2024 NWT Championship Qualifier Announcement

SPRINGFIELD, MO (August 6, 2024) – With the conclusion of the 2024 season of the Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s National Walleye Tour (NWT) presented by Progressive regular season, all eyes are now on the 2024 National Walleye Tour Championship to be held in September on Lake Huron in Oscoda, MI.

The event will feature the Top-41 Pro-Anglers and Co-Anglers in Progressive Angler of the Year standings who have qualified for this year’s championship. Pro-Anglers who are competing in the no-entry fee championship will be fishing for a first-place prize of a 2024 Ranger 620FS powered by a Mercury 250 Pro XS . The winning pro will also earn $30,000 cash as well as any additional money from various contingency programs.  Co-Anglers will be fishing for a first-place prize of $6,500. At the end of the event, one in two anglers will walk away with a paycheck from the championship.

In addition to the championship title on the line, Pro- and Co-Anglers will be fishing the final tournament of the season and will be earning points toward the 2024 Progressive Angler of the Year honors. Not only is this a life changing title for any angler, the 2024 Progressive Angler of the Year will also walk away with a 2024 Nitro ZV21 powered by a Mercury 300 Pro XS. Past Angler of the Year title holders include Duane Hjelm, Korey Sprengel, and John Hoyer.

Launch/Weigh-In:

Au Sable Harbor of Refuge

AuSable Charter TWP, MI 48750

Dates: September 4-6, 2024

Take-off: 7:00 a.m. or first safe light

Weigh-In: 3:00 p.m.

Here are the 2024 National Walleye Tour Championship qualifiers based on official Progressive Angler of the Year points:

Pro-Anglers

  1. HUNTER NITTI
  2. DYLAN NUSSBAUM
  3. TOM HUYNH
  4. ERIC MCQUOID
  5. WILL PAPPENFUS
  6. JOHN HOYER
  7. DUANE HJELM
  8. MAX WILSON
  9. KENT ANDERSEN
  10. MIKE DEFIBAUGH
  11. KEVIN MCQUOID
  12. AUSTIN TOMASEK
  13. DRAKE HERD
  14. DUSTIN T MINKE
  15. KEITH KAVAJECZ
  16. JAKE CAUGHEY
  17. JUSTIN SCHNEIDER
  18. DANIEL HARPER
  19. JACOB ELL
  20. COREY HEISER
  21. JAKE LAPINE
  22. BRIAN BJORKMAN
  23. NICK SCHERTZ
  24. JOHN KOPCOK
  25. CHASE PARSONS
  26. BENJAMIN TEETS
  27. EVAN ROSEMORE
  28. MARK COURTS
  29. RYAN DEMPSEY
  30. BILL SHIMOTA
  31. JASON PRZEKURAT
  32. CRAIG SLEEMAN
  33. DEAN ARNOLDUSSEN
  34. MATHEW LEBEN
  35. JIM CARROLL
  36. CHRIS BERGLUND
  37. MCKEEVER DAHLBERG
  38. THOMAS SLAWATYCKI
  39. TOM KEMOS
  40. DUSTIN KJELDEN
  41. 41. MIKE ZELL

Co-Anglers

  1. RANDY VIKE
  2. JOE ARTIM
  3. KEITH SLIFKA
  4. SAM BENGTSON
  5. MARK BEGOTKA
  6. CHUCK HARMSTON
  7. SCOTT PETERSON
  8. RYAN SWENSON
  9. MIKE DALLMAN
  10. STEVEN ROSEMORE
  11. TAYLOR TROGSTAD
  12. NICHOLAS DRAEGER
  13. COLTON DARROW
  14. KEEGAN EINERSON
  15. DONALD KLYM
  16. CHRIS LANNBRECHT
  17. STEVE BODINGER
  18. PAUL STOKES
  19. WILLIAM BOLDEN
  20. GREG FISCHER
  21. JEFF SASS
  22. DREW SCHUTZ
  23. THOMAS BLANCHARD
  24. CALVIN ROSE
  25. ED CALLAWAY
  26. BRYCE RAMTHUN
  27. RALPH JANZER JR
  28. GREG BALLERING
  29. JEREMY BENGTSON
  30. JOHN WESSEL
  31. JIM WOOD
  32. JOEL NICKEL
  33. BRANDON MURPHY
  34. DAMON GOHLKE
  35. ALLEN HANSON
  36. JEFF CORTEZ
  37. CASEY MCGILL
  38. JAMES HARDESTY
  39. JOHN HERD
  40. GREG SANDER
  41. 41. RYAN MOE

Additional information on the events, contingency prizes, and more exciting announcements will be shared soon. For more information on updated angler qualifications, please visit www.nationalwalleyetour.com.

The National Walleye Tour consists of four regular-season events and a no-entry-fee championship. Each regular season event is a two-day tournament and delivers over a 100 percent payback. Pro-Anglers compete against other Pro-Anglers, and Co-Anglers compete against other co-anglers in a shared weight format.

For more information on rules and tournament payouts, visit https://www.nationalwalleyetour.com/

2025 National Walleye Tour Schedule:

  • April 24-25: Bismark, ND | Missouri River
  • May 22-23: La Crosse, WI | Mississippi River
  • July 10-11:  Alpena, MI | Lake Huron
  • August 7-8: Dunkirk, NY | Lake Erie
  • September 3-5: Bay of Green Bay | Marinette, WI

For more information on the National Walleye Tour, including the 2024 tournament coverage and 2025 schedule, fact sheets, photos, and official tournament results from past events, visit nationalwalleyetour.com. Subscribing to the NWT e-newsletter is the best way to receive up-to-date information, registration announcements, sponsor incentives, and Outdoor TeamWorks news.

About National Walleye Tour

National Walleye Tour (NWT) is part of the Outdoor Team Works family of fishing tournaments. The OTW brand offers a wide range of fishing events from professional tournaments to grassroots fishing derbies. All events are supported by some of the top companies in the nation and include on-site activation and activities, as well as extensive media support. For live updates and information, follow NWT on Facebook and Instagram or visit https://outdoorteamworks.com/ to catch up on all the action.

2024 Proud Sponsors

Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Progressive, Nitro Boats, Ranger Boats, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Aftco, Garmin, Power-Pole, TH Marine, Sunline, Gamakatsu, TrollMasterPanther MarineGemini G2