The first event of the 2024 season for The Fishing Crew is in the books and after battling challenging weather conditions it was Randy Zeman and Zach Kenobbie that were standing atop the leaderboard at the 23rd Annual Cedar Shore Resort Walleye tournament.
Extreme winds canceled Day One of the event, which set the stage for a one-day shootout Sunday, April 7. Following the high winds from Friday and Saturday, as well as heavy rains Saturday evening, anglers launched out of Cedar Shore Resort marina Sunday morning to more rain storms and dirty water conditions.
“We saw some major changes take place with the weather and on the reservoir just in the three days we were in town,” said Curt Underhill, Tournament Director. “The winds came Friday, and ultimately forced us to cancel Day One, and they really changed the water conditions for the anglers.”
The week leading up to the event saw a highly variable weather pattern, with snow storms hitting the reservoir Sunday and Monday before sunny skies and warm weather melted this snow quickly. Following this warm pattern, high winds gripped the region both Friday and Saturday.
“Canceling Saturday was one of the toughest decisions I’ve had in 16 years of doing this,” continued Underhill. “I’m glad we did though, because the safety of our anglers is always the number one priority.”
When the tournament did launch Sunday morning, 120 boats took-off onto Lake Francis Case with not one, but two days of payouts on the line.
“Our Day One payout was 80% based on 120 boats and our Day Two payout was 90% based on 90 boats,” explained Underhill. “Ultimately, we had 90 teams that had the opportunity to win over $14,000 in one day of fishing.”
It was Randy Zeman and Zach Kenobbie that were able to take advantage of the opportunity. Bringing five fish for 14.18 pounds to the scales, anchored by a 4.00 pounder, they were able to edge out Ryan Lang and Tharon Wallin, who brought 13.64 pounds, for the win.
The reservoir produced several walleye between 3-4 pounds, with the big fish coming from the third place team-Justin and Lorin Skipper, who brought a 5.10 pounder to the scales. The Skippers’ big fish brought their total weight to 12.56 pounds.
The water and weather conditions made for a tough bite and anglers who were able to bring a five-fish tournament limit to the scale were able to dominate the upper bracket of the leaderboard. Overall, 39 teams were able to bring a five-fish limit.
Behind the top three teams, the leaderboard tightened up with four teams within a pound and an additional 11 teams within another pound of each other. Ounces proved to be a factor in determining which teams were able to cash a check.
The complete Top Ten included:
- 1st: Randy Zeman-Zach Kenobbie, 14.18 pounds
- 2nd: Ryan Lang-Tharon Wallin, 13.64 pounds
- 3rd: Justin Skipper-Lorin Skipper, 12.56 pounds
- 4th: Mike Gulk-Chris Longhenry, 11.56 pounds
- 5th: Cole Opbroek-Wade Johnson, 11.41 pounds
- 6th: Brian Schwarten-Ray Wellman, 11.18 pounds
- 7th: Jeremy Coon-Justin Gondzar, 10.87 pounds
- 8th: Chad Wahl-Jessica Wahl, 10.62 pounds
- 9th: Josh Vermeer-Todd Nibbelink, 10.47 pounds
- 10th: Josh Ruppert-Tyler Pierce, 10.36 pounds
“Huge congratulations to Zeman and Kenobbie as they were able to put all the puzzle pieces together and put together a phenomenal bag,” continued Underhill. “We saw a wide variety of strategies, with some anglers staying close and others running toward the southern boundary. Overall, it really made for an interesting event.”
The weather stole the headlines leading up to the event, but when the boats launched everyone was finally able to focus on the fishing.
The Lip Ripper Fishing boys, Nick Harrington and Mason Propst, were one of the teams who chose to stay close and maximize their fishing time.
“We didn’t run more than five miles from take-off,” said Nick Harrington, Owner of Lip Ripper Fishing. “We had found consistent numbers of fish, including the right fish, and were confident we would be able to coax five bites if we stayed on them all day long.”
Unfortunately, the changing water and weather conditions made the bite even more challenging than the boys anticipated.
“All day long we were marking fish like crazy,” said Mason Propst, Owner of Mason Propst Fishing. “They just had absolutely no interest in biting, regardless of what we threw at them.”
The boys deployed a number of tactics attempting to tempt these fish into biting.
“We started by pitching jigs, then dragged them along the bottom,” elaborated Propst. “Once we realized they weren’t having either, we floated a fly infront of their face. We then deployed the crankbaits, which were able to put the first fish on the board.”
After a short, 14 inch walleye, found the boat the boys were able to put themselves on the board with a solid 18 incher, which came trolling crankbaits in 14 feet of water.
“We were able to get one good one in the boat, but it had became apparent to us trolling was not going to get us five fish,” explained Harrington. “This was when we started focusing on targeting those overs.”
Focusing on areas that hold pre-spawn females, the boys utilized Lowrance Active Target 2 focusing on individually targeting larger walleyes.
“We looked at a lot of fish, and just as we were about to move again I saw a big mark that looked slightly more off bottom than the rest of them,” continued Propst. “I ran up, pitched on it, and was able to put it in the boat.”
The boys continued focusing on targeting individual fish, and were able to hook up with another one, but unable to ultimately put it in the boat. Short on time, they stopped on a spot adjacent to the marina and were able to land a 16 incher to help their bag in the final minutes.
“The bite was just such a grind overall,” concluded Propst. “I’m really proud of us for staying focused all day, adjusting to the conditions, and ultimately bringing a pretty good bag despite the conditions.”
The boys ultimately brought 6.56 pounds for 43rd place.
“When you have more teams zero than bring a limit you know it was an incredibly challenging bite,” concluded Harrington. “This tournament really tested us, but to piece together the bag we did, especially with how past Chamberlain events have gone, really feels like a good start to the season.”
Despite the challenges, the first event of the season is in the books, and most importantly everyone was able to enjoy a safe day on the water.
“We just want to thank all of our anglers, the weather could not have made things more challenging and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we navigated what to do with Day One and for bearing us with us for Day Two,” concluded Underhill. “These are some of the most dedicated anglers you’ll find and that’s what makes this so much fun.”
Complete results can be found at TheFishingCrew.com. The next event of the Team of the Year circuit will be Sharpe Showdown in Pierre, which will take place April 27-28.
