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| Meravy wins FLW Walleye Tour on Detroit River |
 |  |  | Mark Meravy: 2007 FLW Detroit River Champion |
TRENTON, Mich. - Pro Mark Meravy of Shorewood, Ill., caught a four-day total of 18 walleyes weighing 76 pounds, 6 ounces to win the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event presented by Yamaha on the Detroit River in Trenton, Mich., and earned a check for $60,000.
"We were surprised to see the water clear up so much overnight," said Meravy, an eight-year FLW Walleye Tour veteran who notched his first win today. "I went back to my program I used for the first three days - jigging."
Meravy, a fine-art photographer, jigged a 3 inch Skinny Bear Shad Eye in 12 to 16 feet of water to catch the majority of his fish. Meravy said he caught a total of 10 keepers during the final day of competition.
"I fished in the Trenton Channel of the river and caught my smaller fish early and the larger fish later in the day," Meravy said. "I had two feet of visibility or so and I knew the jig bite would be good."
Meravy said the wait for a win on the FLW Walleye Tour was a long one, but the feeling of winning made his journey worthwhile.
"It means a lot because I've worked so hard over the years," Meravy said. "It's very rewarding. Fishing is a tough game - all of the effort doesn't pay off all of the time."
Rounding out the top five pros are Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D. (20 walleyes, 74 pounds, 11 ounces, $40,000); Scott Fairbairn of Hager City, Wis. (17 walleyes, 68 pounds, 6 ounces, $18,000); Chris Gilman of Chisago City, Minn. (20 walleyes, 59 pounds, 13 ounces, $13,000); and Gerrick McComsey of Fort Pierre, S.D. (20 walleyes, 57 pounds, 2 ounces, $9,000).
Don Cozzie of Orland Park, Ill., won the co-angler division with 20 walleyes weighing 69 pounds, 2 ounces and earned $10,000.
"All of my pros were phenomenal," Cozzie said. "They taught me a lot - and I've been fishing for 40 years. All I can say to anyone who thinks they might want to try fishing one of these events is you have got to fish with these guys. They are absolutely phenomenal."
Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight. Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Paul Doute of Southgate, Mich. (20 walleyes, 67 pounds, 12 ounces, $7,000); Michael Eichbrecht of Washington, Mich. (14 walleyes, 66 pounds, 8 ounces, $3,500); Brent Brophy of Milford Township, Mich. (20 walleyes, 57 pounds, 15 ounces, $2,500); and Shannon Larson of Rice Lake, Wis. (19 walleyes, 57 pounds, 6 ounces, $2,200).
The 2007 FLW Walleye Tour features a $2.71 million total purse, including the no-entry-fee $675,850 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie at Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 27-30, and television coverage on FSN (Fox Sports Net).
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 150 points awarded to the winner, 149 to second, 148 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 2007 FLW Walleye Tour Championship.
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 $100,000 plus potential sponsor bonuses totaling $50,000 will go to the FLW Walleye Tour Championship winner for a total pro award of $150,000. 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.
Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour event on the Detroit River will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on May 13 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern. "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.
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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
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 Walmart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. |
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| Meravy Keeps Slim Lead at Detroit River FLW |
TRENTON, Mich. - Pro Mark Meravy of Shorewood, Ill., caught a three-day total of 13 walleyes weighing 51 pounds, 14 ounces to lead day three of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event presented by Yamaha on the Detroit River in Trenton, Mich., the first regular-season event of the 2007 FLW Walleye Tour.
The 2007 FLW Walleye Tour features a $2.71 million total purse, including the no-entry-fee $675,850 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie at Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 27-30, and television coverage on FSN (Fox Sports Net). With a full field of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers, anglers are competing for their share of a $509,300 purse, including as much as $100,000 for the winning pro and $18,000 for the winning co-angler.
"I jigged all day long and caught two of my fish on the jig and caught the third fish with 10 minutes left to go on crankbaits on a three-way rig," said Meravy, who led after the second day of competition. "As tough as the bite was, I'm happy with what I got."
Meravy used a three-ounce bell sinker and No. 9 Rapala stickbaits on the three-way rig to catch his final fish of the day.
"I had three bites and I got all three of the fish in," Meravy said. "Saturday I'm going to look at the water, and if it's dirty, I'm going to be pole-lining. If it's not as dirty, I'll be jigging. I need at least a foot of visibility to jig.
"I'd have a lot more confidence if the water was clear and I could jig," Meravy added. "Especially under these conditions when boat control is critical."
The field will cut to the top 10 pros and co-anglers for the final day of competition.
Rounding out the top five pros are Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D. (15 walleyes, 50 pounds, 14 ounces); Joshua Vanderweide of Jenison, Mich. (15 walleyes, 46 pounds, 1 ounce); Ken Shoenecker of West Bend, Wis. (14 walleyes, 42 pounds, 15 ounces); and Scott Fairbairn of Hager City, Wis. (12 walleyes, 42 pounds, 8 ounces).
Rounding out the top 10 pros are Chris Gilman of Chisago City, Minn., Dean Kaminski of Columbia High, Minn., Brian Warner of Charlevoix, Mich., Gerrick McComsey of Fort Pierre, S.D., and Erik Furseth of East Lansing, Mich.
Don Cozzie of Orland Park, Ill., leads the co-angler division with 15 walleyes weighing 44 pounds, 10 ounces.
"My pro, Joshua Vanderweide, had five or six spots ready, and we hit four of them," Cozzie said. "We did a little bit of jigging and hand-lining. We caught the two big ones hand-lining and had one small one we tried to get rid of all day, but we couldn't.
"My pro for Saturday, Mark Meravy, lives just 10 miles from me, and we both know what we're doing out here, so I hope everything goes all right for us," Cozzie added.
Cozzie originally had planned to leave Michigan on the fourth day of competition to see his daughter play softball for the University of Dubuque.
"I wasn't even supposed to be here for the final day, but I guess my plans have changed," Cozzie said.
Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight. Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Paul Doute of Southgate, Mich. (15 walleyes, 43 pounds, 15 ounces); Chris Kinzler of Trenton, Mich. (15 walleyes, 43 pounds, 8 ounces); Mike Zawistowski of Wonder Lake, Ill. (15 walleyes, 41 pounds, 9 ounces); and Michael Eichbrecht of Washington, Mich. (nine walleyes, 40 pounds, 10 ounces).
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Brent Brophy of Milford Town, Mich., Keith Strauss of Syracuse, Ind., Keith Hahn of Johnsburg, Ill., Shannon Larson of Rice Lake, Wis., and Heath Fremstad of Mondovi, Wis.
Elizabeth Park/Wayne County Parks is hosting the event. Anglers will launch at 7 a.m. Saturday from Elizabeth Park Marina located at 202 Grosse Isle Parkway in Trenton, Mich. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 23800 Allen Road in Woodhaven, Mich., 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 150 points awarded to the winner, 149 to second, 148 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 2007 FLW Walleye Tour Championship.
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 $100,000 plus potential sponsor bonuses totaling $50,000 will go to the FLW Walleye Tour Championship winner for a total pro award of $150,000. 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.
Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour event on the Detroit River will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on May 13 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern. "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.
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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
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 Walmart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. |
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| Meravy leads FLW event on Detroit River |
|  | | Leader Mark Meravy with a Day 2 walleye |
TRENTON, Mich. - Pro Mark Meravy of Shorewood, Ill., caught a two-day total of 10 walleyes weighing 44 pounds, 5 ounces to lead day two of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event presented by Yamaha on the Detroit River in Trenton, Mich., the first regular-season event of the 2007 FLW Walleye Tour.
The 2007 FLW Walleye Tour features a $2.71 million total purse, including the no-entry-fee $675,850 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie at Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 27-30, and television coverage on FSN (Fox Sports Net). With a full field of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers, anglers are competing for their share of a $509,300 purse, including as much as $100,000 for the winning pro and $18,000 for the winning co-angler.
"I've been lucky and caught a good kicker fish the past two days, but I can't count on that every day," said Meravy, who was in second place after the first day of competition. "I'm just going to go out and do exactly the same thing I've been doing and hope my luck continues."
Meravy fished the same pattern most of the field did on day two - jigging on the river for a limit of walleyes.
"The water is getting dirtier," Meravy said. "If it keeps getting dirtier, it's going to hurt me.
"Right now, I'm confident I can weigh 15 pounds a day if the water stays down, but I'm also going to need it to stay clear," Meravy added.
Rounding out the top five pros are Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D. (10 walleyes, 38 pounds, 9 ounces); Scott Banks of Cannon Falls, Minn. (eight walleyes, 38 pounds, 8 ounces); Scott Fairbairn of Hager City, Wis. (seven walleyes, 29 pounds, 9 ounces); and Dan Herd of Hutchinson, Minn. (10 walleyes, 28 pounds, 13 ounces).
Michael Eichbrecht of Washington, Mich., leads the co-angler division.
"I came into this just trying to make the top 50," said Eichbrecht, who also led on day one. "Right now, I'm on top of the world."
Eichbrecht maintained his lead despite fishing in rough, dirty water. He said his pro, Jonathan Shoemaker of Elyria, Ohio, marked fish all day, but they couldn't get them to bite.
"We tried everything," Eichbrecht said. "We tried different colors, different baits, live bait and plastics. They just didn't want to hit because of the dirty water."
Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight. Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Chris Kinzler of Trenton, Mich. (10 walleyes, 30 pounds, 15 ounces); Scott Collinsworth of Anaconda, Mont. (10 walleyes, 30 pounds, 7 ounces); Keith Strauss of Syracuse, Ind. (10 walleyes, 30 pounds, 7 ounces); and Keith Hahn of Johnsburg, Ill. (10 walleyes, 29 pounds, 12 ounces).
Elizabeth Park/Wayne County Parks is hosting the event. Anglers launch daily at 7 a.m. from Elizabeth Park Marina located at 202 Grosse Isle Parkway in Trenton, Mich. Friday's weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 23800 Allen Road in Woodhaven, Mich., 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 150 points awarded to the winner, 149 to second, 148 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 2007 FLW Walleye Tour Championship.
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 $100,000 plus potential sponsor bonuses totaling $50,000 will go to the FLW Walleye Tour Championship winner for a total pro award of $150,000. 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.
Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour event on the Detroit River will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on May 13 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern. "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.
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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
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 Walmart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. |
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| Banks leads FLW Walleye Tour on Detroit River |
|  | | Scott Banks with a pair of Detroit River walleyes |
TRENTON, Mich. - Pro Scott Banks of Cannon Falls, Minn., along with his partner, Michael Eichbrecht of Washington, Mich., caught five walleyes weighing 31 pounds, 5 ounces to lead day one of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event presented by Yamaha on the Detroit River in Trenton, Mich., the first regular-season event of the 2007 FLW Walleye Tour. With a $2.71 million total purse, including the no-entry-fee $675,850 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie at Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 27-30, and television coverage on FSN (Fox Sports Net), the FLW Walleye Tour is bigger and better than ever.
Anglers were greeted with gale-force winds the morning of the season opener, and fishing was restricted to the Michigan waters of the Detroit River due to the dangerous winds. Temperatures remained in the 30s throughout the day and snow turned to rain to make for miserable conditions for anglers, but they braved the conditions and remained optimistic about the event.
"Every day the bite is getting better as the fish are getting acclimated to the cooler water temperatures we've had recently," said Banks, who is beginning his fourth year as a pro on the FLW Walleye Tour. "People around us were catching fish, but we were doing something just a little different that allowed us to land a little better fish."
Banks and Eichbrecht found that the clear water offered a good jig bite - a bite that produced quickly and consistently.
"We were culling fish by 10 minutes to eight this morning," Banks said. "Feeling the bite in the wind wasn't a problem - staying in place was. I had to really stay on the trolling motor today.
"When we left our spot, it was to the point that we couldn't jig any more," Banks continued. "Fortunately we had our fish and didn't have to worry about it."
Banks, who grew up fishing the waters of the Mississippi River, said he spent all of his time prefishing for the tournament on the river instead of trying the lake bite.
"I'm going to do the same thing the rest of the tournament," Banks said. "I just want to catch a few more solid limits."
Rounding out the top five pros are Mark Meravy of Shorewood, Ill. (five walleyes, 21 pounds, 8 ounces); Kevin Goligowski of Maplewood, Minn. (five walleyes, 21 pounds, 5 ounces); Robert Lampman of De Soto, Wis. (five walleyes, 20 pounds, 11 ounces); and Rick McLaughlin of Glenrock, Wyo. (five walleyes, 20 pounds, 1 ounce).
Eichbrecht leads the co-angler division. "Going into today, I would have loved to have had 20 pounds," Eichbrecht said. "That would have been fantastic. As it turns out, I'm doing much better than that. I'm just really having a lot of fun out here."
Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight. Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bill Buboltz of Ham Lake, Minn., Stephen Gaston of Montegut, La., Robert Dekorne of Newaygo, Mich., and Shannon Larson of Rice Lake, Wis.
Elizabeth Park/Wayne County Parks is hosting the event. Anglers launch daily at 7 a.m. from Elizabeth Park Marina located at 202 Grosse Isle Parkway in Trenton, Mich. 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 23800 Allen Road in Woodhaven, Mich., 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 150 points awarded to the winner, 149 to second, 148 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 2007 FLW Walleye Tour Championship.
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 $100,000 plus potential sponsor bonuses totaling $50,000 will go to the FLW Walleye Tour Championship winner for a total pro award of $150,000. 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.
Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour event on the Detroit River will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on May 13 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern. "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.
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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
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 Walmart.com. |
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| Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour to kick off season on Detroit River |
TRENTON, Mich. - The Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, now in its seventh season, will hold its first of four qualifying events on the Detroit River in Trenton, Mich., April 11-14. With a $2.71 million total purse, including the no-entry-fee $675,850 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie near Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 27-30, and national television coverage on FSN (Fox Sports Net), the FLW Walleye Tour is bigger and better than ever.
A full field of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers will compete in the tournament presented by Yamaha for their share of a $509,300 purse, including as much as $100,000 for the winning pro and $18,000 for the winning co-angler.
"The prespawn walleye typically migrate from Lake Erie to Lake St. Clair every year around that time," said pro Ross Grothe of Northfield, Minn., who won the 2006 Detroit River event with a four-day weight of 82 pounds, 2 ounces. "It's a major thoroughfare for a substantial number of fish out of Lake Erie, and the tournament usually falls during the time of peak migration."
Grothe said the migration will depend on water temperature and water levels, but he expects the migration to coincide fairly closely with the tournament.
"Last year, the fishing got better every day during the tournament," Grothe said. "And that tells me more and more fish were migrating up on a daily basis."
Grothe said the primary presentations anglers will employ to take walleyes during the tournament are vertical jigging and hand-lining.
On Oct. 24, 2006, the Secretary of Agriculture issued a federal order aimed at preventing the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) within the United States. The order prohibits the transportation of live walleyes across state lines from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and international borders from Ontario and Quebec, even if fish are to be returned to the same body of water from which they were caught.
As a result of the order, anglers competing in the Detroit River tournament will be restricted to Michigan waters of the river and Lake Erie only.
"A lot of the fish taken last year were taken in Canada, so I don't know if the total weights will be as big as they were last year," Grothe said. "It's much less water we will have to concentrate on dissecting for the tournament.
"I think the winning weight will be around 68 to 70 pounds," Grothe added. "I believe the bigger fish have been taken in Canada in past years, but we may get surprised and see weights similar to last year's."
Elizabeth Park Marina in Trenton 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 final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 23800 Allen Road in Woodhaven, Mich., 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 150 points awarded to the winner, 149 to second, 148 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 2007 FLW Walleye Tour Championship.
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 $100,000 plus potential sponsor bonuses totaling $50,000 will go to the FLW Walleye Tour Championship winner for a total pro award of $150,000. 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.
Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour opener on the Detroit River will be broadcast to 80 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on May 13 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to 429 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed fishing program 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.
Following the Detroit River tournament, the FLW Walleye Tour will visit the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minn., May 2-5 for an event presented by Evinrude. Devils Lake in Devils Lake, N.D., will host the third regular-season event June 6-9, and the regular season will come to a close with an event presented by Evinrude July 11-14 on Bays de Noc in Escanaba, Mich.
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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
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.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. |
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