Professional Walleye Trail
Published June 23, 2004

Bull Shoals, Arkansas.....Walleyes took center-stage in Arkansas today. The In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail anglers, fishing under sunny skies, discovered golden walleyes throughout massive Bull Shoals Reservoir. Leading the Mercury/Realtree Pro-Am is second-year pro Tim Flynn, Big Sky, Montana. He weighed a tournament boat-limit of five fish for 23.10 pounds, including the big fish of 9.91 pounds.

Fishing with Flynn was amateur George Morrison, Mankato, Minn. This
was his first PWT tournament. The top amateur wins a 17-foot Lund boat rigged with a Mercury outboard (valued at $17,000). The winning pro will earn $64,500. The top 40 pros and top 40 amateurs receive nearly $300,000 in cash and merchandise prizes.

Flynn was trolling crankbaits, primarily Shad Raps for fish at specified depths along steep breaks early in the day. After 9 a.m., he trolled for suspended walleyes over deep water. Most anglers found success with nightcrawlers and spinners or plain nightcrawlers behind bottom bouncers.

They fished from the Bull Shoals Dam upstream, with most boats working within 45 miles of Bull Shoals Boat Dock, tournament headquarters. Many local walleye fans attended the 3 p.m. weigh-in ceremonies. Days two and three will take place Thursday and Friday, June 24 and 25. On Friday, the top 10 pro anglers will be interviewed for their secrets spots and tactics on stage. More than one-third of the amateur partners are from Arkansas and Missouri. They entered to learn the "tricks of the trade."

Amateur Roger Hackman, Harrison, Ark., said, "This is the first time I ever fished for walleyes, and I can't believe what I've learned. I took notes, and am looking forward to the rest of the tournament." He is in 8th place after fishing with pro Gerrick McComsey, Pierre, SD. They weighed 16.99 pounds.

Second place pro Mike Gofron, Antioch, Illinois, with a PWT record 27 top-10 place finishes, holds second place. Last year¹s Angler of the Year Bill Ortiz, Dodgeville, Wis., is in third place. Five-time PWT winner Ron Seelhoff, Burlington, Col., is in fourth, with Myron Sylte, Williston, ND in fifth.

A common sentiment echoed by dozens of PWT pros and amateurs on stage was, "This is a great spot to fish, a great area to live, and an even better place to catch walleyes." As a comparison, 39 limits came to the scale on day one, which was better than a Wisconsin PWT tournament earlier this season, and nearly equaled that on Cass Lake, a Minnesota walleye factory last month.

PWT PRO Qualifier - Bull Shoals Lake Results



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