June 2, 2015
15 two-man teams converged on La Qui Parle near Montevideo, MN this past weekend with one goal in mind, to take home the beautiful Warrior 1898 with a trailer and a Yamaha 150 HP motor valued at over $50,000. “This is the largest purse for a 15 team tournament I have ever seen” Powrtran Marketing Director Steve Hiemenz remarked “and with no entry fee, it really is something special.”
Niklasch and his partner Mark Kumorkiewicz battled the harsh Friday conditions to bring back an astounding 5 fish bag totaling 32.20 lbs.-roughly 18 lbs. more than the second place team. Day 2 was a different story as the leaders struggled early and watched the team of Chaz Dobias and Ryan Hylla from MN pull in several large fish. “Unless you’ve experienced it, it’s impossible to describe” Kumorkiewicz remarked when asked how it felt to watch competitors pound the big fish while they had one small one on the card. The stress of protecting a lead with such a huge purse on the line was starting to get to them. “We just put our rods down and had a little powwow, we needed to regroup” Niklasch said. And regroup they did as they rebounded to pull another outstanding 5 fish bag of over 18 lbs. to win the tournament by almost 21 lbs.
This victory marked the second straight for Niklasch and Kumorkiewicz as they took the top spot at the AWWS Wisconsin Division Nitro Boats Open May 17th besting the field of 85 boats. This has them currently sitting in second place in the Wisconsin Team of the Year race (The Shootout results don’t count) and in great position to make it back to the National Shootout next year.
Niklasch, from Oconomowoc, WI is also a full-time guide on Green Bay. His company, Your Fishin’ Pal Guide Service is one of the most popular guide services in the area.
“We are very excited about what Lynn brings to the table” Hiemenz says “He is a remarkably versatile fishermen who can adapt his game to the water and conditions he’s facing and that is evidenced by his coming from the big water trolling he is used to and winning a tournament on a smaller lake.”
Up next, Niklasch and Kumorkiewicz face off against another large field on June 28th near Petenwell County Park in WI for the third AWWS Wisconsin Division Qualifier.