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Ron Seelhoff Wins 6th PWT Tournament and $102,000
Claiming an unprecedented sixth In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail tournament victory, Ron Seelhoff won $102,000 at Mille Lacs, the premier walleye lake in Minnesota. He used his trademark leadcore trolling tactics over the lake’s deep basin, landing 4-fish limits each day, including the E-Cell Heavyweight catch of 19.58 pounds on day one.
His winnings tallied $102,000 with $66,000 for winning the Optima Pro-Am, $25,000 for the Johnsonville Brats Angler of the Year title (his second career Angler title), $10,000 Angler of the Year bonus from Mercury Outboards, and $1,000 for the E-Cell Heavyweight award. His six PWT victories include two Mercury Championship wins.
Seelhoff, Burlington, Col., has now totaled $651,125 fishing the PWT.
Scoring his top finish, Sheldon Meidinger, Bismarck, ND, placed second and won $17,000. He missed Seelhoff’s 38.94-pound winning weight by 1.30 pounds. Larry Snow, Kenora, Ontario, was four pounds back for third place and $12,000. Marty Glorvigen, Grand Rapids, Minn., was fourth with 31.55 pounds. He won $11,000. Walker, Mich., pro John Bergsma was fifth, and won $10,000.
Seelhoff and Snow trolled, while the other top five anglers used slip-bobbers and leeches on rock reefs. The “bobber” pros fished 3 to 5 feet deep, and caught walleyes all day long on cloudy days and sunny days. Seelhoff said, “I credit this win to my new 2010 tiller Lund boat. With my 175 Merc OptiMax, I could slide up and down the waves and put my lures in front of the walleyes.”
Pro Ron Gazvoda, Lakewood, Col., and amateur/co-angler Jeff Morris, Bloomington, Minn., caught the Coleman Big Fish at 9.02 pounds. Gazvoda pocketed $1,500, and Morris won $500. Morris also won the Coleman Cool Under Pressure award. On the pro side, Bill St. Peter, Bay City, Mich., moved up 36 places to win Cool Under Pressure. He was ranked Number One going into the Optima Pro-Am, but finished second to Seelhoff.
The top amateur/co-angler, winning the Lund/Mercury $15,000 walleye fishing boat was Eric Vogel, Stuart, Neb. Roger Svebakken, Spring Valley, Minn., was second and Dwaine Ratfield, Cody Wyoming was third.
The anglers fishing at Mille Lacs were participating in the Super Pro series presented by MinnKota. They were competing for 30 spots in the prestigious Mercury Championship in Bismarck, ND in October. Seelhoff and St. Peter lead the field, followed by Meidinger, Bill Ortiz, Richland Center, Wis., and Dave Van Oss, Appleton, Wis.
These five and Mark Christensen, Walker, Minn., Andy Kuffer, Sterling Heights, Mich., Bobby Crow, Paterson, Wash., Mark Martin, Twin Lake, Mich., and Pete Harsh, Sauk Centre, Minn., will fish the PWT Celebrity Shootout at Aikens Lake Lodge in September. They will help raise funds for the Boomer Esiason Foundation for Cystic Fibrosis.
Each angler in the Optima Pro-Am donated slightly more than four walleyes over the 3-day event to Pike for Vets, a Grand Rapids, Minn., organization that collects and serves them at Minnesota veteran’s homes. Families (especially kids) had fun at the PWT Outdoor Festival set-up at Hunter’s Point Resort. They climbed the rockwall, shot Gamo pellet guns, blasted away in the paintball range and caught trout, with Shakespeare rods and reels and prizes from Cabela’s, for the successful young anglers. All those activities were free.
The PWT tour travels to Bay de Noc in Escanaba, Mich, Aug. 23-25. Photos, results, statistics, year-end rankings and more are listed on the PWT website, www.professionalwalleyetrail.com.
The PWT is an integral element of the In-Fisherman Communications Network headquartered in Brainerd, Minnesota, and PRIMEDIA, America's leading producer of targeted media. PWT promotional partners include: Mercury Marine, Lund, The Outdoor Channel, Berkley, Optima Batteries, Realtree, MotorGuide, Lowrance, MinnKota, Trilene, Frenzy, Blue Fox, Powerbait, Johnsonville Brats, Northland Fishing Tackle, Lindy Legendary Fishing Tackle, GULP!, Coleman, Storm, Tommy Docks, Smooth Moves Seat Mounts, E-Village, Kwik Pfyt, Raymarine, Rapala, Pflueger, Ram rod holders, Gerbing’s Heated Clothing, Aqua-Vu, Plano, Stowmaster.net, Navionics, Yellow Bird, Beckman, Drift Control, Gemini Sport Marketing, Yo-Zuri , Reef Runner and Hunter’s Point Resort, 320.676.3227.
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