2009 Fall Evening Classic

2009 Fall Evening Classic

This was the last tournament of our season and the Fall Classic was redefined with something a little different; a one day tournament from 2pm to 10pm.  This was a quick tournament which tested our angling skills in varying conditions.  Throughout the tournament hours, anglers were fighting a chilly wind with transitions of Walleye from bottom huggers and suspended fish to the finally of the shallow evening bite. But before we get into the fishing we need to provide accolades to our sponsors and supporters.

A special thanks goes out to Pueblo State Park for hosting our first evening classic.  Pueblo State Parks have great facilities and faculty; our hat goes of to them for all their efforts and support for the CWA.  Without their support and cooperation we would not be able to give our anglers opportunities as we have to date for tournaments.  Thank you Pueblo State Park for all that you do for the CWA and for the general public.

Thanks to our continuous sponsor support from Crowley Marine featuring Ranger, Sylvan, and Gillgetter boats.  Crowley Marine is family owned and operated in Denver and has been in operations for over 35 years; Crowley knows boats and can help you with new purchases, find obscure parts or offer award winning service and maintenance.  They are known word wide and recognized for finding obscure parts via internet sales. Their customer satisfaction is always excellent. www.crowleymarine.com

Crowley Marine Pro Staff member Brent Henry and Shane Klein have been our boat inspectors at every tournament representing Crowley Marine, next time you see them thank them for their efforts and support.  If you are not sure who Brent and Shane were, they were the team with the amazing blue, black and white Ranger 620.  This boat was their demo for the tournament season and was just recently was purchased by one of our own Club members, congratulations Jim.  Brent and Shane have represent the CWA and Crowley Marine very well over the course of the year and we look forward to building a foundation on what we have established this year. Thank you.

Also, a special thanks to Pro Staff Gene Gene Metschke from Crowley Marine showing off his Evinrude E-Tech’s powering his Lowe.  Gene has been a wealth of knowledge for demonstrating the reliability and power of his Evinrude’s.   All of Crowley’s Pro Staff are excellent people which are a direct reflection of Crowley Marine.

If you are in the Denver or surrounding areas, come down and see what Crowley has to offer, you will not be sorry you stopped by.

Another special thanks to the Colorado Springs Sportsman’s Warehouse.  Darrin donated discounted coupons to the club which were given to all participants and park faculty who made all this all happen.  Sportsman’s is here to stay and show your support by stopping in and thanking Sportsman’s for always supporting the CWA.  Thank you Darrin for all your support throughout the 2009 season, we look forward to our next purchase at your store.

Fishing was a little slow to everyone’s surprise, but as usual, teams found active fish. The October weather stayed long enough to make conditions a little chilly but very manageable. With the first fish coming in at 4:30pm by Hudson and Barron, a 25.5” Walleye weighing in at 4.81lbs.  It proved to be a tough bite and the early evening bite was slow for Walleye with many teams reporting high number of Smallmouth Bass  reaching up to the 20” mark, but as the winds calmed fishing picked up around 9pm when teams found active Walleye in the shallows in 4-10 FOW.  From 9-10pm and right up to when everyone had to be back in for weigh-in; the Walleye lit up for a few teams.  The team of Dan Stringer and Robert Auen (Robert’s 1^st  Walleye tournament) fishing out of Dan’s Ranger 620 VS powered by Mercury engines, caught the big fish of the tournament and sealed the “Big Fish” award with a 7.55 lb 27.5” Walleye.  They followed up with a kicker fish weighing in at 5.35 lbs.  Between the two fish, they sealed 1^st place for the tournament.  This was Robert’s first ever fishing tournament and what a way to start off your first tournament.  Their secret to success was fishing shallow using stick baits in 4’ of water focusing on rock structures.  The team of Hudson and Barron caught their big Walleye using Lindy rigs with crawlers in the early afternoon focusing on contours and transition breaks which earned them second place.

Overall, the evening tournament went very well and was a success. All participants seemed to enjoy the variation on tournament times and had the opportunity to meet some new people.  With light crowds, open water and some willing Walleye, this was an excellent mini fall tournament with great people which will happen in the future.  Thank you all for participation and congratulations to our top placing teams.  We look forward to the 2010 season.