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| Kjelden Wins FLW Tour on Devils Lake; Johnson Wins Angler of the Year Title |
SPIRIT LAKE, N.D. (June 18, 2005) - Pro Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D., caught five walleyes Saturday weighing 25 pounds, 4 ounces, giving him a four-day total of 20 walleyes weighing 86 pounds, 12 ounces to win the inaugural Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Open on Devils Lake. For the impressive performance, Kjelden earned $100,000 - the largest regular-season award in professional walleye fishing.
"Everything went well today," Kjelden said. "We knew we were going to gamble and go for big fish, and we threw back some decent fish - one was 23 inches long - but I knew I needed to shoot for 25 pounds today. The fish pretty much came in the right order. In the first 40 minutes, we had 18 pounds in the boat.
"I fished shallow, and boat control in the wind had a lot to do with the win. I was casting cranks in 7 to 8 feet of water, but the retrieve was very important. It was a fast presentation, with a jerk and a pause. Other boats around me this week weren't doing that, and they weren't catching the fish I caught. I used a chartreuse and white crank."
Rounding out the top five pros were Kevin Goligowski of Maplewood, Minn. (20 walleyes, 82 pounds, 11 ounces); Rick Olsen of Mina, S.D. (20 walleyes, 81 pounds, 9 ounces); were Mark Courts of Harris, Minn. (20 walleyes, 79 pounds, 8 ounces); and Scott Fairborn of Hager City, Wis. (18 walleyes, 73 pounds, 9 ounces).
Pro Nick Johnson of Elmwood, Wis., who never finished lower than 33rd this season, won the FLW Walleye Tour Angler of the Year title. Johnson beat out Tommy Skarlis of Walker, Minn., by eight points.
Fred Gordon of Willmar, Minn., won the Co-angler Division with a four-day total of 20 walleyes weighing 80 pounds, 12 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Thomas Grzadzieleski (20 walleyes, 79 pounds, 3 ounces); Daryl Zimney of Jamestown (20 walleyes, 77 pounds, 6 ounces); Mark Magness of Fargo (20 walleyes, 74 pounds, 13 ounces); and John Hight of Fargo (17 walleyes, 67 pounds, 11 ounces).
Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight and are randomly paired each day. 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, Wal-Mart Redfish Series 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. |
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| McCartin Leads FLW Devils Lake on Day Two |
Joe McCartin stuck with it to the end on Day Two of the Devils Lake FLW Walleye Tour Pro Am, and his persistence paid off. His pattern changed from day one, resulting in a strategy adjustment for Joe and his Co Angler today. Wind was the key, in this case lack of wind; his spot yesterday needed wind to produce, so he adjusted and brought in a bag heavy enough to vault him into the lead for Day Two of the FLW Devils Lake Walleye Tournament.
'I got seven bites today, lost two and boated 5. The last fish came while we were reeling in the other lines, and weighed in at 5 pounds. You have to stick with your plan, and keep sharp all day. I plan on working my same patterns tomorrow, all the way to making the cut.' Joe said.
That might be a bit of a problem.
The weather forecast for tomorrow and Saturday is for warm and VERY windy conditions with wind gusts to 30 MPH. Mr. McCartin might just have to return to his day one pattern. Either way, the weigh in tomorrow will determine who makes the final cut to ten anglers and Co Anglers Saturday, when the weigh in moves to the Wal Mart in down town Devils Lake on HWY 2.
Brian Drake leads the Co Anglers into the final day. Brian said, 'None of this counts until Saturday afternoon. You have to stay positive as a Co Angler and work very hard. We went through a lot of fish the last two days.'
The Day Three WalleyeFIRST Leader Board begins at 3 PM Central.
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| McCartin Leads FLW Walleye Tour Day Two on Devils Lake |
SPIRIT LAKE, N.D. (June 16, 2005) - Pro Joe McCartin of Land O Lakes, Wis., caught five walleyes weighing 28 pounds, 15 ounces Thursday, giving him a two-day total of 10 walleyes weighing 50 pounds, 13 ounces to lead the inaugural Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Open on Devils Lake. Pros are competing for a potential top award of $100,000, while co-anglers are competing for a potential top award of $20,000.
While many anglers noted tough fishing conditions throughout the day Thursday, weights were still solid - comparable to Wednesday's catch. Anglers reported that walleyes are moving a lot and the action is sporadic. Warm, stable weather should make the bite more predictable as the tournament progresses.
"I jumped around a lot today," McCartin said. "Yesterday I was fishing in 5 feet of water, but the wind stopped today, and I moved out deeper. It was slow. We were getting about one bite per hour. But I was the only boat there, so I think I've got enough fish there for another two days. That deep pattern should get better each day with this hot weather."
Rounding out the top five pros are Aaron McQuoid of Isle, Minn. (10 walleyes, 47 pounds, 10 ounces); Carl Grunwaldt of Green Bay, Wis. (10 walleyes, 45 pounds, 15 ounces); Kevin Goligowski of Maplewood, Minn. (10 walleyes, 45 pounds, 11 ounces); and Mark Courts of Harris, Minn. (10 walleyes, 45 pounds, 1 ounce).
Brian Drake of Merrimac, Wis., leads the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 10 walleyes weighing a hefty 56 pounds, 4 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mark Magness of Fargo (10 walleyes, 51 pounds, 1 ounce); Fred Gordon of Willmar, Minn. (10 walleyes, 48 pounds, 6 ounces); Heath Fremstad of Mondovi, Wis. (10 walleyes, 43 pounds, 13 ounces); and Daryl Zimney of Jamestown (10 walleyes, 42 pounds, 7 ounces).
 |  |  | Carl Grunwaldt had solid limits both days |
Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight and are randomly paired each day. 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, Wal-Mart Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour.
For more information on FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. |
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| Riley leads Wal-Mart FLW Tour on Devils Lake |
SPIRIT LAKE, N.D. (June 15, 2005) - Pro Todd Riley of Amery, Wis., and co-angler Ken Kovack of Omaha, Neb., caught five walleyes weighing 29 pounds, 15 ounces to lead day one of the inaugural FLW Walleye Tour Open on Devils Lake. Pros are competing for a potential top award of $100,000, while co-anglers are competing for a potential top award of $20,000. The event is also the fourth and final tournament of the regular season, and the top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers advance to the no-entry-fee FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the Mississippi River in Moline, Ill., Sept. 28 - Oct. 1, where the winning pro could earn up to $125,000 and the winning co-angler could earn $22,000.
Anglers caught an impressive total of walleyes Wednesday. One hundred teams caught a limit, and every boat weighed fish. Nearly one ton of walleyes were weighed, and anglers are predicting the fishing will improve each day.
"I basically have one key spot," Riley said. "If that spot fails, I may go down hill. That spot has held for several days, so it may have enough fish to last the rest of the week. I caught a limit by noon and was able to go look for new areas and found a few spots that could help. I'm doing what most guys are doing - using a slip bobber, casting a crank and throwing jigs with Power Baits."
Rounding out the top five teams are pro Pete Harsh of Sauk Centre, Minn., and co-angler Brian Drake of Merrimac, Wis. (five walleyes, 29 pounds, 13 ounces); pro Mark Meravy of Shorewood, Ill., and co-angler Jason Treptau of Becker, Minn. (five walleyes, 27 pounds, 7 ounces); pro Scott Larson of West Fargo and co-angler Gary Chase of Fort Pierce, S.D. (five walleyes, 27 pounds, 3 ounces); and pro Mark Courts of Harris, Minn., and co-angler Steven Maksymyc of Komarno, Manitoba (five walleyes, 27 pounds, 2 ounce).
Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight and are randomly paired each day. 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, Wal-Mart Redfish Series 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. |
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| Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour to visit Devils Lake |
SPIRIT LAKE, N.D. - The Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour returns to Devils Lake for the fourth and final regular-season stop of the 2005 season with the inaugural FLW Walleye Tour Open June 15-18. The event is the last tournament to attain points to qualify for the no-entry-fee $650,000 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the Mississippi River near Moline, Ill., Sept. 28-Oct. 1.
As many as 150 pros and 150 co-anglers will take on Devils Lake for their share of a $542,000 purse, including as much as $100,000 for the winning pro and $20,000 for the winning co-angler.
"Any technique will probably work during the tournament," said walleye pro Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D., who currently sits in the ninth place in the tour points standings. "Open-water trolling, using slip-bobbers in trees or casting cranks to weedlines could all be productive. The fish will be in a transition period, moving out to deeper water to their summer haunts.
"There will be a lot of big weights. It will probably take catches in the upper 20s each day to make the cut. I think if you get 30 pounds per day, you will win."
Spirit Lake Casino and Resort in St. Michael will host daily takeoffs each morning at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday's weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 210 Highway 2 W. in Devils Lake beginning at 4 p.m. The community is invited to attend daily takeoffs and weigh-ins, which are free and open to the public.
Pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day and fish for a combined boat weight. Pros compete against other pros, and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers. 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.
Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points awarded to the winner, 199 to second, 198 for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings. The top 50 pros and 50 co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the 2005 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship, where a pro can earn as much as $125,000 cash for a win.
The FLW Walleye Tour Championship is the most lucrative event in professional walleye angling, with guaranteed cash awards for the entire field. A guaranteed cash award of $75,000 plus potential sponsor bonuses totaling $50,000 will go to the FLW Walleye Tour Championship winner for a total pro award of $125,000. The champion co-angler will win a guaranteed cash award of $11,000 plus potential sponsor bonuses totaling $11,000 for a total co-angler award of $22,000.
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.
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| $2.6 MILLION WAL-MART FLW WALLEYE TOUR TO VISIT DEVILS LAKE |
SPIRIT LAKE, N.D. (May 25, 2005) - The Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour returns to Devils Lake for the fourth and final regular-season stop of the 2005 season with the inaugural FLW Walleye Tour Open June 15-18. The event is the last tournament to attain points to qualify for the no-entry-fee $650,000 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the Mississippi River near Moline, Ill., Sept. 28-Oct. 1.
As many as 150 pros and 150 co-anglers will take on Devils Lake for their share of a $542,000 purse, including as much as $100,000 for the winning pro and $20,000 for the winning co-angler.
"Any technique will probably work during the tournament," said walleye pro Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D., who currently sits in the ninth place in the tour points standings. "Open-water trolling, using slip-bobbers in trees or casting cranks to weed lines could all be productive. The fish will be in a transition period, moving out to deeper water to their summer haunts.
"There will be a lot of big weights. It will probably take catches in the upper 20s each day to make the cut. I think if you get 30 pounds per day, you will win."
Spirit Lake Casino and Resort in St. Michael will host daily takeoffs each morning at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday's weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 210 Highway 2 West in Devils Lake beginning at 4 p.m. The community is invited to attend daily takeoffs and weigh-ins, which are free and open to the public.
Pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day and fish for a combined boat weight. Pros compete against other pros, and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers. 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.
Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points awarded to the winner, 199 to second, 198 for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings. The top 50 pros and 50 co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the 2005 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship, where a pro can earn as much as $125,000 cash for a win.
The FLW Walleye Tour Championship is the most lucrative event in professional walleye angling, with guaranteed cash awards for the entire field. A guaranteed cash award of $75,000 plus potential sponsor bonuses totaling $50,000 will go to the FLW Walleye Tour Championship winner for a total pro award of $125,000. The champion co-angler will win a guaranteed cash award of $11,000 plus potential sponsor bonuses totaling $11,000 for a total co-angler award of $22,000.
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.
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