format. Teams will be randomly selected into 4 groups of 10 teams, with the Day 1 heaviest weight in each group the Shoot-Out winner. Each winning team member will receive a prize payout.

2011 Walleye Classic payouts based on a 75 team field:

1----$6,000

2----$3,000

3----$2,000

4----$1,500

5----$1,350

6----$1,200

7----$1,000

8----$700

9----$600

10---$500

11---$350

12---$350

13---$350

14---$350

15---$350

Husband / Wife or Boyfriend / Girlfriend Division winner $450

Father / Son or Daughter Division winner $450

Teams are automatically placed in the divisions at no added cost based on partner status and fish only against other teams in their division for the added $450 payout. All division teams are eligible for the overall cash payouts as well.

If anyone has questions regarding the tournaments, the Fins N Feathers Outdoor Challenge, or would like to have entry forms sent to you, call (320) 424-1382 or email: [email protected]

Sincerely,

Corey Bohn

-2011 Walleye Classic Tournaments

-Fins N Feathers Outdoor Challenge

[Corey Bohn]

Entry forms for the 2011 Walleye Classics are on the tourney website. Website was down for a few days while we were making changes on the site. Any questions send me and email at [email protected] or call my cell at 320-424-1382.

[Corey Bohn]

Just a reminder that the Lake Minnewaska tournament will be held May 21-22 this year instead of in September. Entry forms can be acquired on the official tourney website in the tourney info section or by email at: [email protected] or by calling (320) 424-1382.

[Corey Bohn]

Dan O's Marine of Watertown, SD, and Doug's Anchor Marine of Watertown, SD, have both signed on as Contingency Cash Sponsors for the Bitter Lake Walleye Classic on July 16-17 in Webster, SD.

Both dealers are offering $500 in added cash to the highest placing team who has purchased a 2006 or newer boat from either dealer. Boat owner must be original owner and fishing from the boat during the July 16-17 Bitter Lake tourney.

Dan O's Marine will award $500 to the highest placing team fishing from either a 2006 or newer Ranger, Alumacraft or Stratos purchased from Dan O's Marine.

Doug Anchor Marine will also award $500 to the highest placing team fishing from either a 2006 or newer Skeeter, Crestliner or Tracker purchased from Doug's Anchor Marine.

You do not have to win the tournament to claim the cash. You just have to be the highest placing team in each dealer pool of eligible boats to win the cash. For example, you could place 12th overall in the tournament, but if you are the highest placing team amongst the pool of teams who purchased boats from either dealer, you win the $500. *(1) winner total per dealer.

For more information on the Bitter Lake Contingency Cash from Dan O's and Doug's Anchor Marine, contact Corey at (320) 424-1382 or email: [email protected]

[Corey Bohn]

The Lake Minnewaska tournament scheduled for May 21-22 has be rescheduled and will be held Sept. 10-11, which are the original dates for the Minnewaska tourney the past 7 years. The decision to reschedule is due to the fact that there weren't enough teams registered to put on a quality tournament in May. Teams that were entered were notified and offered refunds or the opportunity to roll their entries back to September. All but one team rolled back to September which puts the total number of entries for September at about the same number as the past 7 years at this point.

[tlbigstump]

does anybody know if this tournament is a go or not, thanks