AITKIN, Minn. (May 22, 2006) - Boater Dusty Minke of Forest Lake, Minn., earned $2,800 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Minnesota Division event on Lake Mille Lacs. Minke, along with co-angler Erik Carlson of St. Croix Falls, Wis., caught a five-walleye limit weighing 15 pounds, 4 ounces to win by nearly 2 pounds.
Despite a recent fly hatch that has affected the bite, Minke and Carlson were able to land several trophy-sized fish. The anglers were working three-way rigs baited with leeches along a breakline in 25 to 28 feet of water. The team reported the majority of their bites were very finicky and right on the mud break. The team caught 18 fish in competition and had to work for their bites.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Troy Otterson of Duluth, Minn. (five walleyes, 13 pounds, 6 ounces, $1,440 plus $400 contingency bonus); Alan Sholts of Alexandria, Minn. (five walleyes, 11 pounds, 1 ounce, $1,200 plus $300 contingency bonus); Steve Bradt of Hudson, Wis. (five walleyes, 9 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,040 plus $250 contingency bonus); and Dan Krukow of Rochester, Minn. (five walleyes, 9 pounds, $720 plus $200 contingency bonus).
Carlson earned $1,400 as winner of the Co-angler Division. Co-angler competitors share weight with their boater partner. Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Chris Hay of Brooklyn Center, Minn., ($720 plus $200 contingency bonus); Steven Hayes of White Bear Lake, Minn. ($600); Robert Berg of Chaska, Minn. ($520) and Harry Felix of Lindstrom, Minn. ($360).
Three FLW Walleye League divisions - Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin - each feature three one-day events and one two-day Super Tournament during the regular season. Every angler who receives weight credit earns points, with 200 points awarded to the winner, 199 for second, 198 for third, and so on, except for Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winner, 299 for second, 298 for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings.
The top 35 boaters and 35 co-anglers from each FLW Walleye League division advance to the $141,950 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Finals, set for Sept. 7-9 on Lake Michigan in Escanaba, Mich. Anglers finishing in the top 10 in each division also receive priority entry into the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour for 2007.
The Minnesota Division's third stop will be held on Cass Lake June 24 followed by the Super Tournament presented by Evinrude July 22-23 on the Mississippi River.
The Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League was created to provide the grassroots walleye angler a chance to compete in professionally administered, close-to-home tournaments with lucrative cash awards.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League and nine other national tournament circuits offering a combined $36.9 million in awards through 241 events in 2006. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America's largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series 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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