Hanson / Wall win title at Lake Minnewaska Fall Walleye Classic

[Corey Bohn]

Kevin Hanson and Jamie Wall of Long Prairie, MN, came from 4th place on Day 1 to win the 2006 Lake Minnewaska Fall Walleye Classic with a two-day total weight of 20.40 lbs. to take home the first place cash payout of $6,000.

Ken Neumann, Glenwood, MN, and Jack Greengo, of Alexandria, MN, finished second ($2,070) with a two-day total of 17.34-lbs., followed by Josh Dyrstad and Riley Miller of Alexandria, MN, in third place ($1,380) with a two-day total of 16.78-lbs. The top 15 teams received cash payouts (listed below) with 16th through 23rd place receiving prize payouts (Stearns competitor series lifejackets and Digger Anchors).

Glen and Belinda Wink of Alexandria, MN, were crowned the Husband / Wife Division winners ($310)with a two-day total weight of 15.36-lbs. Team Wink also cashed checks for finishing in 5th place overall ($930) and they netted another $450 for having the biggest walleye on Day 2 (5.50-lbs.) to take home $1,690 for their efforts. Glen and Belinda jumped from 18th on Day 1 (2 walleyes, 4.06 lbs.) all the way to 5th spot on Day 2 after putting up a 11.30 lb. weight with only three walleyes on Day 2. "Needless to say, the Winks' would have been smiling big time had they been able to put a few more legal fish in the box either day," said Bohn. "Their 3.07-lb. average per fish was the highest average weight per fish of any team in the tournament. It just goes to show that when you're seven pounds out on Day 1 you still have a very good chance of winning it all if you can find the right fish on Day 2." Team Wink was also the 2005 Husband/Wife Division winners.

Winning the Father / Son Division were Tony and Charlie Renner of Hutchinson, MN, with a two-day total weight of 13.66-lbs. Team Renner received $310 for their Divisional win and another $410 for finishing in 9th place overall.

Day 1 biggest walleye (4.26-lbs. $450) went to the team of Nate Olson, Mound, MN, and Jamie Turk, Minnetonka, MN.

Strong thunderstorms, heavy rain and heavy wind hit the Glenwood area on Friday and Saturday night, but the teams were able to fish a full day on Saturday after being delayed one-hour on Sunday. Tournament officials held the boats on their trailers Sunday morning after sustained winds of 40 mph rolled into the launch and weigh-in site on Day 2 between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Following a brief team meeting, all teams traveled to the west end of the lake by vehicle and launched at the Hobo Park Marina in Starbuck, MN, and began fishing by 8 a.m.

"Considering the weather and the strong thunderstorms that went through each night, the bite really held up" said Lake Minnewaska Fall Walleye Classic tournament director, Corey Bohn. "We knew heading into the tournament that the bite was going really good as many of the teams were reporting high numbers of fish and some really nice walleyes. This year's 230 walleyes caught was remarkable considering the weather that hit the area each night and the cold front that greeted the anglers on Sunday."

Saturday's walleye total of 111 walleyes weighed (ave.weight of 1.63-lbs.) was nearly double the total of 57 walleyes caught for the entire tournament the previous year, while Sunday's 119 walleyes caught (1.73 ave. weight) saw the teams shatter the previous tournament total of 157 fish caught in 2004. Last year's (2005) two-day winning weight was just under 10-lbs. under tough bite conditions.

"Lake Minnewaska really showed what it is capable of producing, despite some adverse weather conditions," said Bohn. "To bring 230 legal fish to the scales this year was really a tribute to the 52 teams. They stuck to their game plan and the lake really responded with some great fishing."

Tournament rules allowed 6 walleyes per day per team with a minimum length of 15-inches. Each team was allowed two walleyes over 20-inches with a no-cull rule in effect. "Some of the teams reported catching upwards of 30 fish a day, and with the no-cull rule, some were releasing legal fish in hopes of catching bigger fish, while numerous teams reported releasing high numbers of 14 1/2 to 14 3/4-inch fish," said Bohn. "Those walleyes will all be legal fish next year, and when you add those fish to the high numbers of 18 to 23-inch fish already in the lake the prospects for next year look really good."

This year's 2006 Fall Walleye Classic saw the fish already in their fall patterns as crankbaits in five to six feet of water took the vast majority of the fish for the top 15 teams. "The guys were having a lot of fun, because the fish were aggressive and they were really smacking those shallow running cranks," said Bohn. "Some were getting them right away in the morning, but it was like flipping a light switch at about 1 p.m. each day, because they really got going in the afternoon and the teams were netting a lot of walleyes along with high numbers of 4 to 5-lb. smallmouth."

"What a great lake," said Brad Carr of Ottertail, MN. "Having never fished Minnewaska before it took us until the second day of prefishing to find the walleyes and the vast majority of them were 18 to 23-inches. When you add to that the nice smallies that are in this lake (Minnewaska) it's really a tremendous fishery. We had a lot of fun and can't wait to come back."

The top 15 place winners are as follows:

1) Kevin Hanson / Jamie Wall 20.40 lbs. $6,000

2) Ken Neumann / Jack Greengo 17.34 $2,070

3) Josh Dyrstad / Riley Miller 16.78 $1,380

4) Bryan Winterfeldt / Darin Herd 15.78 $1,035

5) Team Wink (Glen & Belinda) 15.36 $930

6) Kent Andersen / Adam Andersen 14.72 $825

7) Team Lahmers (Bob & Katie) 14.30 $690

8) Rod Kral / Kyle Berberich 13.70 $480

9) Team Renner (Tony & Charlie) 13.66 $410

10)Josh Bastyr / Tony Herda 13.60 $345

11) Don Minchow / Bruce Bernardy 13.54 $240

12) Doug Campen / Mark Strohbeen 13.52 $240

13) Jeff Solum / David Andersen 12.54 $240

14) Team Peterson (Scott & Randy) 11.78 $240

15) Ted Friedrich / Dale Hiscock 11.34 $240

Otis Funk of Green Bay, WI, was awarded a Stearns Walleye Hunter II parka and bib dryware combo for traveling the furthest distance to the tournament. Of the 230 walleyes weighed at this year's tournament, 218 were successfully released (95%) back into the lake.

Next year's 2007 Lake Minnewaska Fall Walleye Classic will again feature a guaranteed first place payout of $6,000. Entry fee is $350. The field will be limited to 75 teams and the 52 teams who fished this year will have first priority in 2007. If you would like to get on the mailing list for next year email me at: [email protected] or call me at 320-424-1382.

Corey Bohn

Lake Minnewaska

Fall Walleye Classic

[ChuckN]

WOW! Looks like a great bite in that rough weather!

Congrats to the top teams!

Some familiar names... Kenny, Glen and Belinda way to go!

[Corey Bohn]

Husband/Wife divisional teams placed 5th and 7th overall. Team Wink weighed 11.30 lbs. on Day 2 with only three walleyes! Had they caught 3 more on Day 2 based on the tournament ave. weight of 1.70 they could have taken the title. Great job by all teams and congrats to Kevin Hanson and Jamie Wall. The entire tournament was filmed by professional camera crews and an outdoor show on the tournament will air on FSN (Fox Sports Net North) in March of 2007.

Corey Bohn

[rangerforme]

Jamie Wall is my uncle, he's a walleye guy and I'm and I'm a bass tournament guy, makes me sick when he tells me that him and Kevin catch about 50 big smallies during that touranment. I'm still working on the GPS coordinates for that spot ...