WNUK AND HELD SET RECORD WINNING WMT’S PEWAUKEE EVENT

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Dave Wnuk and Bob Held established a new record for the most points in a Wisconsin Muskie Tour one-day tournament with a 46 ¾” lunker at 10:56 am and another dandy 43 ½ incher at 3:04pm for a total of 90.25 points. The duos catch surpassed the old record of 89.75 points (total inches) set by Greg Buckmaster and John Cestkowski at the 2005 North/South Twin Lakes WMT qualifier. Wnuk and Held fished shallower than most of the other competitors, using small twitch baits to entice the aggressive muskies in the warming waters. For their one-day efforts, Wnuk and Held took home $10,000.00 for first place plus additional dollars for the big fish of the event.

The Pewaukee tournament on May 20th started out with cold temperatures that had the surface water temperatures at 55 degrees. The clear skies and cold temps made for a tough bite in the morning, but the activity and the mood of the muskies heated up as the temperature warmed up.

Ivan Stross and Jeff Piazza would tally the first muskie of the day at 6:40am with a 36 ½ incher. Bryan Stewart and Greg Hess landed their first of two 38 ½ inch muskies at 7:01am, with their second coming in at 1:12pm. Stewart and Hess would also find their success in the skinny waters like the eventual winners, proving the shallow pattern to be the best pattern for the day.

At 8:15am, Mark Lijewski and Clay Schroeder would score on a 35 inch muskie and eventually capture a fourth place finish. Kevin Mahlberg and Joel Michel tallied a 34 ½ incher at 8:47am. Landing a 34 ¾ inch muskie at 8:08am and fifth place was the team of Mike Buser and Jayme Prey. The final two muskies of the day would be captured by Tom Perdzock and Jeff Geisie at 3:21pm with a 34 inch muskie, and a 34 ½ incher at 3:55pm by Ron Terkel and David Mueller. The WMT’s Pewaukee Lake tournament paid down five places:

1st place: Dave Wnuk and Bob Held, both of Pewaukee
2nd place: Bryan Stewart, Saukville and Greg Hess, Fredonia
3rd place: Ivan Stross, Milwaukee and Jeff Piazza, Lake Tomahawk
4th place: Mark Lijewski and Clay Schroeder, both of Hazelhurst
5th place: Mike Buser, and Jayme Prey, both of Neenah

Sponsors of the Pewaukee Lake tournament are: Heckel’s Marina, Ranger Boats, Minn Kota, MidWest Outdoors, Fittante Taxidermy, G Loomis, Smokey’s Muskellunge Shop and Rollie and Helen’s Musky Shop.