PWT News Release
Feb. 14, 2008
PWT 2008 Format Includes First Can-Am, 4 Regional
Tournaments in SD, AR, MI and WI and a 2008 Championship
Shootout
The In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail will
venture north of the border to Dryden, Ontario, again
this season. Fishing Lake Wabigoon, the top Canadian
pros will be matched against those from the United
States to fish the first “artificials-only”
major walleye tournament in North America.
Pro John Butts, who lives in Dryden, and is a previous
PWT winner, is the Canadian team captain. The 2007
Angler of the Year, Gary Parsons, Glidden, Wisconsin,
will captain the US team. Each captain will select
his 25-member team. They will be among the elite pro
anglers in the walleye-fishing world from across the
United States and Canada.
Once named, the team members will be profiled on
the PWT and other web sites. They will comply with
PWT rules, and during the Can-Am they will be paired
with amateurs/co-anglers, in the standard PWT pro-am
format. Dates are Aug. 13-15.
The PWT season kicks off with the Mercury Championship
May 16-18, in Bay City, Michigan. The top 50 qualifiers
from 2007 will compete. Many festival-like activities
are set, including a Sport Show, in Bay City’s
Veterans Park.
The four Regional Pro-Am tournaments, presented
by Minn Kota, follow with a cash payday that could
reach $65,000 for the winners and over $210,000 for
each event. Famed Lake Oahe at Mobridge, SD, will
open the season May 28-30. The peak walleye population
in nearly a decade exists on Oahe. “Quality
and quantity are the rule, and this spring will produce
the best fishing in a long time,” said resident
fishing guide Denny Palmer.
The tour moves south to Bull Shoals, Arkansas June
25-27, with stellar reservoir fishing, rated by Parsons
as the best tournament walleye water he’s fished
in many years. The PWT pros discovered amazing walleye
action during their past excursions on this Arkansas-Missouri
border water.
Walleye anglers have been extending their seasons
into September and October. Now, amateurs/co-anglers
will be able to learn the secrets of the pros at Sault
Ste., Marie, Michigan, Sept. 11-13, and at Hudson,
Wisconsin, Oct. 16-18.
“Both sites offer peak walleye
bites,” said Jim Kalkofen, PWT executive director.
On the St. Mary’s River in the Upper Peninsula,
resident fish go on a fall feeding frenzy, and are
joined by thousands of Lake Huron fish crowding into
the river at that time, also. At Hudson, anglers will
fish shallow to deep on the St. Croix River during
the “best bite” of the year. Walleyes
and saugers will be targeted. These two late-season
tournaments feature community festivals.
The pros fishing the four Pro-Am
events will be competing for Angler-of-the-Year honors
which will recognize the angler with the best and
most consistent performance over the course of the
season. The coveted PWT Angler-of-the-Year trophy
comes with a $25,000 cash prize.
Topping the season will be the PWT
Championship for 2008. The top 50 anglers from the
four qualifying Pro-Am events will battle in this
one day shootout that guarantees the winner a $50,000
cash prize. The Championship will immediately follow
the final Pro-Am at Hudson meaning over $300,000 in
cash will be awarded to the nation’s top walleye
anglers that week.
“Thanks to the sponsors that
continue to support the PWT,” Kalkofen added.
“They have allowed us to put over $1,200,000
in cash up for grabs in 2008 in what is sure to be
one of the most exciting seasons ever.”
Register now! Pro and amateur contestants
may also download entry blanks from the site. PWT
payouts and contingencies will be posted on the PWT
web site, www.professionalwalleyetrail.com. The PWT
“answer-line” is 218-824-2542.
The Professional Walleye Trail (PWT)
is an integral component of the In-Fisherman Communications
Network, an InterMedia Outdoors company. InterMedia
Outdoors is the world’s leading producer of
fishing, hunting, and shooting content with 17 category-leading
magazines, 11 top-rated television series, four syndicated
radio programs, and the most visited network of websites
in the entire outdoors.
The PWT is an integral element of
the In-Fisherman Communications Network headquartered
in Baxter, Minnesota, and InterMedia, America's leading
producer of targeted media. PWT promotional partners
include: Berkley, Lowrance Electronics, Optima Batteries,
Minn Kota, Realtree, Outdoor Channel, Northland Fishing
Tackle, The Dow Chemical Company, Fin-Tech Tackle,
StowMaster, Reef Runner, Yo-Zuri Quality Lures, Smooth
Moves Seat Mounts, Kwik Pfyt Mud Flaps, Yellow Bird
Planer Boards, Allstar Graphics, Ram Mounts, Element
Edge, Pflueger, Plano Tackle Systems, E-Cell, Cannon
and Do-It Molds.
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