Cabela’s National Team Championship, Masters

Walleye Circuit Visit Sault Ste. Marie August 23-25

June 1, 2013—SAULT STE. MARIE, MI—Hundreds of top walleye anglers from across North America will battle in a dual tournament of epic proportions when the Cabela’s National Team Championship and Masters Walleye Circuit visit the St. Mary’s River out of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, August 23-25.

“It’s quite an honor to host these events,”said Linda Hoath, Executive Director of the Sault Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Besides the immediate economic impact from all of the anglers and their families—many of whom spend a week or more in the area prior to competition—tournament organizers will showcase the Soo on two national TV shows covering the events.”

Both of the tournaments follow two-person team formats. The Cabela’s NTC is one of the most prestigious walleye tournaments in the country, drawing participants from more than 60 sanctioned grassroots walleye clubs across the United States. Teams qualified for the 2013 championship by accumulating points in 2012 while competing in tournaments organized by these clubs.

Qualifying teams compete for rich payouts, which often top $300,000. At the 2012 event on Minnesota’s Mille Lacs Lake, first place paid out $30,000 in cash, plus a brand-new, Evinrude-powered Ranger 621 valued at $60,000. In addition, a second, similarly decked-out Ranger was awarded through the Ranger Cup contingency program.

The lure of high stakes and a chance to claim the national title draws teams from coast to coast. In past seasons, anglers hailing from New Jersey, Washington, Texas, Arizona and virtually all states in between have participated in the event.

A total of 250 teams are invited to the NTC, but participation varies from year to year, depending on the destination. In 2012, 228 teams competed when the NTC visited Mille Lacs, for example. When combined with the MWC tournament entries, the totals climb even higher. In 2011, a total of 275 teams from across the U.S. and Canada competed in the dual tournament on Big and Little Bays de Noc out of Escanaba, Michigan. And in 2010,362 two-person teams faced off on Wisconsin’s Lake Winnebago—setting a world record in the process.

While the Cabela’s NTC is an invitation-only event, local anglers can compete in the MWC side of the tournament, and registration remains open through the Sunday night prior to the event.

Based in Ponca City, Oklahoma, the MWC is oldest running national walleye circuit in America. It is owned by The Walleye Federation and open to two-person teams regardless of club or sponsor affiliation. Entry fees are $650 per tournament, of which more than 100 percent is returned to anglers at the qualifiers, World Championship and Team of the Year races. For more information, visit masterswalleyecircuit.com, email , or call (580) 765-9031.

The NTC and MWC will run together August 23-24, with the MWC concluding after two days, and the top 25 NTC teams moving on to the final day of competition. Anglers are allowed to fish U.S. waters of the St. Mary’s from the Soo Locks to the DeTour Passage. Each team is allowed to bring five walleyes per day to the scale at weigh-in. Since this is a catch-and-release tournament, the fish will be handled by staff from the Inter-Tribal Fisheries Enhancement Program, and released back into the river.

While this is the first time the Cabela’s NTC has visited the Soo, the event marks the MWC’s third consecutive tournament on the St. Mary’s. Brothers Joe and John Giuliani, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, scored impressive, back-to-back wins at those events.

In 2012, the hard-fishing twins tallied nine fish weighing a total of 36.74 pounds to win more than $14,000 in cash and prizes. “This is awesome, it’s like winning the Stanley Cup,” said Joe, moments after taking the lead in a dramatic finish in front of a roaring riverfront crowd. “Winning back-to-back tournaments against the great fishermen on the MWC is amazing.”

Brother John explained that the bright sun drove the river’s walleyes onto the bottom, where live-bait rigs tipped with nightcrawlers and Berkley Gulp! softbaits were key to catching fish, as were leaders made of Berkley Trilene 100 Percent Fluorocarbon.

The public is invited to the weigh-ins, which will be held at Aune-Osborn Park in Sault Ste. Marie, starting at 3 p.m. (EST) daily. Spectators will be treated to a steady stream of Soo walleyes crossing the stage, and get to hear the anglers’ tales and tactical tips. As a bonus, the Cabela’s MWC, National Professional Anglers Association, Pure Fishing and Zippo Outdoor Brands will present a Youth & Family Fishing Clinic immediately after the first day’s weigh-in. The first 50 youths will receive rods and reel combos courtesy of the NPAA.