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Saginaw Bay, Bay City, MI .... Veteran walleye pro Chris Gilman won his third In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail tournament. After three days fishing the Champion Boats Mideast Pro-Am on Saginaw Bay, he weighed 74.75 pounds and won $50,000. Gilman also won in 1995 and 1997, and in five years has pocketed $182,000 in PWT winnings. He’s placed in the top 10 in 40 percent of PWT events fished.
Gilman, Chisago City, MN, a past PWT Angler of the Year, concentrated on Saginaw Bay’s Pinconning Bar in 18 feet, running 3/8 ounce Rattling Hot ‘N Tots. Gold and purple were his top colors. The exact spots he fished seven years ago were holding walleyes all week. In second was day one leader Jerry Fox, Jr, Algonac, MI a rookie pro fishing his first PWT season. He weighed 71.65 pounds for $15,000. He also won the Dee Zee Eastern Division race and qualified for the PWT Championship.
The third and fourth place pros were Bill Hall, Algona, IA and Rick LaCourse, Oregon, OH. They weighed 68.61 and 67.91 pounds and won $10,000 and $7,500 respectively. On the amateur side, Jesse Cain, a fishing guide for 30 years from Fairfield, AR, won $12,500 including an Arctic Cat ATV. The overall Mercury Top Amateur who qualified for the Championship was Tobby Miller, New Hudson, MI. He won $4,000 including a Mercury outboard. A total of $203,000 was awarded, at Saginaw Bay.
A special award went to pro Mike Gofron, Antioch, IL for winning the $20,000 In-Fisherman Angler of the Year title. He collected $10,000 cash and a Mercury V-6 outboard. He had a dream season with a 2nd, a 3rd, a 5th, an 8th, an 11th and a 27th. He also won the $1,000 Coleman Cool Under Pressure award for advancing 85 places at Saginaw Bay. Gofron will wear #1 at the Dodge/Mercury Championship Sept 9 - 11, in Madison, WI.
Saginaw Bay was the final tour event and set all Championship berths. Fox will be joined by four other Dee Zee Eastern Division winners, Bill St. Peter, Bay City, MI, Mark Meravy, Shorewood, IL, Steve Bohn, Fairgrove, MI, and Andy Kuffer, Fair Haven, MI. The EXIDE Rookie of the Year award went to Steve Bohn. He won $3,000 towards the 2000 PWT tour entry fees
During the 3-day event, the largest Bass Pro Shops walleye was 10.24 pounds, caught by Jeff Taege, Rhinelander, WI. He won $2,275. On the final day, amateur J. Michael McMacken, Cedarville, MI caught the largest walleye, 8.58 pounds. He won $1,775. The second largest fish, 8.53 pounds, paid $1,075 to pro Steve Poll, Fond du Lac, WI. Third, $900, went to pro Todd Macy, Ft Wayne, IN for a 8.42-pounder, and fourth was worth $825 to pro Todd Riley, Amery, WI for a 8.36-pounder.
The Storm Heavyweight Award, $500, went to Fox. His amateur on day one who participated in the 31.69 pound catch, Steve Landosky, Kawkawlin, MI, won $300. The T-H Marine $500 live release award went to Gilman for releasing the most walleyes alive. Nearly half of the 1,284 walleyes weighed went back into the bay.
A special "Key Award" went to Ken Shear, president of the Saginaw Bay Walleye club for his coordination of on-site volunteers and activities. Linda Cassar organized and headed all tournament committees for the Bay Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. Due to the positive public response and the excellent fishery, the PWT committed to return to Saginaw Bay in 2000.
The 1999 PWT sponsors include: Arctic Cat, Aqua Vu, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley Power Bait, Blue Fox Tackle, Bomber Lures, Carhartt, Champion Boats, Coleman, Daiichi hooks, Dee Zee truck accessories, Dodge trucks, Eagle Claw, Exide batteries, Flambeau, Guest chargers, Lindy Little Joe, Lowrance Electronics, LubriMatic, Mann’s Bait, Mercury Outboards, Master Lock Sportsman, MinnKota, Rapala Lures, Northland Tackle, Off-Shore Tackle, Pinnacle rods and reels, PolarWrap, Raytheon Marine, Storm Lures, Stren fishing lines, T-H Marine, Energizer batteries, and the Bay Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (888/229-8696).
PL. NAME #FISH WEIGHT WINNINGS
1 Chris Gilman* 15 74.75 $50,000
2 Jerry Fox, Jr 15 71.65 $15,000
3 Bill Hall 15 68.61 $10,000
4 Rick LaCourse* 15 67.91 $7,500
5 Shannon Kehl* 15 65.14 $5,200
6 Perry Good* 15 64.90 $4,200
7 Gregg LaMere* 15 64.72 $4,000
8 Daryl Christensen* 15 63.44 $3,800
9 Dave Kraft* 14 63.28 $3,600
10 Daniel Comeau 15 63.06 $3,400
11 Ross Grothe* 13 62.22 $3,400
12 Rick Olson* 15 61.97 $3,000
13 Todd Riley* 14 61.53 $3,000
14 Kevin Blanck 15 60.34 $3,000
15 Gary Gray* 15 59.33 $2,800
16 Jeff Taege* 13 58.90 $2,800
17 Scott Gerner 15 58.45 $2,800
18 Greg Horoky* 14 58.41 $2,700
19 Todd Frank* 15 57.65 $2,700
20 Mark Gwizdala 13 57.14 $2,700
21 Ted Takasaki* 15 56.87 $2,600
22 John Bergsma* 14 56.17 $2,600
23 Greg Englehart* 13 55.21 $2,600
Uploaded: 8/8/1999
Uploaded: 8/8/1999