MICHLIGS' DOMINATE THE 2013 WMT SERIES™ CHAMPIONSHIP
MICHLIGS' DOMINATE THE 2013 WMT SERIES™ CHAMPIONSHIP
The World Muskie Tournament Series™ (WMT Series™) finished the 2013 season with the Invitational Championship™ on Lake Namakagon in Clam Lake Wisconsin that rewrote the record books for the thirteen years of Championships. Thirty one (31) muskies would be registered for the event with twenty three (23) being captured on Saturday that average just a fraction under forty two inches (42" a new record for the Championship) and eight muskie (8) muskies tallied on Sunday that averaged forty two and three quarter inches (42 ¾") beating the record set the previous day. The first record to fall would come at the hands of the husband and wife team of Matt and Jessica Buck when they landed the biggest muskie for the Invitational Championship™ with a 49 ¾ “beast at 1:06pm on Saturday eclipsing the old record of 48 inches captured by Dan and Mike Wojtusik at the 2006 Championship on the Eagle River Chain. Perhaps the most impressive record to fall was by the Michlig brothers Ben and Matt who won the event with four muskies with a total of 168.25 inches topping the old mark of 158.25 inches set by Phil Schweik and Pete Hilman in 2002 at the Pike/Round Lake Chain. Eighty teams had participated in the 2013 WMT Series™ Invitational Championship™ that paid out the biggest cash purse of any muskie tournament for the season at $32,800.00.
As the dawn began to break with dancing lights on the darkened water, the competitors filed by the starting point with feelings of a promising day of fast muskie action and excitement. It wouldn't long after the 6:30am start that the first team would score on a muskie at 6:50am with a 40.50 incher but Ben and Matt Michlig weren't done yet, they popped another muskie at 7:15am that tallied 39.25 inches making the brothers the early leaders in the clubhouse. The next team to double up for the contest would be Kyle Weber and Jorden Gustman with muskies of 39 inches at 12:29pm and a dandy 47 incher at 1:00pm. The lead would change hands for the third time at 1:45pm when Marcus Malyuk and Ben Bain scored on the second fish of the day that measured 41 inches to go along with their earlier catch of 45.50 inches at 11:00am. With only five minutes remaining on the clock, Joe Perry and Rory Tuff would land their own 45.50 incher and when added to their 42.25 inch tally at 9:37am, the duo would be the leaders after day one.
Sunday start was not unlike the previous day with the muskie action fast a furious out of the gate with the first muskie captured by Phil Markgraf and Randy Kauranen at 6:40am with a 46.25 incher given the team the first fish honors and the big fish of the day. By 7:20am, first place had been decided when the Michlig's added to their score with a 43 incher and an earlier catch of 45.50 inches at 6:50am to be the only team to quadruple for the contest. Dan and Mike Wojtusik would be the fifth team to score on multiple fish when they tallied a 41 inch muskie at 8:32am to add to their previous day's total of 41 inches at 7:58am. The sixth and final team to put two “on the board" would be Matt Raley and Nate Osfar when the measured a 44 incher at 9:35am to add to their Saturday's 39 ¾" muskie at 9:35am giving the team a fifth place finish.
Other teams to score on muskie during Saturday of the Invitational Championship™ were: Jarod Leslie/John Korbel 40.25" at 7:15am, John Jahnz/Patrick Schmidt 42 ¾" at 7:58am, Kent Stadler/Doug Bloch 37.25" at 7:49am, Dave Castonia/Steve Tilque 37.25" at 9:00am, Prescott Mahner/Ben Gehrig 41.50" at 10:25am, Joel Walczak/Rick Godager 45.50" at 10:28am, Scott Gindt/Scott Lewandowski 37"at 11:06am, Dawson Usack/Mike Vogel 40"at 12:00pm, Scott Kieper/Paul Neste 47.50" at 12:40pm, Chris Vaisvil/John Latall 38:at 12:45am, Joey Rozanski/Mark Gillich 36.50" at 12:52pm, and Dan & Tim Busch 48.50" at 3:25pm.
Other teams to tally muskies on Sunday were: Marty Forman/Seamus Hanly 40" at 7:15am, Dan Ballweg/Mark Caine 42.50" at 7:40am, and Jason Baratka/Jason Weik 39.50" at 11:28am.
The top ten finishers for the WMT Series™ 2013 Invitational Championship™ are:
1st - Ben & Matt Michlig
2nd - Joe Perry/Rory Tuff
3rd - Marcus Malyuk/Ben Bain
4th - Kyle Weber/Jorden Gustman
5th - Matt Raley/Nate Osfar
6th - Dan & Mike Wojtusik
7th - Matt & Jessica Buck
8th - Dan & Tim Busch
9th - Scott Kieper/Paul Neste
10th - Phil Markgraf/Randy Kauranen
At the end of the WMT Series™ regular season of tournaments, questions had been answered as to who would be crowned champions in each circuit and the tournament series team of the year. Ben Peterson and Clay Heller won the Muskie Country Tournament Circuit™ Championship with 164.05 points and Phil Markgraf and Randy Kauranen won the Pro-MAC™ Championship with 259.2 points. Phil Markgraf and Randy Kauranen also took home, for the second year in a row, the Lapp Trophy™ (the team of the year award name after the first team to win the honor in 2001, Rick and Dick Lapp) with 392 points. Winning the Hunter Trophy™ (for the biggest muskie registered during the regular season, name after Mike and Ben Hunter who was the first team to win the award in 2001) with a 47 ¾ inch muskie on the Manitowish Chain. There would be a three way tie for first place in the Tooth Tamer Muskie Rods Sportsmanship Award™ but by the rules of the tournament tie-breaker, the team of Rick McClellan and Ryan Wahlgren took home the trophy along with six (6) new Tooth Tamer Muskie Rods for their efforts.
At the conclusion of the regular season, not even the Hunter Trophy Award™ winners qualify for a free graphite muskie reproduction from the famous Fittante Taxidermy, missing it by just one quarter of an inch but there was still one event to be completed. By the end of the first day of competition at the Invitational Championship, Matt and Jessica Buck would earn and Fittante Taxidermy replica with their 49 ¾ giant, but that wouldn't be all, with just five minutes to go on Saturday, Dan and Tim Busch would tally a dandy 48.50 “ muskie to also receive a graphite reproduction from Fittante Taxidermy.
All WMT Series™ events are open to the public and we hope you will join in on the fun and excitement. For additional information, log on to our web sites at www.WMTSeries.com or www.ProfessionalMuskieAnglerCircuit.com for more details or email us at HunterMD@newnorth.net or call 715-277-4411. The 2014 Pro-MAC™ and Muskie Country Tournament Circuit™ schedule and entry forms will be on the web sites soon, so please don't hesitate to enter in to the world's largest muskie tournament circuit.
A special thanks to all of our Sponsor Partners of the 2013 WMT Series™ that helped make the season such a great experience for all of our grateful anglers; Tooth Tamer Rods, Fittante Taxidermy, Tackle Industries Super D, T's Tackle, Dream Catcher Bucktails, Yakima Baits, www.MudPuppyLures.com , Optimum Baits, River Run Tackle, Trophy Hunter Accessories-Glittertail, Musky Mayhem Tackle, Figure 8 Lures, Lil' Hustler Tackle, Tyrant, Man Cave Bait Co., and Nauti Lures, LLC.