| |
| Arnoldussen Wins FLW Port Clinton |
 |  |  | Dean Arnoldussen became the FLW's first half-million dollar angler (FLW Outdoors Photo) |
Hardly any practice, one day lost, possible cancellation of the final day, what else could go wrong at a pro walleye tournament? Nothing at all, because today was perfect; perfect that is for Ranger/Evinrude pro Dean Arnoldussen. The final day of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event in Port Clinton, Ohio went off without a hitch for him. Thanks to a 29-10 limit, anchored by a 9-5 walleye for a three-day total of 85-9, he held off 2nd place finisher Russ McDonald and earned his second victory on the FLW Tour and an $87,000 paycheck.
McDonald tallied 81-4, good enough for 2nd. In 3rd was Pat Neu with 70-9. Rick LaCourse captured 4th with 70-00 and in the 5th spot was Mark Schuitema with 67-7.
Arnoldussen Prayed for Wind
A good walleye chop is desired by most anglers, but few wish for wind on Lake Erie. Erie can break your back, your heart and your boat, if the wind and waves get too brutal. Ironically, Arnoldussen prayed for it today.
"It sure was pretty choppy today," Arnoldussen said. "I was probably the only guy praying for the wind and I got some, but thanks to running the big Ranger 621, I was still pretty comfortable. If the water was too calm, I knew the fishing would be more difficult.
"At about 11 this morning the heavier wind laid down and the fish moved up," he said. We really put on a clinic for the camera boat that was with us. It was pretty cool. We put about 16 fish into the boat.
His prime area was close to the Canadian border northeast of the Bass Islands in water depths ranging from 39-to 43-feet down 20-to 30-feet.
|  | | Arnoldussen's "dialed-in" trolling speed made the difference (FLW Outdoors Photo) |
Minn Kota Saved the Day
Precise trolling speeds were necessary to trigger the walleyes which had been pummeled by the severe spring weather the region had endured over the last week. Thanks to his trolling motor, Arnoldussen caught more fish.
"I think the biggest thing in catching more fish for me was the use of my main-engine mounted Minn Kota," he said. "I was using a prototype and it was just awesome.
"While most of the other anglers use their kicker motor to troll, I used the Minn Kota," he said. "It allows for super precise speed control and it also doesn't have the thrust issues that a gas motor has. It slowly accelerates to the speed I need. I can control it down to a tenth of a mile per hour.
"Also, when I'm fighting a fish and it gets close to the boat, the fish doesn't spook," he said. "With a regular kicker motor, the fish will often freak out and you can lose them."
He trolled spinner rigs with inline weights tipped with crawlers. This is a standard approach for Lake Erie. He felt his approach to hooking fish made the difference in this event.
"I rigged my Off Shore planer boards with the tattle flags," he said. "What I would do is keep a close eye on the tattle flags. When a fish would suck the bait in, I would grab the rod and set the hook. A lot of guys don't do that and I know that made a difference, I hooked and caught more fish."
The other piece of equipment that came into play was the new Lowrance 111. He felt that the superior mapping ability allowed him to closely follow contour lines which kept him on fish.
Dean Digs Erie
Most anglers, regardless if they do or don't fish tournaments, love to catch fish; especially big fish. Even though he took a beating this week, Arnoldussen feels Lake Erie is the walleye capital of the world.
"I hated the weather here," he said. "But I sure do like to fish Erie. I don't know of any other place where you can catch 30-to 40-walleyes everyday under good conditions. Plus, you have a good chance at catching a real slob fish over 30 inches." |
Back To Top
|
| Final Bites - 2005 Port Clinton FLW |
Dean Arnoldussen becomes the first angler on the FLW Walleye Tour to earn over $500,000 in tournament winnings. His total winnings on the FLW Tour are $517,100 in a total of 14 events fished. That's an average of over $36,000 per event.
By comparison, the all-time money winner on the PWT is Ron Seelhoff with $485,125 in over 12 years of fishing and five PWT victories.
|
Back To Top
|
| Arnoldussen Leads Wal-Mart FLW Event on Lake Erie |
PORT CLINTON, Ohio (April 29, 2005) - Former Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour champion Dean Arnoldussen of Appleton, Wis., caught five walleyes weighing 30 pounds Friday to boost his tournament-leading total to 10 walleyes weighing 55 pounds 15 ounces. He will now lead the top 10 pros and co-anglers into the final round of competition in the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour stop on Lake Erie presented by Yamaha. Pro finalists are fishing for a top cash award of as much as $87,000, and co-anglers are fishing for as much as $16,700.
The cancellation of Thursday's competition due to a sever storm that rolled through the area forced many anglers to reassess their game plan in an event that would have originally been determined by the heaviest four-day catch. With one less day on the water, every ounce was critical Friday.
"Today was beautiful," said Arnoldussen, who won the 2001 FLW Walleye Tour Championship in Green Bay, Wis., and pocketed a record $400,000. "There was only a 6-inch chop on the water so we could run wide open and stay on top of our fish."
On Wednesday, anglers caught 329 walleyes weighing a total of 1,039 pounds, 3 ounces, including 31 five-walleye limits. Friday's catch improved as 517 walleyes weighing 2,067 pounds, 10 ounces where brought to the scale, including 77 limits.
Arnoldussen caught 14 walleyes, including an 8-pounder, Friday en route to a 30-pound limit while fishing the north side of Bass Island with co-angler Jackie Perry of Milaca, Minn. On opening day, he fished about a mile southeast of his day three location with co-angler Charles Dahl of Burlington, Wis., and landed five walleyes weighing 25 pounds, 15 ounces. On both days Arnoldussen and his partners pulled crawler harnesses with holographic Northland blades.
"Once we located the fish, we circled right on top of them," Arnoldussen said. "I don't think they have eaten for five days with all the bad weather, and they are moving a lot. The clarity of the water was real important. If it was too clear, you wouldn't catch anything and if it was too dirty, you wouldn't catch anything. They were hanging right on the edge of milky water."
Rounding out the top five pros are Russell McDonald of Dryden, Ontario (nine walleyes, 54 pounds, 4 ounces); Larry Lambert of Lakeside Marblehead (nine walleyes, 49 pounds, 13 ounces); Mike Hiser of Pickerington (10 walleyes, 49 pounds, 2 ounce); and Richard LaCourse of Port Clinton (10 walleyes, 48 pounds).
Joseph Fallaw of McHenry, Ill., leads the Co-angler Division with 10 walleyes weighing 63 pounds, 5 ounces. He pulled crawler harnesses with LaCourse on opening day to land five walleyes weighing 29 pounds, 14 ounces. On day three, Reef Runner crankbaits were the preferred bait en route to a five-walleye catch weighing 33 pounds, 7 ounces while fishing with Steve Carlson of Clinton. He fished north of Bass Island with both pros and landed just six walleyes each day.
"I was sitting in second after day one, and it has been gut wrenching ever since," said Fallaw, who is making his first top 10 appearance. "I'm usually a one-day wonder on Erie, but with a 9-pound lead, I have a real good shot at winning."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Dale Todd of Janesville, Wis. (10 walleyes, 54 pounds, 5 ounces); Bruce Brasser of Rockford, Mich. (10 walleyes, 52 pounds, 7 ounces); Michael Watson of Spirit Lake, Iowa (10 walleyes, 49 pounds, 5 ounces); and Daniel Max of Oregon (10 walleyes, 48 pounds, 15 ounces).
Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight and are randomly paired each day. The FLW Walleye Tour is the world's most lucrative professional walleye-fishing series. At the $650,000 million Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the Mississippi River in Moline, Ill., Sept. 28 - Oct. 1, pros will fish for as much as $125,000 cash and co-anglers will chase as much as $22,000.
Saturday's takeoff starts at 7 a.m. at West Harbor Launch Ramp. Saturday's final weigh-in starts at 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart store located at 4070 East Harbor Road in Port Clinton. The community is invited to attend the free takeoff and weigh-in festivities.
Anglers from 21 states are competing in the lucrative tournament, which began Wednesday. The full field fished the shortened opening round for one of 10 final-round slots awarded based on the heaviest accumulated weights. Weights carry over to day four, with the winner determined by the heaviest cumulative weight for the tournament.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America's largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.
For more information on FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com. |
Back To Top
|
| Day Two of Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour on Lake Erie Cancelled |
PORT CLINTON, Ohio (April 28, 2005) - Even the best fisheries have their bad days, and this was the case on day two of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event on Lake Erie. While forecasts called for improving conditions Thursday, a major storm blew into the Port Clinton area, and competitors were recalled shortly after the field had launched. The second day of competition was subsequently cancelled due to the inclement weather.
Pro Greg Schenecker of Watertown, S.D., and co-angler Dale Todd of Janesville, Wis., will retain their lead from day one with five walleyes weighing 30 pounds, 4 ounces. Anglers will be paired with new partners on Friday and competition will resume with the cumulative weights from days one and three determining the top 10 pros and co-anglers who will advance to the fourth and final day of competition Saturday.
Rounding out the top five teams are pro Richard LaCourse of Port Clinton and co-angler Joseph Fallaw of McHenry, Ill. (five walleyes, 29 pounds, 14 ounces); pro Patrick Neu of Forestville, Wis., and co-angler Jeff Sather of Montevideo, Minn. (five walleyes, 29 pounds, 5 ounces); pro Larry Lambert of Lakeside Marblehead and co-angler Michael Watson of Spirit Lake, Iowa (five walleyes, 27 pounds, 11 ounces); and pro Mike Schaefer of Fond Du Lac, Wis., and co-angler Don Jelinek of Fargo, N.D. (five walleyes, 26 pounds, 5 ounces).
Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight and are randomly paired each day. The FLW Walleye Tour is the world's most lucrative professional walleye-fishing series. At the $650,000 million Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the Mississippi River in Moline, Ill., Sept. 28 - Oct. 1, pros will fish for as much as $140,000 cash and co-anglers will chase as much as $22,000.
Daily takeoffs at Port Clinton start at 7 a.m. at West Harbor Launch Ramp. Friday's weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. at the Waterworks Park on Perry Street and Saturday's weigh-in starts at 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart store located at 4070 East Harbor Road in Port Clinton. The community is invited to attend daily takeoffs and weigh-ins, which are free and open to the public.
Anglers from 21 states are fishing. Normally, the full field competes during the three-day opening round for one of 10 final-round slots based on their three-day accumulated weight. Because of the cancellation of day two, anglers will be cut based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights carry over to day four, with the winner determined by the heaviest three-day weight in this event.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America's largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.
For more information on FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com. |
Back To Top
|
| Schenecker and Todd lead Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Event on Lake Erie |
PORT CLINTON, Ohio (April 27, 2005) - Pro Greg Schenecker of Watertown, S.D., and co-angler Dale Todd of Janesville, Wis., caught five walleyes weighing 30 pounds, 4 ounces to lead day one of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event on Lake Erie near Port Clinton. A field of 136 pros is competing for a potential top award of $87,000, while co-anglers are competing for a potential top award of $16,700.
After the worst April storm in 97 years moved through the area Saturday - dumping as much as 10 inches of snow in some parts - anglers were just hoping for modest limits on Wednesday. Several impressive walleyes came to the scales despite the conditions. Anglers faced hail, sleet and winds to 20 mph but proved once again that Lake Erie was still one of the best walleye fisheries in the nation. No catch, however, was more impressive than Schenecker and Todd's day-one limit.
"During pre-fish, we didn't have much time to find may areas because of the storm," Schenecker said. "We went to one area Wednesday morning and were finished catching our walleyes by 10:30 a.m." Schenecker and Todd were targeting suspending walleyes that were hovering 12 to 15 feet deep over 40 feet of water.
"I'm going to start out doing the same thing tomorrow, but it all depends on the weather and the mud," Schenecker said. "We haven't been catching any walleyes in the mud, and it's starting to get into our area. The wind is supposed to calm down, though, and that will help tremendously."
Rounding out the top five teams are pro Richard LaCourse of Port Clinton and co-angler Joseph Fallaw of McHenry, Ill. (five walleyes, 29 pounds, 14 ounces); pro Patrick Neu of Forestville, Wis., and co-angler Jeff Sather of Montevideo, Minn. (five walleyes, 29 pounds, 5 ounces); pro Larry Lambert of Lakeside Marblehead and co-angler Micahel Watson of Spirit Lake, Iowa (five walleyes, 27 pounds, 11 ounces); and pro Mike Schaefer of Fond Du Lac, Wis., and co-angler Don Jelinek of Fargo, N.D. (five walleyes, 26 pounds, 5 ounces).
A total of 31 limits and 329 walleyes weighing 1,039 pounds, 3 ounces were caught Wednesday.
"I reeled in a few fish, and I netted a few fish for my pro," Todd said. "I was glad he had the confidence to let me land a few and help out as much as I did. There were other boats in sight, but none of them were fishing our area."
Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight and are randomly paired each day. The FLW Walleye Tour is the world's most lucrative professional walleye-fishing series. At the $650,000 million Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the Mississippi River in Moline, Ill., Sept. 28 - Oct. 1, pros will fish for as much as $140,000 cash and co-anglers will chase as much as $22,000.
Daily takeoffs at Port Clinton start at 7 a.m. at West Harbor Launch Ramp. Thursday and Friday's weigh-ins starts at 3 p.m. at the Waterworks Park on Perry Street and Saturday's weigh-in starts at 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart store located at 4070 East Harbor Road in Port Clinton. The community is invited to attend daily takeoffs and weigh-ins, which are free and open to the public.
Anglers from 21 states are fishing. The full field competes during the three-day opening round for one of 10 final-round slots based on their three-day accumulated weight. Weights carry over to day four, with the winner determined by the heaviest four-day weight.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America's largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League and Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour.
For more information on FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com. |
Back To Top
|
| All Bets Off at Port Clinton FLW |
|  | | Carl Grunwaldt is hoping for a repeat of last year's RCL |
Thanks to Ma Nature opening a can of whoop-butt on the good people of Port Clinton, Ohio over the last few days, the conditions on Lake Erie have gone from normal water clarity to fishing in Frappuccino. This stretch of the Great Lakes experienced the worst snow storm and wind conditions it has seen in the last 90 years, according to regional television reports.
When anglers headed out this morning, most were fishing memories from a terrific pre-fish last week. In reality, most had just one day of actual practice on the newly mucked up water. The good news is the fish are still there. The bad news is that the bite may be slow. Very few anglers predict big weights for the first day of the event.
Grunwaldt Doubtful About Limits
Last season's Port Clinton FLW champ, Garmin pro Carl Grunwaldt, is not very confident in how he will perform today and throughout the rest of the event.
"I really feel the weights will be down from last year," Grunwaldt said. "Everything west of the islands is chocolate milk and an awful lot of the area east of the islands is chocolate milk. That massive storm really screwed things up. I only had one real day of practice.
"The fish are still here," he said. "It is just real hard to get them going. The Day 1 weights probably won't be great, but the following days, we should start to see bigger weights again.
"If I can catch three decent fish on Day 1, I'll be happy," he said. "Especially if one of them is a bigger fish this area is known for."
The buzz is that high concentrations of walleyes exist north of Kelley's Island. They are just reluctant to bite.
Adjust or Fail
Grunwaldt feels anglers fishing memories most probably will end up with very little for their effort. Since the only relevant pre-fishing happened on Tuesday, whoever can adapt quickly and make the correct decisions will prevail.
"With all of the dirty water in this system, the anglers who adjust the best will win," he said. "Many anglers rely on standard methods to catch them and usually come in with fish out of Port Clinton. With the prevailing conditions however, the fish are not so cooperative. You'll need to react quickly, figure out how to trigger them or just forget about making the cut."
Grunwaldt plans on starting the tournament using the same method he used last year to win. He has no guesses for what it will take to win weight-wise, but feels the big fish will still show.
"I predict few limits on the first day," he said. "Probably 20 or 30 with a few big fish mixed in."
|
Back To Top
|
| Quick Bites - 2005 Port Clinton FLW |
Quick bites
Grunwaldt had a rough opening to '05. "I've had an ugly start to this season," he said. "I've weighed just over 5 pounds for the first two tournaments I've fished. I'm not optimistic about Port Clinton, but whenever I'm too confident, I don't do well. Maybe my lack of optimism is a good thing in this situation."
The FLW Walleye Tour is having another short-field experience. Even though this event is held on sacred walleye waters, the field is shy by 14 boats. According to Grunwaldt, it was stated at the rules meeting that only 136 boats will be fishing. The payouts are also a mystery. All the anglers were told was that the payouts will be prorated. They were not told how many will be paid. |
Back To Top
|
|
|
