The two-day Spirit Lake Marina Walleye Classic contestants saw two very different days for angling.
Saturday was cool, cloudy, with sprinkles off and on all day - but the fishing was pretty good according to the teams checking in at the 3 p.m. weigh-in at the Marina.
Sunday was bright, sunny and warmer with a good breeze and most of the teams admitted they’d struggled to get their contest limit.
That’s fishing on Devils Lake, though.
Local anglers Ben Mack and Matt Taylor won with 46.5 lbs. of walleye caught in the two-day tournament. Their prize was a check for $10,000.
Spirit Lake Marina Manager Daniel Lohnes congratulated the pair as they came onto the stage to collect their trophies. Mack took the microphone and commended the sportsmanship of three other teams in the contest.
“When they recognized our boat, they backed off and gave us the space we needed. That showed a lot of class,” Mack said.
The teams he recognized were team No. 54 Tim Rutten and Al Freidig, No. 42 Chase Freidig and David Remmen and No. 51 Chad Haeberstroh and Kelly Bakken.
Lohnes echoed Mack when he retrieved the mic, “That’s the kind of good sportsmanship we like to see on our lake. Good job, everyone!”
Winning $5,000 and second place was team No. 23 of Jason Ramberg and Travis Clemens with 39.28 lbs.
Third place went to team No. 45 of Charlie and Seth Bisbee who took home $2,500 for 38.87 lbs.
Fourth prize of $ 2,000 went to Mike Olson and Luke Pladson, team No. 15 with 35.68 lbs.
Fifth place was taken by team No. 38 of James Rusten and Troy Sand who took home $1,000 for 35.40 lbs.
6th: $900 went to Jay Kulla and Dave Randash, team No. 53 for 34.08 lbs. They also won the prize for jumping the most places from day one to day two of the tournament.
7th: $800 went to Justen Barstad and Brenda Barstad, team No. 19 with 27.59 lbs.
8th: $700 went to Paul Mund and Steve Larson, team No. 6 with 27.49 lbs.
9th: $600 went to Chad Haeberstroh and Kelly Bakken, team No. 51 with 26.67 lbs.
10 - Jeff Trana and Rick Darling, team No. 46 with 26.24 lbs.
11 - Tim Rutten and Al Freidig with 25.58 lbs.
12 - Dennis Schonhoff and Bill Drake with 25.12 lbs.
13 - Cory Anderson and Ken Remmen with 24.83 lbs.
14 - Troy Stremmick and John Dircks with 24.21 lbs.
15 - Thomas Miller and Shawn Mertz with 24.19 lbs.
16 - Leif Schonteich and Barry Schonteich with 23.75 lbs.
17 - Larry Zimmerman and Dennis Andruski with 22.68 lbs.
18 - Forrest Balvitsch and Jeremy Sandvik with 22.26 lbs.
19 - Chris Augustin and Aaron Sawatsky with 22.21 lbs.
20 - Troy Morris and Rick Ripplinger with 21.84 lbs.
21 - Lenny Eubanks and Matt Perleberg with 21.72 lbs.
22 - Don Denning and Jacob Denning with 20.49 lbs.
23 - Victor Klusterman and Todd Tableman with 20.06 lbs.
24 - Gary Maher and Steve Maher with 19.98 lbs.
25 - Lonnie Jacobs and Burt Teske with 19.81 lbs.
The teams who finished 10th through 25th received their $250 registration fee back.
The largest walleye for the weekend, a $500 prize went to the team of Zimmerman and Andruski.
The second largest walleye was caught by Matt Taylor and Ben Mack, winning them an additional $300.
The third largest walleye was caught by Jason Ramberg and Travis Clemens giving them an additional $200 prize.
55 teams in all were registered to compete in the tournament.
For further results, go to the Spirit Lake Casino website at www.spiritlakecasino.com.
Devils Lake, ND —
