Busse and Rohloff Make History at Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s NTC on Lake Erie
Lorain, Ohio – May 11th, 2024 – The 2024 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s National Team Championship (NTC) was one for the record books. 574 anglers from 18 states across the country battled it out on arguably, the top walleye fishing destination in the world. Lake Erie gave this field of top-notch teams a chance to really showcase why they are the best in the country at catching walleyes. For the first time in NTC history, a team returns in back-to-back years to take home the top trophy in grass roots walleye fishing.
Bringing a field of anglers to the great lakes isn’t without its challenges. One of the largest hurdles to overcome is the weather. On the morning of what would be the first day of competition it became evident that the north-east winds that the local meteorologists were predicting, could not be overlooked. Due to safety concerns for the anglers, tournament officials made the call of delaying the start of the tournament and moving the first day back one day. That meant, all 287 teams would battle it out for two full days to see who would rise up through the ranks as the victors.
After the first day of competition, the weights between the top 15 teams were all within striking distance of the leading team of Trey Conley (Bellafontaine, OH) and Lason Clum (Ada, OH) who were in front with a narrow lead of less than a half-pound with 41-06 lbs. By the end of the second and final day’s weigh in, a familiar team rose to the top by bringing in the largest sack of the tournament with a weight of 42-06 lbs. Adding to their first day’s weight giving them a two-day total of 80-14 lbs. and pushing them ahead of second by nearly 3 lbs. This feat allowed the victors to achieve something never seen during the history of the NTC. They won back-to-back years and again, claimed the title of champions.
Scott Rohloff (Watertown, WI) and Lance Busse (Freedom, WI) brought some tactics they use a lot back home on Green Bay to target these Lake Erie walleyes. A combination of precise control of their Mercury powered Ranger boat and accurate casting with forward facing sonar was key to targeting these 8lb average walleyes.
“We looked in places a lot of anglers that fish Lake Erie aren’t really keying in on. We fished shallower rock structures just west of Cleveland. All week long we stuck with the same casting program and just picked each area apart until we thought we had the right program. We casted some new Berkley baits designed for forward facing sonar and hunted down the biggest fish we could find. Early in the week we stumbled on this program and were catching a lot of fish and knew we had something special with no other teams around the area. There was a lot of current in this area and we were able to watch exactly how the bigger fish were moving in the current. The bigger fish would move slowly with the current over the structure but get very aggressive when presented with a bait right in front of their nose. This is just unreal that we were able to put it all together two years in a row and win against the best of the best in the country.” Said Scott Rohloff during an interview right after the tournament.
Scott and Lance’s program and great attention to detail rewarded them with a huge pay-day totaling over $125,000 that included a brand-new Ranger 620 FS with Mercury 250hp ProXS a 15hp Mercury kicker, trolling motor, and 12 inch graph on the dash, $25,000 cash, $8,000 Ranger Cup Bonus, and those coveted 1st place trophies, event jerseys, a berth into the 2025 NTC, and a couple flashy All-American Rings.
Here is a look at how the rest of the top five teams finished:
2nd Scott Geitgey and Jay Gullet 78-02, $10,000 cash
3rd Max Wilson and DJ Laux 73-13, $8,000 cash
4th Trey Conley and Lason Clum 73-06 $6,000 cash
5th Ty Baucke and Joey Spencer 72-02 $5,000 cash
The total payout in cash and prizes for the 2024 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s National Team Championship was well over 300% total payback on entries in cash and prizes was awarded to teams from 18 states. The largest sack during the championship of 42-06 lbs. was caught by the winners Scott Rohloff and Lance Busse. Every angler that competed in the championship was also awarded with a $50 Bass Pro Shops gift card.
The staff and anglers would like to thank the community of Lorain, OH and the Lorain Port Authority, Lorain County Visitors Bureau and the Coty of Lorain for welcoming anglers, families, and staff into their city over the past week. The out-pouring of support from the area was key to running an event of this magnitude. Thank you!
Walleye Federation clubs across the country can now look ahead to 2025. The announcement has been made that the 2025 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s NTC is headed to Lake Francis Case, Pickstown, SD June 19-21. Margaret Doom, Area Wide Economic Developer near Pickstown is excited to host the 2025 National Team Championship. “We welcome all of the participating fisherman to the area, and wish you good luck on securing your fishing spot in the Pickstown, Wagner, Lake Andes area championship.”
The Walleye Federation, based in Ponca City, Oklahoma, manages the qualifying process via TWF sanctioned walleye clubs all across the US and Canada and co-produces the event alongside the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Marketing Sponsorship Team. Qualifying is going on now, for details on how to earn a spot in the 2025 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s NTC or to get your walleye club signed up, visit walleyefederation.com, or call (580)765-9031
