Awards : PMTT 2004 Lake Shelbyville - Press Release

LAKE SHELBYVILLE, ILLINOIS
May 15th & 16th, 2004

First Ever PMTT Re-peat Event Winners
Rusteberg, Landmeier Do It Again on Lake Shelbyville

"Steve Rusteberg (Napeville, IL), and Duane Landmeier (Hinkley, IL) do it again! For the first time ever (in a six year long history) the Professional Muskie Tournament Trail (PMTT) has a re-peat event winner. Last weekend once again, Rusteberg and Landmeier earned 1st place on Lake Shelbyville winning a check in excess of $16,000. Last year, Rusteberg and Landmeier teamed up to challenge countless professional muskie anglers in the Mid-west on the PMTT Trail. Their consistent wins allowed them to take second place in the prestigious award known as “Top Gun” in 2003. There at it again for 2004! Two years in a row they have won the Lake Shelbyville event.

“We’re going to be known as Team Shelbyville now”, said Rusteberg. “We know the lake well and have been very successful in recent weeks pre-fishing. Three weeks ago we caught twelve muskie in one day with the biggest being a 46 inch fish.” He added, “The fishing has been tough since then, and we were going to be happy if we just boated one fish during the PMTT tournament. We ended up with three fish during the tourney, a 35 ¾ “, a 38 ½ “ and a 41 ½ “ fish, to clinch our win.”

“It was a real nail-bitter at the end”, replied Landmeier. “We didn’t know if we had won first or had been thrown off the leader board the second day. All of our fish came on Saturday of the two day event, and many fish were being caught all around us.”

The team attributes the win to Rusteberg’s Lowrance X104 fish finder. The team talked about how their accumulation of experience on the body of water, along with GPS Waypoint technology helped them troll their way to a big win.

“We trolled the whole tournament”, Rusteberg said. “Several weeks before the tournament we accumulated over forty waypoints on our Lowrance GPS unit where we had caught Lake Shelbyville muskie. We didn’t leave those waypoints. Our Diawa line counter reels also helped. We were able to let out the precise amount of line each time to put our lures right in the face of the fish.”

Landmeier added, “It helps to have a plan and stick with it when you’re competing in a tournament trail such as this one. Pre-fishing helps, and challenging your partner to think one step ahead of your competitors. Steve and I already know what the other is thinking weather we are fighting a muskie, or looking for active fish. Our sponsors help us compete at this level. We just use the tools that they provide and try to do our best. Without the GPS and a good landing net we would be in trouble”.

Rusteberg said, “Putting that 41 ½” fish in the boat sealed the win. The Diawa line clicker reel sang when the fish hit. I knew it was a bigger fish and just hoped that I had stuck it with more than one hook. Duane slipped the large StowMaster net under the fish as I slowly and gently pulled it closer to the boat. You could cut the tension at that moment with a knife. Not only did I have the stress of loosing the fish , but more than twenty other PMTT anglers were watching on. The fish was still full of spawn and fought very hard. It was heavy like most Shelbyville Muskie. I’m just glad it didn’t get away”, Steve replied.

The team is sponsored by StowMaster nets a company located in Albert Lea, Minnesota. The team Rusteberg, Landmeier has been together for only two years. They have placed in four out six events in the PMTT as a team, as well as placed second overall for consistency, winning them the title of “2nd Top Gun”. Considering the immense number of professional angles that compete on this trail this is no small accomplishment. Being consistent on a professional tournament trail such as this one is no easy task.

The next PMTT event will take place on June 26th, and 27th on the Eagle River Chain of Lakes in Northern Wisconsin. A separate event called the Mike James Mega Tournament will take place on August 27th, and 28th for a possible $100,000 in prize money. This $100,000 event is run by, but separate fro the PMTT. It still has openings. Contact the PMTT at (815) 264-3228 or go to the website at www.promuskie.com ."