May 2013
We are proud of ALL our teams for their
dedication to the sport of fishing!
Best Chance Too takes 1st Place
and KC-1 takes 3rd in South Haven Steelheaders Pro Am!
David Engle writes: "Best Chance Too make one of those comebacks
that people talk about forever! Being down by 80 points the
first day and winning by 50 points in the South Haven
Steelheaders Pro Am."
Capt. Mike Harvey writes: "The KC-1 team had their work cut out
for them this past weekend at the South Haven
Steelheaders Tournament. The Kings that we were
targeting ranged from 100-150 down and we were fishing them with
4 coppers and 4 wire divers. Now in years past before the advent
of the TX-44 this would be impossible; or if you did try to
there would be a lot of colorful language being used. The TX-44
kept our 450-550's out of harms way while we were battling on
the divers. The other advantage to running the TX-44 is when you
have multiple fish on, the board stays in track and doesn't end
up behind the boat in your other fish. The KC-1 team would like
to thank Church Tackle for the great product and all of your
support."
39th annual Hoosier Coho Club Classic... Church Tackle Teams took
1st and 2nd place!
Fin Scout Team took 1st place
David Engle: " With the weather being the best it's been all year
and being able to participate in the oldest fishing tournament
on the made for a great weekend."
Best Chance Too takes 2nd Place
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April 2013
Best Chance Too takes third in the Hoosier Coho Pro Am on the
weekend of April 27th. Spring weather finally hit and made the
fish bite exceptionally great.
News for May 2012
Trifecta Challenge Dates are May 26th, July 7th and August 25th.
Boat with the most overall weight for the 3 individual
tournaments will be deemed Trifecta Champion and will win $400.
Contact Tackle Haven for entry information.
http://www.tacklehaven.com/pages/Tournament.html
TACKLE HAVEN
741 RIVERVIEW DRIVE
BENTON HARBOR, MI 49022
Phone 269-281-1951
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News for May 2011
Congrats to all the Winners of part 1 of 3
of The Church Tackle & Tackle Haven 2011 Trefecta Challenge! For
the full list of
winners or to get more information on the
next 2 opportunities to enter go to
http://www.tacklehaven.com/pages/tournament#overview
May 28, 2011 Winner was Dustins Dream with a total catch of 54lbs.
Big Fish Winner was Open Water with a 20.9 lb King Salmon!
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News for May 2011
Congrats
to Yarbrough and Seyka for their Win of Cabela's MWC Lake Erie
Tournament!!!
We're
proud to have you on our Pro Staff!!!
--Presented by Berkley Gulp!
May 21,
2011—Sandusky, OH—In a stellar Great Lakes tournament marked by
world-class fishing, great competition and trophy walleyes—including
a new all-time big-fish record—Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit
veterans Greg Yarbrough and Jeff Seyka finished strong to win the
MWC’s Eastern Division stop on Lake Erie.
“It
hasn’t totally sunk in yet,” said Seyka, of Milford, Michigan, on
topping the field of 166 of the world’s best walleye anglers. “I’m
getting texts from all over, congratulating us, from people I don’t
even know.”
Indeed,
the hard-fought, big-fish spectacle drew national media coverage,
front-page headlines in fishing-friendly Sandusky, and caught the
attention of anglers everywhere as a parade of walleyes topping 10
pounds crossed the Cabela’s MWC stage at Sandusky’s scenic Shelby
Street Boat Ramp.
“It
feels great,” grinned Yarbrough, a Port Clinton, Ohio, charter
captain with more than two decades of experience pulling walleyes
from the Great Lakes. He explained they targeted “resident” fish on
shallow rock structures rising from depths of 30 feet off Pelee
Island. Using a bow-mount trolling motor with assistance from their
Mercury kicker outboard, the pair pulled purple and green spinner
rigs with size 5 and 6 blades, trimmed with either nightcrawlers or
6-inch Berkley Gulp! Alive! Crawlers, at speeds of 1 to 1.2 mph.
“Gulp! was key when white perch pecked our ‘crawlers apart,”
Yarbrough noted.
“Crashing the breaks was key,” added Seyka, referring to the team’s
tactic of trolling from deep water up onto the shallower breakline.
To hit critical depths, the team used 22- to 42-foot letbacks of
10-pound Berkley Trilene mainline behind their planer boards, with
¾- to 1 ½-ounce inline sinkers and 5- to 6-foot fluorocarbon
leaders.
Though
longtime MWCers, 2011 marks the first season that Yarbrough and
Seyka have fished the Circuit together. Their winning program at
Sandusky produced a 10-fish MWC limit weighing a whopping 84.54
pounds—good for a $13,400 first-place check, along with a $1,000
Cabela's gift card through the Cabela's Angler Cash Program, $500
Berkley Baits Prize Package, $500 Cabela’s gift card for being the
highest-finishing MWC Premier Team, $500 Lowrance Electronics HDS/Elite
DSI bonus, plus the MWC’s Oxygenator contingency…
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Congrats to Team Captain Larry
Smith and Rich Haney!
We're
proud to have you on our Pro Staff!!!
Captain Larry Smith and Rich Haney take
12th place at Cabela's MWC
Tournament in Sandusky on Lake Erie, with a 10 fish limit at
70.07 lbs.
Trolling at 1.0 - 1.2 in 32 to 40 fow pulling spinners & crawlers
with 1oz inline sinkers 40 ft & 50 ft back on Church
TX-22 Special Planer Board with Double Action Flag System. The
flag was set to come up with the lightest bite. At times the flag
would just twitch; this would give us time to feed the bait back
then make a sweep set on the walleye. It was key in putting a few
more eyes in the basket.
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Tackle Haven Team: Nate Schuman, Ray Rendell, and "Flash: Rendell won the
Amateur Division of the 2011 Southwest Michigan
Steelheaders Summer Challenge Tournament using 6
TX-44 Super Planer Boards pulling copper lines. Congrats guys!!!
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News for September
2010
(email from Keith Barber)... I wanted to
let you know that our fishing team won the Hammond Bay Anglers
Tournament last month, and the biggest part of our success was
pulling Church Walleye Boards in shallow water. Attached is a
picture. Thanks for your continued support of our show!
Highest regards,
Keith Barber
President
Hunters Exchange Television, Inc
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Ed
Clements of www.maxsportfish.com and Ryan Sagady WON the
Michigan Walleye Tour event this
past weekend out of Linwood, MI.
Here is what they
told us: We ended up fishing in the Saginaw River mostly
jigged and livebait rigged. We did do a little bit of trolling
using walleye boards and K-1 inline weights. We weighed 18.42 lbs
on day 1 to lead; and weighed 15.83 on day 2 to win. Thank you for
all of your support. Here is a photo of us with our plaques and
our winning fish on stage day 2.
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News
for April 2010
Ed Clements and Ryan Sagady placed
2nd among 45 teams in the Michigan Walleye Tour qualifier event on
Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay! They
brought in 10 fish over the two-day
event with a combined weight of 35.71 pounds. Congratulations and
thank you for using Church Tackle products!
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News for October
2009
Davis and Gies
Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Champions 2009
The New 2009 World Walleye Champions! With 85.26
pounds from Lake Erie over three days, Ohio anglers Matt Davis
(Marion) and Dan Gies (Huron) jumped to the top of the elite
Championship field to be crowned the Cabela’s MWC World Walleye
Champions, earning a cash prize of $25,000. This impressive
victory comes just four weeks on the heels of winning the coveted
MWC Team of the Year title which carried a $13,000 bonus. Davis
and Gies are on a roll to have achieved both in such short
succession, a testimony to their fishing acumen and versatility.
“So many great anglers have been a part of the rich history of the
MWC,” shared Matt Davis after the majestic walleye trophies and
big check had been presented. “It’s amazing to think that we’ve
now accomplished something of this stature and are amongst their
ranks. It’s awesome.” Partner Dan Gies knows it took awhile coming
together, but agrees that the moment is sweet. “We’ve been a part
of the MWC since the inception of the East division, for five
years now,” shared Gies, addressing his peers at the Champions
dinner. “We had to learn the hard way and take our knocks at some
of the tournaments that stretched us and our skill set. This is
just such a great feeling, hard to believe it’s real.” This was
their first Circuit victory.
In addition to just being great fishermen, practice, discipline,
thorough planning and meticulous organization are the skills that
Davis and Gies’ teammates attributed to their friends’ success.
“You’ll never see two more dedicated and disciplined fishermen
than Matt and Dan,” shared Greg Yarbrough, friend, teammate, and
2008 Champion himself. “They work hard, are always researching and
well-prepared for every day on the water,” continued Yarbrough.
Davis and Gies also received sponsor contingency bonuses including
$100 from the National Professional Anglers Association (NPAA) and
$200 from the Oxygenator for using an Oxygenator system in their
livewell. Their Championship purse, bonuses and Team of the Year
awards makes for a $38,300 paycheck for the month of October for
these MWCers.
Congratulations Matt and Dan. Thank you for
using Church Tackle products!
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News for October
2008
Manz and Yarbrough Cabela’s MWC World
Walleye Champions 2008
Congratulations Jeff and Greg! Thank you for
using Church Tackle products!
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News for October
2007
Koester & Rhodes
Win Cabela’s MWC World Walleye Champions 2007
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 each day of
the tournament, bringing in 22.43 pounds on day two and 28.60
pounds on day three. 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 in 10.39 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.
David Kolb of Ada, Michigan and Dan Byers of Cedar Springs,
Michigan both bought new Toyota Tundra trucks this year – and it
paid off. They split the $5,000 bonus from Toyota for being the
highest finishing team in the tournament in a Toyota Tundra. Kolb
and Byers finished in 10th place with 75.29 pounds and cashed
$1,500 for the 10th place spot plus $5,000 from Toyota for $6,500.
Adam Rasmussen of Stevens Point, Wisconsin won the Ranger Cup
bonus of $1,000 for finishing highest in the Ranger Cup program.
Rasmussen and partner Brad Jakusz from Amherst, Wisconsin finished
in 5th place with 83.63 pounds.
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.”
Congratulations Jeff and Scott! Thank you for
using Church Tackle products!
