Devils Lake to host National Walleye Tour championship
Aug. 11—Some of the best anglers in the world of competitive walleye fishing will converge on Devils Lake in early September for the Bass Pro Shops/Cabela's National Walleye Tour Championship.
Scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 6, through Friday, Sept. 8, the event will be headquartered at Grahams Island State Park.
Tournament anglers will depart at 7 a.m. daily from the Grahams Island State Park boat ramp, and daily weigh-ins will begin at 3 p.m. The upcoming championship will be the first NWT event in North Dakota since 2019.
The tournament will feature the top 40 pro anglers and the top 40 amateur co-anglers, based on the points accumulated during four qualifying tournaments held on the Illinois River in March, Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin in May, Lake Francis Case in South Dakota in June and the St. Mary's River in Michigan in July.
Pro anglers will compete for a first-place prize of a 2023 Nitro ZV20 boat, powered by a 225-horse Mercury Pro XS outboard plus $30,000 cash. Co-anglers will compete for a first-place prize of $6,500.
In addition, one in two anglers will walk away with a paycheck at Devils Lake, according to a news release from the NWT.
Minnesota and North Dakota anglers qualifying in the pro division are John Hoyer of Wayzata, Minnesota, who won the last NWT championship on Devils Lake in September 2019; Tom Huynh of Wolverton, Minnesota; Dustin Minke of Walker, Minnesota; Will Pappenfuss of Shevlin, Minnesota; Curt Hanson of Mayville, North Dakota; Corey Heiser of West Fargo; Kevin McQuoid of Isle, Minnesota; Mark Courts of Harris, Minnesota; Zachary Axtman of Rugby, North Dakota; Drake Herd of Alexandria, Minnesota; Bill Shiota of Northfield, Minnesota; David Landsteiner of Claremont, Minnesota; Jacob Ell of Bismark; and Jake Caughey of Fargo.
Minnesota and North Dakota qualifying amateur co-anglers are Jeff Cortez, Forest Lake, Minnesota; Jason Treberg, Chaska, Minnesota; Trinity Schaff, Fargo; Anabel Berg, Palisade, Minnesota; Chris Scouten, Hazelton, North Dakota; John Herd, Alexandria, Minnesota; Jeff Burns, Wabasha, Minnesota; Drake McCarthy, Minnesota Lake, Minnesota; Brandon Murphy, Worthington, Minnesota; Justin Osterberg, Killdeer, North Dakota; Timothy Berg, Palisade, Minnesota; Donald Klym, Bismarck; Thomas Blanchard, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota; Kolton Krawiecki, Pillager, Minnesota; and Dylan Thompson, Albert Lea, Minnesota.
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