# WBSA LEWT Fenwick results



## Jim Stedke (Dec 5, 2005)

Here's the results of the 2012 LEWT Fenwick tournament:

PLACE NAME NAME #'S BIG FISH
1 Virgil Tent Bill Miller 52.29 12.16
2 Charlie Robinson Todd Rainigh 46.65 9.30
3 Francis Ball Ronald Bradway 45.77 10.56
4 Robert Kiamy Kelly Matthews 45.28 9.60
5 Dave Frey Lonnie Hanchosky 45.08 9.64
6 Bud Wehrly Matt Miller 44.91 12.14
7 Kevin Hayes Glen 44.35 10.24
8 Eric Duposki Robert Sheaffer 43.97 
9 Gary Zart Nicholas Zart 43.30 9.43
10 Mike Robertson Mike Tobias 43.21 11.11
11 Jay Gullet Scott Geitgey 43.19 9.46
12 John Warrington Bob Kaisk 43.18 11.40
13 Dennis Kitchen Kevin Kirschner 42.94 9.46
14 Jason Kopf Gary Bowman 42.19 9.65
15 Scott Bogen Mark Bogen 41.98 10.70
16 Jason Pelz Matt Clifton 41.89 9.10
17 Sam Cappelli Mike Kalafut 41.89 11.33
18 Morgan Kiser Bryan Myers 41.68 9.51
19 Jim Swick Erin Swick 41.28 11.88
20 Mark Carr Don Peterson 40.67 8.66
21 Jason Plant Rod Weaver 40.36 8.71
22 Ryan Buddie Kevin Buddie 40.06 9.06
23 Mike Doornink David Poutius 39.78 9.48
24 Rob Lester Anna Lester 38.98 9.08
25 Ricky Austin Shawn Gatten 38.98 7.28
26 Thomas Sibert Tommy Sibert 38.58 8.84
27 Ryan Perlaky Jeff Perlaky 38.47 8.39
28 Rob Cline James Sprague 38.43 7.69
29 David Gahn Sr. James Moes 38.36 8.52
30 David Jenco Jim Gwynn 38.35 8.31
31 Joe Whitten Ronnie Rhodes 38.15 8.74
32 Mike Solomey Shane Solomey 37.89 8.61
33 Rob North Zak Jobes 37.88 8.92
34 Jeff Graves Mike Zavorski 37.79 8.06
35 Eric Van Denk Eric Hirzel 37.24 8.46
36 Randy Cline Robert Kitts 37.07 8.42
37 Bob Barnhart Ron Newmister 36.86 8.86
38 Jeff Lash Tim Joseph 36.84 7.80
39 Shawn Ritchie John Wagner 36.27 10.46
40 Jerome Dorlack Todd Miller 36.07 9.57
41 Travis Hartman David Hartman 35.48 7.31
42 Jim Coolican Barry Gropp 34.56 8.56
43 Joseph Bird Patrick Stout 32.86 6.35
44 Aaron Humbert Dave Knieriemen 32.30 8.66
45 Ryan Valentine Tim Kline 32.00 7.02
46 Randy Eyre Dan Woodward 31.96 7.53
47 Chad Schilling Dennis Schlabach 30.08 9.72
48 Darrell Wood Kurt Doller 30.02 6.03
49 Mike Foltz Alan Kearns 25.50 6.10
50 Marc Hudson Keith Keivens 12.69 6.96

Awesome. 41 of the 50 teams averaged over 7#s per fish. 

Way to go Virgil. Congrats on a fantastic day. 

What a lake !!! What a fishery!!!!


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## ErieRider (Mar 23, 2010)

WTG Virgil!!! Glad to see you get in the money, there were some great fish out there on sunday.


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## Jim Stedke (Dec 5, 2005)

Dave, He not only got in the money..... he took it all. (well the absolute most 1 team can take).


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## ErieRider (Mar 23, 2010)

Oh yeah Jim, no doubt, he did great!!! I hear there was a good Musky story from his boat during the tourney. Hopefully he can chime in and tell us it. What a great stretch of fishing here Jim. As you know me and Ken did very well with the crew Sunday too! Glad to see all the tourney guys pull some really nice bags!


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## rippin lip (Dec 3, 2005)

holy crap over 52 lbs... nice!! congrats to everyone who fished 

its amazing the difference between years or when the fish are active - last year only 7 teams took 5 fish and 15 teams caught 0. this year 22 teams over 40lbs. very nice


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## ezmarc (Apr 6, 2004)

Jim Stedke said:


> Dave, He not only got in the money..... he took it all. (well the absolute most 1 team can take).


A Sharpnack vehicle and an Early Bird entry could have gotten him another $300. Still a nice payday though! congrats Virgil and Bill!


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## Dixie Chicken (Nov 12, 2004)

Congrats to Virgil Tent & Bill Miller!!!

WOW! What a box of fish. I'm really happy for you both.

Dixie Chicken!


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## DanO6961 (Jun 22, 2010)

Nice job, Virgil. I was out with ErieRider and KPI yesterday. Awesome fishing!

Congrats,
DanO


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## SELL-FISH (Feb 9, 2007)

Great job Virg and Bill. Thats a day you'll never forget. Scott.


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## FreeByrdSteve (Jun 28, 2004)

WOW!! What an incredible fishery. Almost half the field weighing 40+


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## tomb (Oct 9, 2004)

Congrats Virgil ! And also all the other teams, everyone did very well.


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## ErieRider (Mar 23, 2010)

DanO6961 said:


> Nice job, Virgil. I was out with ErieRider and KPI yesterday. Awesome fishing!
> 
> Congrats,
> DanO


Dano,

I can confirm you were on the boat as well. After the fact, I found out we apparently fished the same area as Virgil. The fish up there were inhaling the baits and the hook ups were solid. 16 for 17 on landing our fish. It was a good day. Just next time leave the Bayonet at home with the old lady. You are so proud of that thing you actually posed with it in your family photo??Incredible!!
But seriously, what a great lake we have at our front door. Congrats to all the LEWT and everyone else who has been hammering them.


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## JIG (Nov 2, 2004)

Congrats Guys!


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## DanO6961 (Jun 22, 2010)

Oh, man I'm never gonna live this one down!! Dude, if you went through what i went through Sat night (OSU game/party) till 1:30 am you wouldn't be too steady on the net either!! Depth perception just isn't the same when your seeing double!!!

Fish On!!
DanO


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## BeerBatter (Aug 1, 2006)

Congrats to Virgil and Bill. Awesome bag o eyes, simply awesome. Excellent Job to all others who finished well. Can't wait to get after em again. Thanks to the Lewt staff for a fun and well run event.


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## donkey (Aug 28, 2004)

Way to go Virgil and Bill!What an impressive bag of fish.Nice to see the locals take it all.Biggest bag of fish and Big fish of the tourney.


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## meatwagon (Aug 13, 2007)

WTG Virgil! Over 50lb.bag.Incredible!


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## westwind (Feb 24, 2008)

congrats virgil and thanks for the overnight accomadations at the catawba house fantastic.we thought coming in with almost 42 pounds we were going to cash a check.wow was i wrong 3 more to go........ morgan:B:B:B


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## goolies (Jun 28, 2007)

Congrats Virgil and Bill!


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## grt1014 (Mar 9, 2012)

What were the payouts? I cant find the info anywere.


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## grt1014 (Mar 9, 2012)

shoulda coulda wuda... my freind and i caught 54lbs. We weighed all 12 of our fish last week. Just curious because i will fish this tourney in the future. 

how many entries and how payout? Big fish payout?


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## Fish Scalper (Oct 31, 2009)

Lot's of 50 pound plus bags last week when more females had eggs. The members of WBSA will be happy to have you though. Pretty easy to find seeing as they're listed here on OGF under the sponsors forum. Max possible payout with contingencies was probably close to $3,000.


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## Jim Stedke (Dec 5, 2005)

grt1014 said:


> shoulda coulda wuda... my freind and i caught 54lbs. We weighed all 12 of our fish last week. Just curious because i will fish this tourney in the future.
> 
> how many entries and how payout? Big fish payout?


Big whoop!!! I had 56 -1/2# last week. before the blow when they most all had eggs. 

When the winner win by 2 pounds or more we neither one would have touched him.

Don't get me wrong a bag of 5 over 50 is something to be quite proud of tournament or no tournament, but doing it when it counts, when the pressure is on and the clock is ticking, is special.


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## blue dolphin (Jul 18, 2004)

Amen Jim.

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


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## K gonefishin (May 4, 2004)

Throw your hat in the ring next year see how you do


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## Reel Thrill (Jun 14, 2010)

Congratulations Virgil and Bill. Very impressive catch, way to put it together on a day that counts. Let's not jump all over GRT here either guys. Welcome to OGF and good luck with your fishing. You can find great guys here willing to help with tips and techniques and by all means keep up the good work on the great lake. Make it a goal to fish that one next year and put another quality box together. 

Good fishing,
Capt. Tony Sambunjak
www.reelthrillcharters.net


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## b drake (Oct 22, 2011)

congrats to everyone who fished those some very amazing bags! 50 + lb thats just awsome!!:B


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## b drake (Oct 22, 2011)

congrats to everyone who fished those very amazing bags! 50 + lb thats just awsome!!


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## Juls (Apr 12, 2004)

Congrats Virgil and Bill! Job well done...

What an awesome day, eh?

Juls


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## grt1014 (Mar 9, 2012)

Reel Thrill said:


> Congratulations Virgil and Bill. Very impressive catch, way to put it together on a day that counts. Let's not jump all over GRT here either guys. Welcome to OGF and good luck with your fishing. You can find great guys here willing to help with tips and techniques and by all means keep up the good work on the great lake. Make it a goal to fish that one next year and put another quality box together.
> 
> Good fishing,
> Capt. Tony Sambunjak
> www.reelthrillcharters.net


Thank you Captian Tom. I have found great tips and advise on here. Especially Juls. (special thanks for the info she gave us on the trip i mentioned above) I have really enjoyed reading all the experiences and tips on here. I hope to someday contribute my experiences on our great fishery. Contrat's to everyone who competed in LEWT and especially the winners!! Great Job!!!!


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## Jim Stedke (Dec 5, 2005)

grt1014, If I over-reacted, it was unintentional. I'm more often more of a voice of reason. Thanks for saying something Tony. 

Maybe I've heard stuff like that a few times too many, over the years.


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## grt1014 (Mar 9, 2012)

Jim Stedke said:


> grt1014, If I over-reacted, it was unintentional. I'm more often more of a voice of reason. Thanks for saying something Tony.
> 
> Maybe I've heard stuff like that a few times too many, over the years.


Jim, it was a little over the top. I have bass fished all my life and very recently took up walleye fishing. I actually have never fished for walleye on purpose and tried to hire a guide on a very short term notice but was unscuessful. The guide (Juls) was kind enough to point me to the right area, and boat speed and lures to use. Also from reading many hours worth of post from others on here i was able to rig my boat, buy the right tackle and gear and go out on my first trip and knock em dead. A llittle luck (or alot) played into the picture too. I was excited to see that i could of competed with seasoned anglers with just the tips i learned from this message board alone. That says a lot about the quailty of this board. I have fished many local and regiona bass tournament over the years in this area and also in texas and have been somewhat competitve and placed and even won a few so i do have a little experience in fishing. your post was rude but i do understand how you may get tired of all the newbie coments on this board. Being kind and helpful will keep this board great. Rude comments will run good people away and take away from the great board this has become. Thanks again Juls and all the others for helping everyone enjoy our great resource.


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## ezmarc (Apr 6, 2004)

I understand very well Jim. This is the 2nd time you've been zinged by your and OGF's new friend. I think you meant Big Whoop instead of Big Whop.


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## Jim Stedke (Dec 5, 2005)

Originally Posted by grt1014 
shoulda coulda wuda... my freind and i caught 54lbs. We weighed all 12 of our fish last week. Just curious because i will fish this tourney in the future. 

how many entries and how payout? Big fish payout?

In rereading this I came up with a few questions, that I'd like you to answer, please, if you don't mind. 

1. Was the 54 pounds all 12 fish? 

2. Did you keep 12 fish?

3. Are you aware the tournament was won w/ 50 plus pounds for 5 fish.

4. Are you aware that the limit is 4 for March and April.

Thank you very much. 

I trust you find my post less rude, more polite, more mannerly, amiable, and dern near politically correct.

Now please excuse me, I seem to have a very large need, to get my tongue out of my cheek.


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## ErieRider (Mar 23, 2010)

Reel Thrill said:


> Congratulations Virgil and Bill. Very impressive catch, way to put it together on a day that counts. Let's not jump all over GRT here either guys. Welcome to OGF and good luck with your fishing. You can find great guys here willing to help with tips and techniques and by all means keep up the good work on the great lake. Make it a goal to fish that one next year and put another quality box together.
> 
> Good fishing,
> Capt. Tony Sambunjak
> www.reelthrillcharters.net


Tony!! Where you been? Thought you gave up on this over here. Me and Kenny were out this weekend and thought we saw you. Or at least a Cherokee that looked like yours! Ken has his new rig up and running so whenever you want to come over to team window nation let us know! Dave


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## rickerd (Jul 16, 2008)

Jim,
When I read his post I thought the same as you. To me it reads that he weighed 12 fish in at 54 pounds. A great day on Erie for most boats but not impressive for the last tourney. Since he is a seasoned fishing professional, I'm sure he understands how his comments would have sounded, coming from someone who appears to be new to the board. 

I guess a message board has limitations of not showing the "wink in your eye" when you challenge someones catch. I'm happy to hear everyone is catching so many. Now I have to get out for my first trip this year. Maybe next Mon or Tues weather permitting.

best,
Rickerd


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## grt1014 (Mar 9, 2012)

Jim Stedke said:


> Originally Posted by grt1014
> shoulda coulda wuda... my freind and i caught 54lbs. We weighed all 12 of our fish last week. Just curious because i will fish this tourney in the future.
> 
> how many entries and how payout? Big fish payout?
> ...


Jim, thanks for the post and claification. no harm no foul.

to answer your questions

1) 54 lbs was the 5 largest that we caught of the 12
2) we keep 4 total. 2 spawned out females and 2 males.
3) yes i was aware that 5 fish limit of 50+ won the tournament. thats what created my post because i thought it interesting that i was LUCKY enough to match that weight that won that tournament. I know that tornament fishing is way different and i have vast experience fishing tournaments. 
4) I am very aware of the 4 fish limit. I rarely keep any fish. I never keep bass on only a few walleye which used to be accidental catch when smallie fishing on erie.


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## Fish Scalper (Oct 31, 2009)

So did you grab the last spot for the Lakevue Tourney later this month?


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## grt1014 (Mar 9, 2012)

rickerd said:


> Jim,
> When I read his post I thought the same as you. To me it reads that he weighed 12 fish in at 54 pounds. A great day on Erie for most boats but not impressive for the last tourney. Since he is a seasoned fishing professional, I'm sure he understands how his comments would have sounded, coming from someone who appears to be new to the board.
> 
> I guess a message board has limitations of not showing the "wink in your eye" when you challenge someones catch. I'm happy to hear everyone is catching so many. Now I have to get out for my first trip this year. Maybe next Mon or Tues weather permitting.
> ...


Rickerd,
Your right, i should of been more clear on my comments to begin with and maybe it wouldnt of solicited any negative comments. I never claimed to be a pro fisherman... just seasoned... like you. Its amazing how easiy it is to read into things that people say. It's hard to see expressions, body language or read between the lines on message boards. i will be more clear on my post in future so i wont be misunderdstood. 

hope you and others on here have a great season.


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## Jim Stedke (Dec 5, 2005)

grt1014, Good. This unfortunate situation is in the past, so far as I'm concerned.

I've done the mid winter on line seminarsfor 6 years , and seminars at the Cleveland Boat Show for 30 years, only because I enjoy helping other people maximize their enjoyment of our great fishery. 

I help people I've never meet, and never will meet all the time. If I seemed rude I appologize. It was fueled by the ambiguous wording of your post. 

Good luck and good fishing.

No need to reply unless you feel the need, I see your response above.


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## grt1014 (Mar 9, 2012)

Thanks Jim, Like I said before no harm no foul. I should of been clearer in my original post. I will check out your seminar and hope to meet you someday. Have a great season and kkep up thegood info.


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## seahawk (Aug 1, 2008)

Way to go Virgil and Bill -- time to get the boat outfitted with all that pro bling and maybe a new hat.


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## Reel Thrill (Jun 14, 2010)

Looks like the fishing has been okay these past few weeks. Okay, maybe even a little better than just okay  . So nice to see Virgil going a little FISH CRAZY. I think Thump is lookin down on you Virgil and sending some dry humor thru those lines. And I will even wager that good old Jim Stedke has even cracked a smile in front of a lens in the last couple of weeks or so. We are blessed to fish a great lake that has a knack of putting herself back in shape over the years. I hope the Ninja's big momma grows a happy family of gators and that green goup stays away this summer. Thanks to all who puts up good info on the board and hopeful that chest pounders figure it out. Love the water, live the dream and pass it on.

Choking on feel good so I know BS is around the corner. Good to be back.

Good fishing,
Capt. Tony

www.reelthrillcharters.net


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## Fish-Crazy (Dec 1, 2006)

Thanks to all for the Congratulations, it sure feels sweet, and most of all thanks to my friend and partner BILL MILLER, who's as good a fisherman as anyone I know! I'm glad to have him on my team.

As we all know, no one is born knowing. Such as fishing, we all learned it with someone's help, and through our own trial and error. Now is a great opportunity for me to thank some people who helped me cut down on my learning curve:

Marc Hudson, who has been a mentor to me on the Western Basin, and hunting those fish in the area during spawning season. He pre-fished with me every year, and his wealth in knowledge helped me tremendously.

Mark Carr and Don Peters. To call these guys "Fishing Machines" would be an understatement. Their knowledge, expertise, and willingness to share was key in our success.

Jason Plant and Rod Weaver. These guys can find them and catch them under the toughest conditions. Glad to have you on my side. Rod, the "MOJO" ain't going back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Morgan Kiser, Brian Myers and Jim Stedke who pre-fished with us and brought valuable information to the table.

To WBSA, everyone there, and the sponsors who help make this happen.

Also congratulations to all the other winners and participants. This time we were the lucky ones!

Sunday will remain a day to remember for us. We started on the SW shore of South Bass. The steering bar between the motors broke the day before, so we had to work with the kicker the keep a straight line. We ran HJ-12 DD on one side 25' & 50' back and Reefrunners the same way on the other side. After about an hour of no action we heard the drag go off on the HJ 25' back. Looked back, but the board was gone. The rod was thumping, folded over to the water line. A snag? Picked up the rod and the fish was not budging. Tightened the drag, no way. Had to pump the rod to get the fish to the boat. Finally got a glimpse at the fish, and it was HUGE. I was sweating bullets then the fish took a nose dive, drag was too tight so I followed it with the rod half way in the water. the mono was so stretched it was whistling. Was able to turn it back and as it got close to the boat I took a couple of steps back and realized my legs were jelly and knees were shaking. Bill netted the fish and as he swung the net around I realized we had a 40" Musky instead of the state record Walleye.

At 10:00 am we picked up rods to go to D can where Mark and Don said they'll be fishing. We saw Jason and Rod net fish, but we decided to go anyway. When we got to the cans, we thought D can was the Niagara Reef can and the E can was D can, and could not find Mark and Don. We liked the marks on the fish finder and we set lines about 0.6 miles SE of D can on the can line, and trolled N to about 1/2 mile E of D can. We put the wind on our back so we don't have to play with the steering, and little did we know that the wind will push us on the "Path to Haven"! We set the same program and right out of the gate we had a 7 1/2 pounder hit the HJ Blue-Silver 50' back. For the next 5 minutes we were debating to switch all to HJs or not, we decided to slow down instead from 1.2 to 1.0 mph. (TY Marc). Instantly the 25' back Barbie Reefrunner took off and brought in a 12+ pound eye. Switched my inside to the same and within minutes it took an 11 pound eye. We switched all four rods to Barbie Reefrunners 25' back and within the next 1/2 mile we boated 9 to 12 eyes and our 52+ pound bag. 12, 11, 10, 10, 9, and it was only 12:15pm. As soon as we freed the net we had another fish on. The last two fish on the line were 6 & 7 lbs so we pulled lines and went to the beginning. We worked that line back and forth for the rest of the time trying to upgrade but we only came close with a couple of nines that did not tip the scale over the one we had.

Jim, hope you liked this story over the ones I told at the dinner table. I know I do, lol.


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## westwind (Feb 24, 2008)

hey virgil i am glad i got to meet all the guys in the group.we had a blast to have somebody in the group win it was outstanding. did you spend jasons $20 yet. Capt morgan////////////:B:B


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## jiggerman (Nov 2, 2009)

Im looking for a guy they call punky on this forum are you out there?


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## Jim Stedke (Dec 5, 2005)

Nice Virgil, Gotta love it when you get lost and discover the path to heaven. 

Same type thing happened to Jim Peterson when he won the PWT on Erie. The GPS went down, he made a turn, got off line, and was 1/2 mile away from where he "needed" to be when he hit a triple that won the tournament.

When it's your day, it's your day!!! 

Congrats on having one of those days, when it counts. You deserve it. 

Feels pretty good to come in knowing that, you've got fish that should win, but you still never know for sure. Really exciting!!! Hope you enjoyed it. 

Again congrats. Jim 

(I still feel bad about barking at you over that dull electric knife, and the wack job I did with it) Sorry. Your bud ... (I hope).


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## chartermax (Aug 10, 2007)

Congrats Virgil & Bill


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## jiggerman (Nov 2, 2009)

I know your lurking out there Francis. I thought you were gonna sign on soon.Congrats on the third place finish and congrats to the rest of the winners. Jiggerman Columbus,Ohio


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## da-animal (Aug 19, 2010)

Fish-Crazy said:


> Thanks to all for the Congratulations, it sure feels sweet, and most of all thanks to my friend and partner BILL MILLER, who's as good a fisherman as anyone I know! I'm glad to have him on my team.
> 
> As we all know, no one is born knowing. Such as fishing, we all learned it with someone's help, and through our own trial and error. Now is a great opportunity for me to thank some people who helped me cut down on my learning curve:
> 
> ...


Nice story and congrats on the win, that must have taken you all day to write


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