Twice as nice! Jason and Oliver Gibbins win their second RRWT!

By Ken Johnston
Editor

After day 1 of the 10th annual Rainy River Walleye Tournament (RRWT) it looked as though Team 16 were poised to win it all, but what a difference a day can make!
Team 16, John Blight and Sean Gaudry quit fishing at 11:15 a.m. on day 1 having 16.16 lbs. of walleye in their live well. The pair said that the main reason they quit was that the two big fish they had in the well actually flipped and flopped around causing the live well to stop working. Their one day weight was big enough that they almost would have won the tournament in 2001, 2002 or 2006 when 17.3 lbs., 16.3 lbs. and 18.7 lbs. were weighed in over two days to crown champs.
At the end of day 1 Blight and Gaudry held more than a two pound lead over former champion Doug McBride and his new partner Zack McBride who had 13.9 lbs. But just behind them were perennial local favourites Fred Foulger and Dickie Byrnes at 13.8 lbs.
Rounding out the top five on the first day was Yogi McCormick/Tom McCormick (12.69 lbs.) and former (2004) champs Jason and Oliver Gibbins (12.59 lbs.)
As tradition goes, the top five from day 1 were held back on day 2 until the very end to create suspense and excitement and boy did it ever. When former champs John and Ethan Swentik (2006) weighed in 15 lbs. on day 2 in perhaps one of the biggest come backs on tournament history, the crowd wondered who else might be holding a big basket that was yet to weigh in. The Swentiks catapulted from 58th position to the top of the pack with a total weight of 18.23 lbs. They eventually finished 6th.
Long time tournament anglers Jamie and Jeremy Westman ended up with the highest weight of the tourney before the top five were brought into the tent to be weighed. However they held less than a four pound lead over Blight and Gaudry.
Jason and Oliver Gibbins were the first of the five to weigh in and they did not disappoint the crowd weighing another solid basket at 10.70 lbs. for a two day total of 23.29 lbs.
Yogi and Tom McCormick then came through the tent but when they reached the scale they only had one fish weighing .90 lbs which saw them eventually finish 24th overall.
Doug and Zack McBride also were nearly skunked the second day only weighing one fish to add 3 lbs. which dropped them to 11th overall.
The next pair of anglers, Fred Foulger and Dickie Byrnes, have traditionally had great day 1’s at the RRWT and proof of that is the fact that they have been in the top five boat parade five of the ten years the RRWT has run. However, every year except for this year some have said they have been “cursed.” Well the curse was broken this year as they had two solid days weighing in three fish and adding 8.59 lbs. to their total which would see them finish second with 22.39 lbs.
First on day 1, Blight and Gaudry were the only thing left standing between the Gibbins and being the first team to ever win the RRWT twice. While they had four fish the second day, they only added 3.76 lbs. and that sent the crowd into a frenzy as they realized the Jason and Oliver Gibbins were the new champs and the first repeat champs.
While the top two teams were only separated by 9/10ths of a pound, their actual fishing experiences were completely opposite.
Jason Gibbins said, “We caught more fish in two days this year than in all the other years combined.” He noted they caught almost 40 fish this year.
On the other hand Dickie Byrnes said, “What we weighed in is what we caught.” Had they caught one more fish, even a little one they may very well have been the champs this year.
The Gibbins team fished west both mornings and then east in the afternoons. Most of their fish they caught jigging and Jason said they switched up colors frequently using pink, orange and silver. “We only caught one good size fish trolling with crank baits.”
“We just could not believe there were as many fish in the river as there was given the warmer temperature of the water than the lake,” said Jason.
When asked how it felt to be the first to repeat as champs, Jason said, “The only reason we kept coming back is because people kept saying there is no way you can win it again.”
Jason and Oliver do fish many tournaments but for the most part they fish bass competitions. “The only walleye we do is this one and the one at Wigwam (near Baudette, MN).
This win was their first top finish of the year and Jason said that most of the money they won ($15,000) will be used to pay bills for the entire summer. They did finish 2nd at the Kenora Bass tourney and 7th in Sioux Narrows.
Dickie said, “We thought we might have them with about 9 lbs.” Well they were just shy of that. “But we are happy we have broken the curse and this is the best we ever did!”
Byrnes and Foulger fished west of Rainy River the entire tournament and used lead head jigs for the most part. They caught two of their fish trolling, the rest jigging.
The biggest fish on Day 1 ($500) was caught by Kevin Marchuk and Jason Amundsen (7.67 lbs.).
The biggest fish on Day 2 ($500) was caught by Darren and Dave Armstrong (6.93 lbs.).
Hidden Weight Day 1 ($300) was 3.22 lbs. and was won by Gerry Jolicouer and Anthony Mason (3.22 lbs.).
Hidden Weight Day 2 ($300) was 6.93 lbs. There was at tie at 6.4 lbs. between Bill Godin/Ralph Galusha and Frank McWhinnie/Frank Grunewald.
The Early Bird prize ($1,000) was won by Rick and Mark Thompson.
The Top Princecraft Team ($1,000) was John Blight and Sean Gaudry.
The largest overall tournament basket of fish ($1,000) was caught by John Blight and Sean Gaudry on Day 1 (16.16 lbs.).
The River Champs (top team fishing both Emo and RR tournies) ($600) was Wayne Angus and Rick Pruys.
Prize breakdown:
1st-Jason and Oliver Gibbins-$15,000
2nd-Fred Foulger and Dickie Byrnes-$7,500
3rd-John Blight and Sean Gaudry-$3,500
4th-Jamie and Jeremy Westman-$2,800
5th-Jerry Elliot and Doug Anderson-$2,000
6th-John and Ethan Swentik-$1,400
7th-Bert and Ernie Seguin-$1,300
8th-Kevin Marchuk and Jason Amundsen-$1,200
9th-Frank McWhinnie and Frank Grunewald-$1,100
10th-Ted and Leo Heyens-$1,000
11th-Doug and Zack McBride-$700
12th-Cliff Westover and Mark Jodoin-$600
13th-Bill Godin and Ralph Galusha-$500
14th-Wayne Angus and Rick Pruys-$400
15th-Rick Amundsen and Clayton Keister-$300.
Winning the Rainy River Playschool Boat raffle was:
-Boat: Peter Gardiman of Fort Frances
-42” LCD t.v.: Bert Seguin and Randy Asselin of Pinewood
-$500 cash: Tim Mickle of Thunder Bay