Robert Cook (left) caught the 7-10 walleye that won his team first place. Partner Lou Beisel looks on.Robert Cook (Osceola) and Lou Beisel (Mishawaka) won the Michiana Walleye Association season opener on Lake of the Woods at Bremen last weekend.
The winners ($300) only caught one fish but it weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces, caught by Cook on a yellow/orange Heddon Sonar jigged off the bottom in 18 feet of water.
Only 12 legal fish were weighed in by the 16 teams under tough fishing conditions.
Second place ($150) went to Randy Gaines (Chester, WV) and Mike Rhoades (South Bend) with 5.29 pounds caught with jig and minnows and custom painted Hopkins jigging spoons in 10 to 18 feet of water. Third place ($90) went to Shawn Kintigh (Goshen) and Doug Burkhead (Osceola) with 3.69 pounds, using Slow Death Hooks and crawlers and rigs with minnows in 26 to 30 feet of water.
Ed Szymczak (Osceola) and Dallas Dunn (Indianapolis) were fourth ($60) with 1.92 pounds caught on Silver Buddies casted toward the break line in 17 feet of water.
The ClearH2O Tackle big fish prize went to Gaines and Rhoades with a 2.06-pound walleye. They won the big walleye prize because Cook and Beisel didnt participate in the optional big walleye division.