Musky Hunter Magazine Fall Meltdown
Lake Vermilion (*East End), Minnesota
September 16th & 17th, 2006

CLICK HERE for the 2006 Lake Vermilion Tournament Photo Album

 

                   
                                   Ranger Cup Winner                      Event Big Fish - 51"                   Sunday Big Fish - 48 ¼"
                            Steve Miljat & Dan Peckels       Adam Oberfoell & Clark Travis      Steve Miljat & Dan Peckels

Swenson & Roerig Win Vermillion “Musky Hunter Magazine’s Fall Showdown”
Lost Hat Leads To Off The Beaten Path Pattern

Final Results - PMTT Q-4 @ Vermillion Lake, MN September 16th & 17th, 2006

By: Bob "the Fin-Addict" Osborne - PMTT PR/Media Director

The last qualifier of the 2006 Professional Musky Tournament Trail season- Musky Hunter Magazine’s Fall Showdown- at northern Minnesota’s incredible Lake Vermillion, September 16th & 17th, was marked by an unexpectedly slow bite that amazingly saw only fifteen fish registered by the more than 225 top Musky anglers gathered near Tower MN, all hoping to bring just one of the giant fish known to prowl these vast waters to the boat, thus earning that coveted invitation to the “Big Dance” …the exclusive PMTT Ranger Boats World Championship this November on Illinois‘ Fox Chain; went home disappointed as long-time Vermillion area Musky guide, Cotton Minnesota’s Dave Swenson, and Jim Roerig, of nearby Embarrass, partnered their years of local on-water knowledge and experience to safely release a pair of toothy beauties near the four foot mark day one, 47-¼ & 48-½ inches, securing a narrow victory, the 1st Place Title …and check for $13,460!

Bulging/burning bigger inline spinner baits/bucktails, cast tight against wind-blown rocky shores, reefs and isolated humps were reportedly moving lots of really big fish throughout the week into day one and was easily the dominate pattern being employed; Swenson & Roerig opted for the calmer lee bays and protected structure most anglers were avoiding thinking them devoid of decent fish, after Jim’s hat blew off while pre-fishing the week before and he took cover in one of these bays to warm up. “I threw a few casts in there and caught a couple of nice fish pretty quickly, including a ‘dock fish‘, explained Roerig as to how they decided upon the winning “calm water” pattern. We knew then that we could get into areas that no one else was likely to be fishing, giving us a better chance to keep on unpressured potential winning fish and it worked for Dave and I this time.”

Adam Oberfoell and Travis Clark of Madison, WI. were also able to register two fish on Day One, including the Saturday & Event $500 “Big Fish” award winner …a hefty 51 incher taken off a popular wind-blown reef, but finding calmer areas similar to those utilized by the winners and working them with a Lee Chopper top water added a kicker 43-¼ inch musky that fell just short of the mark, garnering them 2nd Place and $3,366. “We had another fish engulf the top water with only minutes to go on the last day, laughed Oberfoell. It gave us some great excitement for a second … before we saw that it was a big Smallmouth, dashing our hopes of winning it all.”

Long-time PMTT member Dan Peckels from Pewaukee, WI. and partner Steve Miljat of Milwaukee, used a black Weagle top water and previous experience here to move a few quality musky and were able to register one of only two caught the last day; Sunday’s 48-¼ inch $500 “Big Fish” award winner, taking 3rd Place and the $1,000 Ranger Cup Award as the highest placing registered Ranger Boat owner as well …for $3,856.
While Touring Illinois Pros Ed Haagenson & Joe McCartin’s 10th Place finish with a 41 1/2" was a nice position, even more important, it also secured them a spot in the record books as the only team to have qualified for every Championship in the PMTT’s eight-year history.

Tournament Director Tim Widlacki thanked the PMTT’s fantastic sponsors, including Musky Hunter Magazine for sponsoring this event and being there from the very beginning, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Eagle River Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center, Heckel's Marine, Keyes Outdoors Television, Rollie & Helens Musky Shop, Extreme Muskie Expo's, Fortune Bay Casino, Crash's Landing, The Village of Antioch Illinois, Morehead Tourism Commission and the Wisconsin Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center. Please let these fine folks know that you appreciate their promotional efforts in support of freshwaters most challenging fish … and those extreme anglers who chase her on the first and only National Pro Musky Circuit … the PMTT!

To obtain more information on the 2007 PMTT, or to view event photo album, please visit them on the Web @ http://www.promusky.com/ or call PMTT Director, Tim Widlacki @: 815-478-4092

FINAL LEADERBOARD

1st Place David Swenson & Jim Roerig - 48 ¼" & 47 ½"
2nd Place Adam Oberfoell & Clark Travis - 43 ¼" & 51" Sat/Event Big Fish
3rd Place Steve Miljat & Dan Peckels - 48 ¼" Sunday Big Fish & Ranger Cup Award
4th Place Ryan Carlisle & Ben Olsen - 44"
5th Place Dave Grochowski & Greg Thomas - 44"
6th Place Jerome Morris & Allen Pederson - 44"
7th Place James Reiter & Doug Batteau - 42 ¾"
8th Place Jeff Chastek & Rick Rosar - 42 ½"
9th Place Michael Keyes & Steve Genson - 41 ¾"
10th Place Ed Haagenson & Joe McCartin - 41 ½"
11th Place Tyler Maney & Ryan Bock - 41"
12th Place Jason Hamernick & Bob Nelson - 40 ¼"
13th Place Jeff Kozlowski & Eric Berquist - 40"

120 Team Field - safely released a total of 15 fish - 13Sat & 2Sun - Event BIG FISH 51-inches
Water 64-68 degrees / / Wx: Mostly cloudy, rain, gusty winds