Families Welcomed to Fish together at the Cabela's MWC Tournaments

The Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit love seeing families fishing together because fishing is a fun and an exciting activity to bring families closer by enjoying the great outdoors and each other’s company.  So the Cabela's Masters Walleye Circuit is proud to award top-fishing family-teams in the tournament seasons.  Here are some Father/Son, Mother/Son, Brothers, and Husband/Wife teams that have fished well in the Cabela's MWC Tournaments:

Father & Son, Bob and Mike Gooding, received the honor of MWC East Division Father and Son Team of the Year 2009.  They had such a fantastic year that they also came in second to the title of East Team of the Year, paying out $289.  Throughout the East Division tournaments in 2009 the father & son team won over $8000 in prize money.  The Goodings look forward to 2010 to bringing home some handsome prizes and some more awards to place in their homes.

Another great father & son team are Central Division Father and Son Team of the Year, Steve ‘Pinky’ Sandor of Ottawa, IL and Adam Sandor of Tonica, IL.  They took home their first victory ever on the MWC with a win on their home waters at Spring Valley, IL on the Illinois River awarding them $16,550. This victory in Spring Valley won them the title of Central Division Father and Son Team of the Year and they Sandors are now proudly displaying their beautiful trophies at home.

The father & son team in the West division was Eric and Bill Hanson of Lisbon, North Dakota.  Throughout the tournament season the father & son team brought home over $2000 in prize money.  They took their honors with great pride and are hoping to come back in 2010 stronger for another title of West Division Father and Son Team of the Year.

The only mother & son team to fish the Cabela's MWC are Wisconsinites Danny Plautz of Milwaukee and his mother, Barb Plautz of Muskego.  They propelled to a win with the 2008 Spring Valley tournament’s largest basket of 16.12 pounds on the final day.  Their two day weight of 27.19 pounds was enough to cash $23,350 for first place payout.  Powered by Mercury Motors they received a $500 contingency bonus and biggest fish of day two at 4.48 pounds earned another $1,600. That’s a total of $25,450. This was not only their first circuit victory but truly a chance to make history.

A wonderful brothers team, Steve and Dan Bodinger of Chilton, WI, won the Central Division Brothers Team of the Year award.  They began the year well at Spring Valley, IL finishing 13th place winning them $1,700, and then finished at 34th place on Lake Pepin, MN and 58th place on the Bay of Green Bay.  This is the Cabela’s MWC first year to award a Central Division Brothers Team of the Year title and the Bodingers well deserve the honor.

This brother teams of Bill Murray of Howell, MI and Bob Murray Fenton, MI won the East Division Brothers Team of the Year award.  The Murray brothers had a steady year as they finished in 25th place in Trenton, MI, then were shy of ‘In the Money’ at Sandusky, OH placing at 13th place, and then finished at 29th place in Dunkirk, NY.  The brothers are excited to get back into the boat and spend some quality time together.

The husband & wife team of Gary and Marge Pelkey of Van Dyne, WI won the 2008 Cabela's MWC Central Division Husband & Wife Team of the Year title at the Lake Winnebago tournament in June.  They beat out their next closest competitors by 76 points in route to this title.  Gary had this to share about their win, "This has been a very special thing for us to share together.  We have been close to winning the Husband and Wife Team of the Year title a few times, only to miss out on it by a handful of points.  This title means so much to us as the competition in the MWC is second to none and we were able to compete with a lot of very talented teams."

Cabela’s, the world’s foremost outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is entering their nineth season as title sponsor of the MWC.  Official sponsors of the MWC include: Berkley, Ranger Boats, Mercury, MotorGuide, Lowrance, Fishouflage, Versus (Vs.) Television Network and North American Fishing Club.  Associate Sponsors include: O2 Marine Technologies, 3-IN-ONE No Rust Shield, Abu Garcia, Fin-tech, Northland Fishing, Ryjus and Reflections.

The Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit is the longest running professional walleye tournament circuit in the United States.  For more information on the Cabela’s MWC or to view the 2010 schedule, visit: www.masterswalleyecircuit.com.  Questions – email: events@masterswalleyecircuit.com or call: 877-893-7947.