Bob Ploof and Jeff Eagle waited at the end of the weigh in line on Saturday, waiting and listening to teams weigh in their day one fish. When they finally got to the scales, it was worth the weight! As Weigmaster George Allen put it, as he hefted the bag onto the scale, “Nice basket of fish, we have a new leader!” The official weight had yet been displayed but George could tell these six fish were much bigger. Eighteen point nine-four, as George belted out, The crowd gathered around erupted with excitement and cheer.
There also was a pig of a fish in the basket that was destine to become big fish for the day, there was no question. Seven point eight-six, and the crowd erupted again. Jeff gave the fist pump and they secured the lead by over three lbs going into the last day of the tournament.
On Sunday, most thought that with a three plus pound lead it would be difficult to catch Bob and Jeff, however there were a few teams that made it much closer than Bob and Jeff would have liked. Kurt and Channon Sonderman made things real close with a 15.24 lb basket. Scott Day and Josh Wilson made a big run a the day one leaders with a 15.74 lb weight. And in the end, Bob and Jeff stood at the scales with a respectable weight of 11.42; just enough to secure the top spot in the 2010 Washington State Walleye Championship and the guaranteed $10,000 by Marks Marine.
“Its been a long time coming” Bob said after I asked him how he felt, like somebody just lifted an elephant off his back. “I have had a few chances before, and I didn’t get the win, this feels great today.”
Seventy one teams participated in the 2010 Washington State Walleye Championship hosted by the Spokane Walleye Club. Fishing was good, and the talk from many anglers was about the numbers of fish that were being caught. Some teams reported that they were boating 40-60 fish a day. “Nightcrawlers were the ticket”, noted Pro Angler Walleye Team Captain Ron Charlton, “We were down to the bottom of the worm bucket.”
The Lowrance Angler of the Year was also decided in this last event of five in the Washington State Walleye Circuit. Coming down to just 2.27 points, Don Ghramm secured his third consecutive Angler of the Year title over friend and fellow angler Greg Osborne. Both Greg and Don had remarkable seasons, Ghramm winning consecutive tournaments at Moses Lake and the Washington Governors Cup. Osborne finished in the top five in four of the five tournaments. That’s an incredible feat by both anglers and it came down to the last day to determine the 2010 Angler of the Year.
