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| Nascak Builds Big Lead at FLW Championship |
PIERRE, S.D. (Oct. 6, 2006) - Despite a torturous 60-mile run in pounding waves, pro Richard Nascak of Winona, Minn., and co-angler Jerome Chwierut of Lake Villa, Ill., were all smiles Friday after catching five walleyes weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces. The catch was the heaviest of the tournament since a 19-3 limit crossed the stage on opening day and more than enough to give Chwierut a $19,100 victory in the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship Co-angler Division. It also catapulted Nascak into the final day of competition with a huge 5-pound, 12-ounce lead in his bid to win his first FLW Walleye Tour title and $150,000.
Why is a 5-pound lead so critical on a lake that has already produced a 10-pound, 10-ounce walleye earlier this week? Because, unlike the preliminary rounds of competition, which featured pros and co-anglers fishing together for a combined five-walleye limit, only the pros are competing Saturday. That means instead of having the option to weigh in two walleyes over 20 inches and three between 14 and 20 inches, the pros will only be allowed to weigh in four walleyes, including just one over 20 inches. The combined weight from Friday and Saturday will determine the winner, and culling is not allowed.
"That's going to make it tough on the other guys," said Nascak, who has earned three top-10 finishes on the FLW Walleye Tour. "I figure if I can just bring in my four-fish limit, I'll be tough to beat. The first four fish I catch are coming back in. I'm not going to take any chances."
Nascak caught five walleyes weighing 12-15 Wednesday while fishing with co-angler Mike Taylor of Midland, Mich., to finish opening day in ninth place. He then added five walleyes weighing 13-12 to his total Thursday while fishing with co-angler Dewey Watson of Twin Falls, Idaho, to advance to the finals as the No. 2 seed with a two-day total of 26 pounds, 11 ounces.
Nascak has been catching fish all week trolling just south of the Highway 212 bridge with Reef Runners and Shad Raps on Fireline and leadcore. He is not alone, however, as four of the top six finalists - including Scott Allar of Welch, Minn.; Tom Brunz of Madison Lake, Minn.; and Scott Steil of Richmond, Minn. - are all trolling the same stretch of water.
For Chwierut, the 2006 championship is in the record books, and he is $19,100 richer after his impressive catch earned him $11,000 Friday plus a $6,000 bonus from Ranger, a $1,600 bonus from Evinrude and a $500 bonus from Castrol. To get to the finals, he caught five walleyes weighing 11 pounds Wednesday while fishing with pro William St. Peter of Bay City, Mich., and five walleyes weighing 13 pounds Thursday while fishing with Brunz. His two-day total of 24 pounds advanced Chwierut to the final day of co-angler competition as the No. 2 seed.
"This feels terrific," said Chwierut, who finished third at the FLW Walleye Tour Championship in 2001. "We didn't have a fish in the boat until 10:30 a.m. then we made some adjustments and had five in the livewell by 11:30 a.m. and were heading back in because of the rough water."
Allar, who led the opening round, slid to second place Friday, and his co-angler partner, Jimmy Cox of Bono, Ark., won $15,500 with five walleyes weighing 11-10.
Cox is perhaps most well known in bass-fishing circles for his Mizmo Bait Company, but he has made quite a splash in the walleye-fishing world in recent years with three top-10 finishes, including fifth place at last year's FLW Walleye Tour Championship.
Rounding out the top 10 pros and co-anglers are Kevin McQuoid of Isle, Minn., and Dana Delp of Lansing, Mich. (five walleyes, 9-3, $5,000 co-angler winnings); Brunz and Keith Strauss of Syracuse, Ind. (five walleyes, 9-1, $8,500 co-angler winnings); Rick Olson of Mina, S.D., and Watson (three walleyes, 8-7, $4,500 co-angler winnings); Steil and Jason Wrosch of Melrose Park, Ill. (five walleyes, 8-0, $2,000 co-angler winnings); BFGoodrich Tires pro Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D., and Flo Swank of Pierre, S.D. (three walleyes, 7-14, $1,800 co-angler winnings); Gerrick McComsey of Fort Pierre, S.D., and Darrell Martin of Forest Lake, Minn. (one walleye, 2-15, $1,600 co-angler winnings); Troy Morris of Bismarck, N.D., and Mark Fling of Hudson, Colo. (one walleye, 2-9, $1,400 co-angler winnings); and Richard Franklin of Bemidji, Minn., and Adam Adler of Oconto Falls, Wis. (zero walleyes, $1,200 co-angler winnings).
The original field of 51 pros and 51 co-anglers representing 18 states and Canada was cut to the top 10 Thursday evening, and opening-round weights were cleared for the start of the final round.
An overall catch of 33 walleyes weighing 77 pounds, 1 ounce crossed the stage Friday, including five five-fish limits.
Spring Creek Resort, located off Highway 1804 in Pierre, will host Saturday's final takeoff at 7:30 a.m. followed by a 4:30 p.m. weigh-in at the Wal-Mart store located at 1730 North Garfield Road in Pierre. The tour's popular Family Fun Zone featuring interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family opens at 1 p.m. outside the weigh-in tent at Wal-Mart.
Fans visiting the Family Fun Zone can register for the chance to win an 1850 Ranger Reata powered by a 175 horsepower Evinrude E-Tec outboard. One lucky fan will be drawn during the final weigh-in and given the chance to cast a lure at an 8-inch target. If the lure lands in the target, the fan wins. Participants must be present during the weigh-in to qualify. Additionally, Ranger and Evinrude will offer test rides in the latest models from Ranger Boats on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Oahe Marina located at 20439 Marina Loop Road in Ft. Pierre. All activities are free.
National television coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour Championship will be provided by FSN (Fox Sports Net) on November 5. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time on FSN, which is broadcast to 81 million U.S. households. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to more than 350 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
The Pierre Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 2006 FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Oahe. For more information, call 1.800.962.2034.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, 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 an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world's leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com. |
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| Nascak Wins FLW Walleye Tour Championship |
PIERRE, S.D. (Oct. 7, 2006) - South Dakota's 14- to 20-inch slot limit turned out to be an unlikely ally for pro Richard Nascak of Winona, Minn., as he claimed his first tour title and $150,000 Saturday in the $675,000 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Oahe.
The slot limit, which restricts anglers to three fish measuring 14 to 20 inches and just one fish over 20 inches, gave Nascak a distinct edge as he carried a 5-pound, 12-ounce lead into the final day of competition. With an advantage like that, a come-from-behind victory would have been extremely difficult. The only angler in the finals with a realistic shot at upsetting Nascak was No. 2 seed Scott Allar of Welch, Minn., who led the two-day opening round of competition. As the final fish was weighed, however, the scale tipped even further in Nascak's favor with a two-day total of nine walleyes weighing 28 pounds compared to Allar's catch of nine walleyes weighing 20-6. Allar earned $75,000 for finishing second.
"I went out with the plan to keep the first four fish I caught," Nascak said. "My first fish was a 15-incher at about 10:30 then, about 15 minutes later, I caught a 7-pounder. By 11:30 I had my four fish and was headed in early."
Nascak caught five walleyes weighing 12-15 Wednesday while fishing with co-angler Mike Taylor of Midland, Mich., to finish opening day in ninth place. He then added five walleyes weighing 13-12 to his total Thursday while fishing with co-angler Dewey Watson of Twin Falls, Idaho, to advance to the finals as the No. 2 seed with a two-day total of 26 pounds, 11 ounces. On Friday, he caught five walleyes weighing 17-6 while fishing with co-angler Jerome Chwierut of Lake Villa, Ill. The catch was the second heaviest of the tournament behind a 19-3 limit on opening day and gave Chwierut a $19,100 victory while catapulting Nascak into the lead.
All week Nascak and Allar fished within sight of each other just south of the Highway 212 bridge. Two other finalists - Tom Brunz of Madison Lake, Minn., (third place, nine walleyes, 17-14, $40,000) and Scott Steil of Richmond, Minn. (sixth place, seven walleyes, 12-15, $14,700) - also fished the same area. All four men were trolling, and Nascak's baits of choice on the final day were Rapala Glass Shad Raps pulled on leadcore with new FireLine Crystal leader.
"I think I was fishing a little deeper than the other guys," said Nascak, who has now earned three top-10 finishes in his FLW Walleye Tour career. "I had nearly all my line out so I could skim the bottom at about 40 to 42 feet."
In contrast, Allar was trolling along breaklines in about 30 feet of water using new Berkley Frenzy Flicker Shads on leadcore.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were Kevin McQuoid of Isle, Minn. (fourth place, nine walleyes, 17-3, $25,000); Rick Olson of Mina, S.D. (fifth place, six walleyes, 16-12, $14,500); BFGoodrich Tires pro Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D. (seventh place, four walleyes, 10-8, $13,700); Richard Franklin of Bemidji, Minn. (eighth place, four walleyes, 8-2, $6,000); Gerrick McComsey of Fort Pierre, S.D. (ninth place, three walleyes, 8-2, $11,700); and Troy Morris of Bismarck, N.D. (10th place, two walleyes, 5-15, $10,700).
The original field of 51 pros and 51 co-anglers representing 18 states and Canada was cut to the top 10 Thursday evening, and opening-round weights were cleared for the final round. Friday's weights carried over to Saturday to determine final standings in the Pro Division.
An overall catch of 29 walleyes weighing 68 pounds, 12 ounces crossed the stage Saturday, including five four-fish limits.
National television coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour Championship will be provided by FSN (Fox Sports Net) on November 5. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time on FSN, which is broadcast to 81 million U.S. households. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to more than 350 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
The Pierre Chamber of Commerce hosted the 2006 FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Oahe. For more information, call 1.800.962.2034.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, 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 an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world's leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
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| Allar Leads FLW Walleye Tour Finals |
PIERRE, S.D. (Oct. 5, 2006) - All eyes are on professional walleye angler Scott Allar of Welch, Minn., who caught 10 fish weighing 28 pounds on Lake Oahe during the two-day opening round of the $675,000 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship. After catching five walleyes weighing 15-7 Wednesday with co-angler Keith Strauss of Syracuse, Ind., and five walleyes weighing 12-9 Thursday with co-angler Jimmy Cox of Bono, Ark., Allar will lead 10 pros into the final round, where one of them will win the sport's most prestigious title and as much as $150,000 cash Saturday.
"The fish were pretty steady all day," said Allar, who has earned seven top-10 finishes in his FLW Walleye Tour career, including a second-place showing on the Mississippi River earlier this season. "We lost a big one this morning, but we had five in the boat by 11 a.m. Right now, I feel pretty good about my chances."
Allar topped his closest competitor, Richard Nascak of Winona, Minn., by 1 pound, 5 ounces in the opening round, but weights are zeroed for the start of the finals, so he will have to continue catching quality fish in order to secure his first FLW Walleye Tour victory.
During the opening round, Allar caught his fish by trolling crankbaits just south of the Highway 212 bridge. He's not alone, however, as Nascak, Scott Steil of Richmond, Minn., and Tom Brunz of Madison Lake, Minn., are all fishing the same area. Steil and Brunz, Allar's teammate on tour, both made the cut in fifth and sixth, respectively. That's four of the top six anglers fishing the same area.
"There are some subtle points up there that the fish are relating to," said Nascak, who caught a two-day total of 10 walleyes weighing 26-11. "There are some baitfish, too, but no huge schools like you see down south."
Like Allar, Nascak is trolling crankbaits. Specifically, he is pulling Reef Runners and Shad Raps on Fireline and leadcore. Nascak's biggest asset on the water Thursday, however, turned out to be fellow competitor Bill Ortiz of Richland Center, Wis., who towed him in after Nascak's lower unit went out.
Rounding out the top 10 pros are opening-day leader and BFGoodrich Tires pro Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D. (seven walleyes, 26-6); Richard Franklin of Bemidji, Minn. (eight walleyes, 26-5); Steil (10 walleyes, 26-3); Brunz (10 walleyes, 24-7); Troy Morris of Bismarck, N.D. (10 walleyes, 22-8); Gerrick McComsey of Fort Pierre, S.D. (eight walleyes, 22-8); Kevin McQuoid of Isle, Minn. (eight walleyes, 22-5) and Rick Olson of Mina, S.D. (nine walleyes, 21-2).
Franklin and his co-angler partner Bruce Wingen of Thornton, Colo., made the biggest comebacks of the tournament Thursday thanks to an impressive catch of just three walleyes weighing 15-11 that boosted Franklin from 18th to fourth and Wingen from last place to 20th.The pair's catch included a huge 10-pound, 10-ounce walleye that earned them each the Snickers Big Walleye Award of $500.
"This reservoir has so much bait, it is just incredible," Franklin said. "That fish was the biggest, fattest walleye that I've ever seen that wasn't spawning."
Cox is leading the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 10 walleyes weighing 26-4. He landed five walleyes weighing 13-11 Wednesday while fishing with pro Ted Takasaki of East Gull Lake, Minn., then added another five walleyes weighing 12-9 to his total Thursday while fishing with Allar. Like the pros, co-angler weights are zeroed for the final round. Co-angler competition, however, ends Friday afternoon with the winner of as much as $22,000 determined by the day's heaviest catch.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Jerome Chwierut of Lake Villa, Ill. (10 walleyes, 24-0); opening-day leader Flow Swank of Pierre, S.D. (eight walleyes, 23-6); Adam Adler of Oconto Falls, Wis. (eight walleyes, 22-12); Jason Wrosch of Melrose Park, Ill. (seven walleyes, 21-9); Keith Strauss of Syracuse, Ind. (six walleyes, 20-14); Mark Fling of Hudson, Colo. (10 walleyes, 20-12); Darrell Martin of Forest Lake, Minn. (seven walleyes, 19-6); Dana Delp of Lansing, Mich. (eight walleyes, 19-0) and Dewey Watson of Twin Falls, Idaho (six walleyes, 18-11).
Pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, and each pair of anglers is allowed to weigh five walleyes. All but two of the fish must be between 14 and 20 inches in length. Two fish over 20 inches may be weighed, and culling is not allowed. This dynamic changes Saturday, however, as only the pros will be fishing. On Saturday, each pro will be allowed to weigh four walleyes, with only one of the fish measuring over 20 inches.
An overall catch of 121 walleyes weighing 303 pounds, 12 ounces crossed the weigh-in stage Thursday, including 11 five-fish limits.
Spring Creek Resort, located on Highway 1804 in Pierre, will host Friday and Saturday's takeoff at 7:30 a.m. Daily weigh-ins starting at 4:30 p.m. will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1730 North Garfield Road in Pierre. The community is invited to attend takeoffs and weigh-ins as well as the Family Fun Zone, which opens at 3 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday outside the weigh-in tent at Wal-Mart. The Family Fun Zone features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family.
During each day's weigh-in, fans can register for the chance to win an 1850 Ranger Reata powered by a 175 horsepower Evinrude E-Tec outboard. One lucky fan will be drawn during the final weigh-in Saturday and given the chance to cast a lure at an 8-inch target. If the lure lands in the target, the fan wins. Participants must be present during Saturday's weigh-in to qualify. Additionally, Ranger and Evinrude will offer test rides in the latest models from Ranger Boats on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Oahe Marina located at 20439 Marina Loop Road in Ft. Pierre. All activities throughout the week are free.
National television coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour Championship will be provided by FSN (Fox Sports Net) on November 5. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time on FSN, which is broadcast to 81 million U.S. households. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to more than 350 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
The Pierre Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 2006 FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Oahe. For more information, call 1.800.962.2034.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, 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 an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world's leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
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| Kjelden Leads on FLW Day One at Pierre |
PIERRE, S.D. (Oct. 4, 2006) - The most lucrative walleye-fishing tournament in the nation is officially under way on Lake Oahe with 51 pros and 51 co-anglers representing 18 states and Canada searching for the right combination of fish to win top awards of $150,000 and $22,000, respectively.
Dustin KjeldenMany of the anglers competing in the $675,000 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship opted to run north from the launch site at Spring Creek Resort to the Highway 212 bridge on opening day Wednesday, but not BFGoodrich Tires pro Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D., and co-angler Flow Swank of Pierre, S.D. Instead, the pair opted to fish away from the pack in an area of the lake only three other boats were fishing. They did plenty of running, though, as they burned an estimated 45 gallons of fuel combing through several key areas before returning with a tournament-leading catch of five walleyes weighing 19 pounds, 3 ounces that gave them a solid 2-pound, 5-ounce lead over their closest competitors, Ranger pro Kevin McQuoid of Isle, Minn., and co-angler Adam Adler of Oconto Falls, Wis.
"The bite slowed down a bit today compared with practice, but we were fortunate to catch a few quality fish," said Kjelden, who weighed in the day's biggest fish, a 26-inch, 6-pound, 3-ounce walleye. "I was confident I could catch at least 15 pounds, but the big fish was a surprise. It's the biggest fish I've caught since I've been here."
His big bite might have been the result of some good fortune, but Kjelden is no stranger to the leaderboard. He won the 2005 FLW Walleye Tour stop on Devils Lake and entered the championship this season ranked 18th. With so much money on the line, however, he and Swank were tight-lipped about their productive pattern. It is no secret, though, that the two dominant patterns coming into the tournament were vertical presentations with live bait, such as creek chubs or night crawlers, and trolling with crankbaits.
Each pair of anglers is allowed to weigh five walleyes per day and all but two of the fish must be between 14 and 20 inches in length. Two fish over 20 inches may be weighed, and culling is not allowed.
"I'm excited about the opportunity to do well in front of a hometown crowd," said Swank, who has earned two career top-10 finishes, including a second-place showing on Green Bay earlier this year. "It's a little unsettling, too."
Rounding out the top five pros and co-anglers Wednesday were McQuoid and Adler (five walleyes, 16 pounds, 14 ounces); Scott Allar of Welch, Minn., and Keith Strauss of Syracuse, Ind. (five walleyes, 15 pounds, 7 ounces); Troy Morris of Bismarck, N.D., and Boyd Strissel of Billings, Mont. (five walleyes, 15 pounds, 7 ounces); and Scott Fairbairn of Hager City, Wis., and Darrell Martin of Forest Lake, Minn. (four walleyes, 13 pounds, 15 ounces).
An overall catch of 147 walleyes weighing 369 pounds, 5 ounces crossed the stage Wednesday and were weighed in using new state-of-the-art system that minimizes potential stress factors on fish by virtually eliminating the need to handle them out of water for all but a few seconds.
Spring Creek Resort, located on Highway 1804 in Pierre, will host daily takeoffs at 7:30 a.m. Daily weigh-ins starting at 4:30 p.m. will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1730 North Garfield Road in Pierre. The community is invited to attend takeoffs and weigh-ins as well as the Family Fun Zone, which opens at 3 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday outside the weigh-in tent at Wal-Mart. The Family Fun Zone features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family.
During each day's weigh-in, fans can register for the chance to win an 1850 Ranger Reata powered by a 175 horsepower Evinrude E-Tec outboard. One lucky fan will be drawn during the final weigh-in Saturday and given the chance to cast a lure at an 8-inch target. If the lure lands in the target, the fan wins. Participants must be present during Saturday's weigh-in to qualify. Additionally, Ranger and Evinrude will offer test rides in the latest models from Ranger Boats on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Oahe Marina located at 20439 Marina Loop Road in Ft. Pierre, S.D. All activities throughout the week are free.
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 two-day opening round for one of 10 final-round slots based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for the final round, with the winning pro determined by the heaviest two-day total weight from days three and four. The co-angler winner is determined on day three based on the weight of that day's catch.
National television coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour Championship will be provided by FSN (Fox Sports Net) on November 5. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time on FSN, which is broadcast to 81 million U.S. households. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to more than 350 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
The Pierre Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 2006 FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Oahe. For more information, call 1.800.962.2034.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, 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 an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world's leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com. |
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| FLW Walleye Tour Championship Set for Pierre |
PIERRE, S.D. (Sept. 21, 2006) - Lake Oahe, located near Pierre, S.D., will host the world's most lucrative walleye tournament Oct. 4-7. The tournament will feature the top 51 professional walleye anglers in the world paired with the top 51 co-anglers for four days of competition. As much as $150,000 cash will go to the winning pro, and as much as $22,000 cash will go to the winning co-angler in this $675,000 no-entry-fee championship.
"From what I've been hearing, the fishing is pretty good," said Tom Keenan of Hatley, Wis., the 2006 FLW Walleye Tour Angler of the Year. "Due to the slot limit, I think it's going to take about 13 to 15 pounds per day to make the top 10."
The majority of competitors will either fish live-bait rigs or troll deep-diving crankbaits, according to Keenan.
"Some anglers will concentrate on points throughout the system using either red tails or creek chubs on a Lindy rig or three-way rig. If there is wind on a point, that's a bonus," he said. "The other half of the field will troll deep-diving crankbaits such as Rapala No. 8 or No. 9 tail dancers on points or break lines depending on how cold the water is and how deep the fish are."
Keenan foresees tight competition and the outcome could come down to a single fish.
"If someone gets lucky and catches one of those 7- or 8-pounders, they will do very well," he said. "Hopefully, I'll catch one on day four."
Spring Creek Resort, located at Highway 1804 in Pierre, will host daily takeoffs each morning at 7:30 a.m. The weigh-ins will be held daily at the Wal-Mart store located at 1730 North Garfield Road in Pierre beginning at 4:30 p.m. The community is invited to attend takeoffs and weigh-ins as well as the Family Fun Zone, which opens at 3 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday outside the weigh-in tent at Wal-Mart. The Family Fun Zone features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family.
During each day's weigh-in, fans can register for the chance to cast and win an 1850 Ranger Reata powered by a 175 horsepower Evinrude E-Tec outboard. One lucky fan will be drawn during the final weigh-in on Saturday, Oct. 7, and given the chance to cast a lure into an 8-inch bucket located 60 to 70 feet away. If the lure lands in the bucket, the fan wins. Participants must be present during the weigh-in to qualify. The cast will take place immediately following the weigh-in.
In addition to takeoff and weigh-in festivities during the tournament, fishing fans are invited to meet FLW Walleye Tour pros Dean Arnoldussen, Eric Olson, Nick Johnson, Dustin Kjelden, Ross Grothe and Ted Merdan along with South Dakota Dairy Princess Jenna Mueller at the Wal-Mart store in Pierre from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30. The pros and Mueller will be signing autographs, answering questions and giving away product samples. A second Meet the Pros night will be held Monday, Oct. 2, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Lake Sharpe Marine located at 502 Island Drive in Ft. Pierre.
Ranger and Evinrude will offer test rides in the latest models from Ranger Boats on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Oahe Marina located at 20439 Marina Loop Road in Ft. Pierre. All activities throughout the week are absolutely free.
The winning pro at the FLW Walleye Tour Championship is guaranteed a cash award of $100,000. If the winner is a qualifying registered owner of a Ranger, G3 or Polar Kraft boat, he will earn a $25,000 bonus, and if the boat is equipped with a qualifying Evinrude or Yamaha outboard, he will receive another $25,000 for a total cash award of $150,000.
The winning co-angler is guaranteed $11,000 cash and is eligible for a $6,000 bonus from Ranger, G3 or Polar Kraft if he is a registered owner. The winning co-angler will also receive a $5,000 bonus if his boat is equipped with a qualifying Evinrude or Yamaha outboard for a total cash award of $22,000.
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 two-day opening round for one of 10 final-round slots based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for the final round, with the winning pro determined by the heaviest two-day total weight from days three and four. The co-angler winner is determined on day three based on the weight of that day's catch.
National television coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour Championship will be provided by FSN (Fox Sports Net) on November 5. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time on FSN, which is broadcast to 81 million U.S. households. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to more than 350 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
The Pierre Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 2006 FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Oahe. For more information, call 1.800.962.2034.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, 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 an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world's leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com. |
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