Gill/Moen win Morson Walleye Challenge

By Nancy Miller
Morson Tourism Assoc.

The Lake of the Woods Walleye Challenge held their second tournament on October 9 & 10 at the Morson Government Dock. The weather was unseasonably warm and sunny and a complete opposite from 2009’s snow and wind that caused the tournament to be shorted by a day.
Organizer Pat Handorgan was pleased with the community support and the number of participating teams for the event.
Twenty one teams participated for $6,500 in cash and prizes with 100% of entry fees going back to the top placing entries and prizes for hidden weight, top finishing husband/wife team and top finishing parent/child team. The child could be over 18 years of age, to be eligible for the parent/child team.
This year’s event had three husband/wife teams and seven parent/child teams. Saturday had Team # 4 of Virginia Handorgan and son Patrick come in early with the largest fish caught during the tournament at 8.68 lbs. This fish was almost 2 lbs larger than last year’s largest fish. Teams could weigh a large fish during angling hours and could return fishing until the weigh-in deadline. Virginia and Patrick finished 3rd for the day with a total of 13.67 lbs behind Team # 3 Terry Gill and Jason Moen with 14.08 lbs and Team # 17 Jason Gibbons and Oliver Gibbins with 14.85 lbs.
After the weigh-ins all anglers and spectators were invited for a turkey supper complete with potatoes, gravy, stuffing and dessert at the Morson Hall. Lake of the Woods Township Mayor Valarie Pizey welcomed anglers and spectators. After supper, a live auction was held that included an original painting by Elvis Adams and other donated items.
Day two saw a cooler morning and several changes in the leader board with teams going up and others down. Team # 10 Edmund Indian and Jaysen Indian coming in early with the largest walleye for Sunday at 7.72 lbs but were unable to find more fish to complete their day.
Team # 13 John Mork and wife CJ Mork finished in 6th place out of the prize board but winning the $300 top finishing husband and wife team with 22.76 lbs.
Virginia Handorgan and son Patrick finished in 5th place with 22.93 lbs.
Team # 16 Melvin Major and Ryan Kirkrude moved up from 12th place to 4th with a two day total of 23.16 lbs. Jason Gibbons and Oliver Gibbins dropped to 3rd place fishing with 23.92 lbs.
Team # 7 Dan Godin and son Bryce Godin moved from 6th place to 2nd with 25.10 lbs and also the top finishing parent/child team prize.
Terry Gill and Jason Moen had the 3rd largest bag of the day but it was big enough to put them on top with at total of 26.87 lbs and the prize of $2,100.
After the weigh-ins, anglers returned to the hall for supper and prize presentation. The $300 Hidden Weight prize went to Team # 20 Ken Vogan and son Patrick.
The $200 Angler Draw went to Team # 4 Virginia Handorgan and Patrick Gibbins. Next year’s event will be held Thanksgiving weekend, October 8 & 9th, 2011 in Morson.