Koester and Rhodes Crowned World Walleye Champions!

Dundee, MI – Jeff Koester of Brookville , Indiana and Scott Rhodes of Traverse City, Michigan were crowned Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit World Walleye Champions on Saturday, October 6th in Dundee, Michigan, cashing $25,000 for the honor. The duo bested a field of 59 teams on a very cooperative Lake Erie that provided three days of calm conditions.

Koester and Rhodes trolled the Canadian waters near Pelee Island with spinners. Their three-day fifteen fish winning weight topped the roster at 88.68 pounds, a 5.9 pound average. This was the team’s second circuit victory as they won the Walleye Madness Championship bracketed tournament in May of 2007, held in Port Clinton, Ohio. “Good thing we had that first day basket over 37 pounds,” shared Rhodes after the honor was bestowed on the stage, just outside the Cabela’s store in Dundee, Michigan. “We ended up needing that extra room.” The new Champs managed to retain the lead eachday of the tournament, bringing in 22.43 pounds on day two and 28.60 pounds on daythree. Their day one weight 37.65 pounds was the largest basket of the tournament,although fifteen other 30-plus pound baskets were brought in over the three days. Their lead on day one was 7.83 pounds. After the second day, however, the race tightened up and it was still open for anyone to pull ahead, especially with the quality and proliferation of the walleyes on Lake Erie.The biggest fish of the tournament was a tie between the leaders and Tim Waltz of Williamsport, Pennsylvania and George Barach of Barryton, Michigan. Each brought in10.39 pound walleyes to earn big fish of the day with Koester and Rhodes big fish coming on Thursday and Waltz and Barach besting the field on Saturday. Friday’s big fish award went to Burt Willes and Troy Saunders of Menasha, Wisconsin for their 9.60 pound walleye. Each team received a $500 gift card from Cabela’s for the honor. Over $100,000 was paid out to the entire field. The Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Championship has no entry fee. Teams earn their way by invitation only into the event through fishing the Cabela’s MWC season or the Cabela’s National Team Championship.

The anglers gathered on Saturday evening for a Champions banquet and the sentiment flowed that this was an excellent site for the tournament. The staff at the Dundee Cabela’s did a wonderful job with the logistics, and many expressed their sincere appreciation for their warm hospitality. “I can’t tell you how much this means to Scott and I,” shared Jeff Koester at the Champions banquet later that evening. All the teams had taken their turn at congratulating Jeff and Scott, with the Championship trophies poised and custom MWC rings nearby. “We couldn’t have done it without the hard work of our entire team – the guys we fish with like Manz, Yarbrough, Davis, Gies, Robinson, Seyka, Seiferlein, Johnson and Defibaugh,” continued Koester. “And I give huge kudos to the MWC field, because on the final day there were only the teams on our spot that were there on Thursday. Everyone gave all of us in the lead a chance to fish our own fish, and that speaks to the quality of professionalism of the anglers in the MWC."

 Koester & Rhodes Walleye Madness Champions

New Bracketed Tournament Championship on Lake Erie

Port Clinton, OH -- When the new Walleye Madness bracket was finalized, the teams of Jeff Koester and Scott Rhodes and Jeff Manz and Greg Yarbrough speculated about “what if” we end up in the Championship round against each other? Being good friends and teammates added a whole new dimension of anticipation for the bracketed finals. “Way back in February we thought it would be great to advance to the last round to compete against each other,” shared Jeff Koester, of  Brookville, Indiana. “It’s amazing it worked out that way – and it was awesome to be ‘ounces’ ahead of Manz and Yarbrough for once in the finish, rather than the other way around.” Manz and Yarbrough are the reigning MWC Team of the Year. They were seeded #1 in the bracketed competition; Koester and Rhodes were seeded #11.

Koester and Rhodes brought in a five-fish basket for the second half of day three competition, weighing in at 19.85 lbs. Manz and Yarbrough weighed in 19.11 lbs. The new Walleye Madness Champions took home $11,800 for the win, and the runners-up cashed $1,800.

“We really liked this format – the competition was amazingly intense every single day!” stated Port Clinton resident, Greg Yarbrough. Jeff Manz was quick to add “Only one of these per year, please! I don’t think I could handle any more – this was intense.” The anglers all shared their keen interest in this new style of competition. Facing one another head-to-head was really the key in this tournament format. You either weighed enough to advance and move on – or go home. Talk about pressure! “You really couldn’t leave anything out there – every round you had to give it all you had,” shared Scott Rhodes of Traverse City, Michigan. Even a nice basket – a GREAT basket for that matter – might not be enough as was displayed throughout the tournament, when a particularly tough bracket held high weights for both teams. It’s just part of the format in Walleye Madness. Teams don’t compete against an entire field – but rather one team at a time. “Thursday and Friday everyone was talking about how stressed and gut-wrenching this competition was, but I was feeling pretty relaxed…..until Friday night and we made the final four that is,” shared Rhodes while onstage for the weigh-in in downtown Port Clinton. “Then it really kicked in and I was a nervous wreck and couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned all night and my stomach was in a knot all day.”

Most all of the teams in the Sweet Sixteen tournament were trolling inline spinners. The winners were using 2 to 3 ounce inline weights with perch patterned blades and beads. Trolling speed was slow, .8 to 1.1 mph – but a faster speed and moving their baits higher in the water column produced better for the duo late in the day on Saturday to help the winners upgrade their fish. “We made a lot of good decisions for strategy and adjustments that worked for us every day,” shared Rhodes. Thursday and Friday the new Champions’ big baskets were produced from the Northeast side of Kelley's Island, but the challenging conditions on Saturday forced the team into an inlet between South Bass and Middle Bass Island. The fish there weren't as big as the “A” spot had produced. The new Walleye Madness Champions weighed 30.36 lbs. on Thursday and 38.19 lbs. on Friday. But with the challenging wave conditions on Saturday – they brought in 20.37 in the morning and then another 19.85 lbs. in the afternoon, getting the job done with ¾ of a pound to spare.

Copyright (c) 2004 My Company. All rights reserved.

pmarine@wwvremc.net