Ranger Pro Korey Sprengel Looks for Third Consecutive Tour-level Win in Ohio
OutdoorHub 06.12.13
Ranger Pro Korey Sprengel will try to extend his winning streak to three consecutive tour-level walleye tournament wins as the Cabela’s National Walleye Tour stops at Port Clinton this week.
Sprengel’s streak extends back to August 2012 when he won the last regular-season FLW Walleye Tour event on Bays de Noc and continued recently when he won the Cabela’s National Walleye Tour event on the Mississippi River near Red Wing, Minn., aboard his 2013 Ranger 620VS powered by Mercury. The 25-year-old walleye pro from Beaver Dam, Wisc., has pocketed more than $126,500 in prize winnings and contingency awards with his back-to-back tournament wins.
While Sprengel’s winning streak goes back to last year, his rise to the upper echelon of professional walleye anglers began in 2011 when he and partner Derek Navis won a combined National Team Championship/Master Walleye Circuit event. Between the two tournament organizations, the duo split more than $180,000 in cash and prizes, helping to pave the way for Sprengel to devote more time to tournament fishing.
“I had been doing everything out of my own pocket before that tournament,” Sprengel said. “The biggest thing was the confidence that I gained from that tournament; going into tournaments knowing what it takes to compete with the best of them.”
Sprengel admits that his recent successes have come sooner than he expected, having fished in professional-level events since 2008 and knowing the talent of the anglers against whom he now competes. But success has fueled his confidence in his ability to adjust to the many variables of walleye fishing while also helping him to identify bigger goals for the future.
“My goal right now is Angler of the Year and I feel like I got off to a great start at Red Wing,” Sprengel said. “I’m really shooting for a good finish at Lake Erie so I can be in a good position going into the final tournament at Sturgeon Bay, which is some of my home water.”
