Marine
Fox River Gamble Pays Off for Mercury National Walleye Tournament Winners
FOND DU LAC, Wis. – Anglers Jim Ordway of Hartland, and Dave Kegler of Hubertus teamed up to take top honors at the 2007 Mercury National Walleye Tournament, bagging a 10-fish limit weighing 32.79 pounds to take the $13,000 payday.
Two days of perfect weather and lively fish led to a tournament haul that more than doubled the number and total weight of fish brought in from the 2006 tournament, held annually on the Winnebago chain of lakes with the weigh-ins taking place at Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac, the headquarters city of Mercury Marine.
The total number of fish brought in was 1,998 for a total weight of 4,048.97 pounds, besting last year's total of 932 walleye weighing 1,536 pounds. All of the live fish are returned to the lake, and all deceased fish are cleaned and donated to area charities. The Mercury National Walleye Tournament nearly always boasts an exemplary fish survival rate due to careful handling procedures, weight penalties for bringing in dead fish and weight bonuses for bringing in all live fish.
During the weigh-in, Ordway said he and his partner took a gamble to head up to the Fox River in Oshkosh on Sunday, hoping deeper waters and the right river current would help propel them up the leader board from their fifth place finish on Saturday.
"The current and wind direction weren't what we were hoping for, but we ended up making some great catches," he said.
The team have been fishing together for eight years, and this was their first Mercury National win after missing last year's tournament due to "someone
forgetting to send in the registration card," Ordway joked from the Merc National stage.
The event is contested each year in conjunction with Fond du Lac's Walleye Weekend celebration, a three-day event presented by Fond du Lac Festivals
that includes such attractions as live music, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, a strong-man competition, a BMX bicycle stunt show and numerous activities
for children. Organizers anticipated an estimated 100,000 visitors will attend the 2007 festival, of which Mercury Marine is a major sponsor.
The 300-team field at the Mercury National experienced outstanding conditions leading to the strong finish, where Ordway and Kegler weighed in last to best Blaine Hornes of Neenah and Chris Schrader of Larson.
Hornes and Schrader finished just 1.78 pounds behind the winners. They will divide up $7,500 for their efforts. The second-place duo also finished with Sunday's biggest fish: a 6.99-pound specimen. The top 10 teams ended the event within a scant six pounds of each other.
Mercury Marine President Patrick C. Mackey was on hand Sunday to present top finishers with their checks and prize merchandise.
"This is such a great event for Fond du Lac and all of Wisconsin," Mackey said. "Mercury is proud to sponsor this wonderful event for all the anglers and their families."
Tournament organizers presented two checks to help improve fishing and Wisconsin's waterways. A $3,000 check went to the FishAmerica Foundation, a conservation and research organization, and $4,500 went to Walleyes for Tomorrow, dedicated to improving the Lake Winnebago walleye fishery.
The big fish of the tourney was a 7.39-pounder dragged in on Saturday by Karl Federman of Fond du Lac and Luke Staehler of Byron. That team finished the weekend in 76th place. The big fish winners will receive a 9.9 hp Mercury FourStroke outboard engine for their efforts.
All of the boats in the tournament featured Mercury or Mariner outboards – two per boat, in most cases, since walleye boats usually are rigged with a
large outboard for running and an 8-15 hp "kicker" outboard for slow trolling – and many also were equipped with MotorGuide electric trolling motors. Mariner
and MotorGuide are both sub-brands of Mercury Marine.
Another Walleye Weekend festivity is the Mercury Million-Dollar Hole-in-One Competition. None of the finalists holed out on the 105-yard shot to take
home the $1 million grand prize, but Terry Flesch of Fond du Lac got close enough to take home a Lund boat and 90 Mercury OptiMax. The boat, motor
and trailer package was donated by Lund Boats and Mercury Marine.
Mercury Marine is the world's leading manufacturer of recreational marine propulsion engines. A $2.3 billion division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), Mercury and its 6,200 employees worldwide provide engines, boats, services and parts for recreational, commercial and government marine applications. Mercury's industry-leading brand portfolio includes Mercury and Mariner outboard engines; Mercury MerCruiser sterndrives and inboard engines; MotorGuide trolling motors; Mercury and Teignbridge propellers; MotoTron electronic controls; Mercury inflatable boats; Mercury SmartCraft electronics; and Mercury and Quicksilver parts and oils. In 2007, Mercury Marine's OptiMax engine was once again ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Two-Stroke Outboard Engines in a Tie" by J.D. Power and Associates, and Mercury MerCruiser engines were ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Sterndrive Engines" for the second year in a row. More
information is available at www.mercurymarine.com.
CONTACT:
Steven Goldsmith
Mercury Marine
Office: 920-924-1360 Cell: 920-948-1724
Email: steven.goldsmith@mercmarine.com
