MERCURY WALLEYE CLASSIC CHAMPIONS

WALKER, Minn. The big one got away from Tim Lubrant and Mike Scherbing during Sunday's final day of the Mercury Walleye Classic on Leech Lake.

It turned out the veteran Minnesota anglers didn't need it as they reeled in the first-place prize of $17,000 in the largest walleye tournament ever contested on Leech. Lubrant, of Foreston and Scherbing, of Foley, took a slim lead into day two, then made all the right moves as conditions changed to finish at 39.45 pounds and claim the title.

"Last year we were four ounces away from getting the Comeback Award," said Scherbing. "I like this a lot better."

Second place went to Daniel Strohmayer of St. Francis, Minn., and Robert Landerville of Whipolt, Minn. They weighed in six-fish limits both days (15.01 pounds, 17.18 pounds) for a 32.19 total and $8,500. Husband and wife team Al and Bev Standly took third at 31.69 pounds. They earned $6,700 for that finish plus the Fenwick Male-Female Award -- another $750 in cash and a $1,000 gift certificate from Fenwick.

The 218 teams in the tournament were greeted by sunny skies and light winds early Saturday. Lubrant and Scherbing took advantage with a 22.12-pound catch that included a couple of fish in the 27-inch range. That gave them a slim lead over Sean and Kristine O'Brien and their 21.61-pound catch.

"During our prefishing, we found a lot of fish in different spots," said Scherbing. "And the first day we went and caught them where we'd found them. I didn't think we'd pull the big fish that we did. That was a surprise." Slow-trolling spinner rigs with small blades and large fatheads was the right pattern for the winners Saturday. Then everything changed.

"We had probably a 20-degree drop in the temperature and a change in the wind with it blowing out of the northwest," said Lubrant.

When they reached their hotspot from Saturday, Scherbing and Lubrant saw no fish on their electronics.

"Things changed," said Scherbing. "So we left there, became mobile and picked up a few here and a few there."

Still, the first fish didn't hit the livewell until10:30 a.m. "We were getting a little nervous," admitted Lubrant. "My partner did a great job. He's the one who decided to make some changes in presentation that kept us on fish."

"We threw everything we had in the box at them today," added Scherbing. "We finally found a combination that worked -- real light blue and white jigheads tipped with really small fatheads moving real slow."

At one point during the day, Scherbing hooked a heavy fish that broke his line after a brief battle. Half an hour later, Lubrant hooked the same fish. "It was a great big one that just wouldn't come off the bottom," said Scherbing. "Then Tim had it hooked and we knew it was the same fish because it came loose, but my line was wrapped around Tim's hook."

It didn't matter. By day's end, Lubrant and Scherbing had 17.33 pounds, including a 5.93-pounder that was third-largest on day two, and their biggest tournament victory.

Landerville and Strohmayer, who both have years of experience on Leech, worked a small hump in 13 feet of water with jig-and-minnow combinations. They overcame boat problems to make a run at the title.

"We were dead in the water for an hour and a half," said Landerville. "Fortunately, my partner is good with that kind of thing. He finally got us going again."

Landerville and Strohmayer had a fourth-place finish in a previous Mercury Classic.

"We needed another big fish," said Strohmayer. "This year we just had good, solid fish with one 5-pounder in there."

The top two teams also complimented the tournament's organizers. "They are just great people who are incredible to work with," said Lubrant. "I've fished a couple other tournaments, and this one is the best," added Strohmayer. "This is probably the only one I will fish from now on."

BIG FISH AWARDS: John Melhaus and Jason Pederson didn't catch as many fish as they would have liked, but what they lacked in quantity they made up for in quality by claiming big-fish honors both days. Their 7.48-pound walleye on day one and their 6.91-pounder on day two were each worth $842.95 and when the 7.48-pounder stood up as big fish of the tournament, they pocketed another $633. A mere .04 of a pound separated Melhaus and Pederson from Brad Davis and Brian Davis, whose 7.44-pound fish was second on day one ($591.86) and second-largest overall. Third place on day one ($358.70) went to Al Maas and Dianne Maas with a 6.35-pound walleye.

On day two, Kelly Hansen and Brian Hendericks were second with a 6.01-pounder ($591.86) and tournament winners Tim Lubrant and Mike Scherbing were third with a 5.93-pounder ($358.70).

BERKLEY ADULT-YOUTH DIVISION: John and Nathan Henderlite took home $750 in cash plus a $1,000 gift certificate from Berkley as the top-finishing father-son team. They weighed in at 21.18 pounds and finished 38th.

ABU GARCIA ALL-FEMALE DIVISION: Michelle Barrett and Jenni Radcliff claimed $750 in cash and a $1,000 gift certificate from Abu Garcia as the top team in their division. They caught a 12-fish limit weighing 17.18 pounds and were 65th overall.

MITCHELL VETERAN ANGLER DIVISION: Donald Rosen and David Anderson, father of PWT veteran Sam Anderson, topped this division with 18.43 pounds and a 53rd-place finish. They won $750 in cash and a $1,000 gift certificate from Mitchell.

NORTHERN LIGHTS CASINO 'INCREDIBLY MEDIOCRE' AWARD: While not an honor contestants covet, Craig Gaasvig and Keith Dahl were happy to collect $750 in cash and a $1,000 voucher from Northern Lights Casino as the 125th-place team. LOWRANCE 'YOU NEED DIRECTION' AWARD: Rick Wojcik and Russ Yonkee caught exactly one fish in the tournament, but still walked away with a Lowrance GPS unit and a set of Reel Bottom maps apiece.

COLEMAN 'COOL UNDER PRESSURE' AWARD: The team of Greg Hinrichs and Beth Kunkel zeroed on day one, but rebounded in a big way with 17.34 pounds Sunday. They advanced 103 places to 63rd overall and carried off $500 in cash, two Coleman steel coolers, a pair of Coleman lanterns and two Coleman fireplaces.

IRISH SETTER 'HAPPY FEET' AWARD: Anglers who purchased Irish Setter fishing shoes before or during the tournament were eligible for this drawing. The $500 cash prize went to Lance Wendlandt, who finished 189th in the tournament. Tournament official Tommy Skarlis also noted that "numerous anglers who didn't win this award still felt like they walked away winners because they purchased one of the best pairs of fishing shoes on the market."

MERCURY OUTBOARD AWARD: Delavon LaMoore and partner Janice Pomerville had a tough weekend on the water with no fish to weigh in, but all was not lost. LaMoore was the winner of a drawing for the grand prize of a 9.9 horsepower Mercury Outboard.

Leech Lake Mercury Walleye Classic sponsors include; Mercury Outboards, Irish Setter, Berkely, Abu Garcia, Fenwick, Mitchell, Northern Lights Casino, Coleman Outdoor Products, Aqua Vu, Lowrance Electronics, Northland Fishing Tackle, Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame, MarineMax/Cochrans, Centennial National Bank, Hardees of Walker, LakeView Inn, Walker Bait, AmericInn of Walker, Maxxum Rigging, Musky House Marine, Thompson Rent-All, Charlies Up-North, Reeds Sporting Goods, Best Western Bemidji, 1st. National Bank of Walker, Off Shore Tackle, Lund Boats, Reel Bottom Maps, The "Judge" Rulers, Subway of Walker, Grain Bin Restaurant, Adventure North Resort, Leech Lake Guide Coalition, Hummingbird Press, WWW.WalleyeCentral.Com, Leech Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.