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| Kjelden Wins 2007 FLW Walleye Tour Championship |
CLEVELAND (Sept. 30, 2007) - BFGoodrich Tires pro Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D., caught five walleyes weighing 22 pounds, 13 ounces Sunday to post a two-day winning catch of 10 walleyes weighing 62 pounds in the sport's most lucrative event - the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship - on Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland. Not only does Kjelden have the prestigious title of champion, he also grabbed an industry leading payday of $150,000.
Kjelden's catch also set a new FLW Walleye Tour Championship two-day winning weight record, shattering the old record of 28 pounds set last year by Richard Nascak of Winona, Minn., on Lake Oahe in Pierre, S.D. In fact, the catch shattered the final two-day weight record for any FLW Walleye Tour Championship, including the 31-02 caught by Dean Arnoldussen of Appleton, Wis., in 2001 on Green Bay. At the time, however, weights were zeroed for the final day, so Arnoldussen's two-day total is unofficial.
Anglers were able to fish the massive body of water with relative ease Saturday and Sunday, as the high winds, rough water and scattered showers seen on days one and two subsided. This allowed the finalists to key in on the monster walleyes that make Cleveland and Lake Erie one of the nation's top walleye destinations. To prove that fact, the top-10 anglers hauled in another impressive overall catch of 48 fish weighing 240 pounds, 6 ounces Sunday. The catch included nine five-fish limits.
"It is absolutely amazing to come out here to Erie and win against this stiff competition," said Kjelden, who finished seventh in last year's championship. "The competition on this tour is extremely stiff. Everyone in the top-10 deserved to be here. They are all amazing anglers. To come out number one is just incredible. When Scott Fairbairn brought out his first two fish, I had a gut feeling I had won."
Kjelden found that the more aggressive fish were up higher in the water column earlier in the week. After that, he keyed in on specific schools and caught quality fish with an array of spinners. The fish hit willow leaf blades trolled about 10 feet down in 45 feet of water near the Canadian border.
"One thing that I think was key to this win was that I am always looking for a pattern of where the fish are going, not where they are now," Kjelden said. "I am a very driven person. I don't like to lose and want to be in the top-10 every stop. If I do something, I give it 100 percent. Fishing out there today by myself was tough. I lost a few fish, and it was just frustrating. Overall I had a tough day and a long week."
Rounding out the top five pros were Scott Fairbairn of Hager City, Wis. (10 walleyes, 49-07, $75,000); Robert Crow of Paterson, Wash. (10 walleyes, 48-12, $30,000); Folgers pro Denny Lantzy of Warren, Mich. (10 walleyes, 47-09, $25,000); and Jim Preissner of Hastings, Minn. (10 walleyes, 47-04, $20.000).
Co-angler competition ended Saturday in dramatic fashion, as the last angler to weigh in, Mike Zawistowski of Wonder Lake, Ill., chalked up an impressive win in just his third complete season on tour. He earned $11,000 for the victory.
"It was an incredible day," he said. "This has been an outstanding year. I made the top-10 at Detroit and won here. It's just unreal. I'll probably use this money to pay some bills and go have some fun."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Adam Adler of Oconto Falls, Wis. (five walleyes, 32-13, $15,000); Patrick Bertelsen of Jackson, Minn. (five walleyes, 24-01, $5,000 ); Dewey Watson of Twin Falls, Idaho (five walleyes, 23-12, $5,500); and Nate Brunz of Madison Lake, Minn. (five walleyes, 23-05, $3,000).
Pros and co-anglers were randomly paired each day and fished for a combined boat weight. Pros competed against other pros, and co-anglers competed against other co-anglers. The full field competed Thursday and Friday and then was cut to the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers for Saturday. Anglers in both divisions started from zero Saturday, and the co-angler winner was determined by the day's heaviest catch. Pros carried their weights from Saturday over to Sunday, and the winner was determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from both days.
Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Dec. 2 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through Matchroom Sport, 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.
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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| Kjelden Leads FLW Tour Championship |
CLEVELAND (Sept. 29, 2007) - BFGoodrich Tires pro Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D., and co-angler Mike Zawistowski of Wonder Lake, Ill., caught five walleyes weighing 39 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to give Kjelden the lead going into the final day of the sport's most lucrative event - the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship - on Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland. The impressive catch also earned Zawistowski the title of co-angler champion and $11,000.
The lake decided to show some mercy on the competitors Saturday after Friday's wind subsided and 6 to 8 foot waves faded overnight. With just a slight chop, cool temperatures and a light variable wind, the top-10 anglers were able to haul in another impressive catch of 48 fish weighing 240 pounds, 6 ounces. The catch included nine five-fish limits.
"This day was huge. This was the day to do it and get a big lead," said Kjelden, who weighed in the biggest bag of the event thus far and holds an almost 7 pound lead over his closest competitor. "Everything just went amazingly well today. The second fish of the day was an 11-pounder. We weren't even sure it was a walleye until we got it to the boat. These fish just seemed to be bigger today, and we just got the right bites. We probably went through about 30 fish throughout the day. We had our limit by 9 a.m. this morning."
Kjelden and Zawistowski found that the more aggressive fish were up higher in the water column first thing this morning. After that, they were able to key in on certain schools and catch quality fish with an array of spinners trolled around 45 feet of water near the Canadian border. Kjelden also said that he happened to luck up on these fish late in practice as he was out surveying different areas. "These fish were just out in the middle of this huge abyss of 45 feet of water. I'm not even sure why they are even there.
"I'm felling really nervous. I have Scott Fairbairn to worry about," Kjelden said. "I've never been in the driver's seat going into the final day of competition. Every other time I have won, I have won it on the final day. I just hope to go back out and do the same thing all over again. The goal is about 25 pounds tomorrow. I would feel a lot more comfortable with that. The money would be huge. I don't even know what I would do with that amount."
Rounding out the top five pros are Scott Fairbairn of Hager City, Wis. (five walleyes, 32-13); Folgers pro Denny Lantzy of Warren, Mich. (five walleyes, 24-01); Robert Crow of Patterson, Wash. (five walleyes, 23-12); and Jim Preissner of Hastings, Minn. (five walleyes, 23-05).
In the Co-angler Division, Zawistowski chalked up an impressive win in just his third complete season on tour.
"It was an incredible day," he said. "This has been an outstanding year. I made the top-10 at Detroit and won here. It's just unreal. I'll probably use this money to pay some bills and go have some fun."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Adam Adler of Oconto Falls, Wis. (five walleyes, 32-13, $15,000); Patrick Bertelsen of Jackson, Minn. (five walleyes, 24-01, $5,000 ); Dewey Watson of Twin Falls, Idaho (five walleyes, 23-12, $5,500); and Nate Brunz of Madison Lake, Minn. (five walleyes, 23-05, $3,000).
Voinovich Bicentennial Park, located at 800 E. Ninth St. in Cleveland, will host Sunday's final takeoff at 7:30 a.m. The weigh-in will be held at the Cleveland Convention Center, located at 500 Lakeside Ave. E., beginning at 4 p.m. The community is invited to attend the takeoff and weigh-in as well as the Family Fun Zone, which opens at noon Sunday. The first 200 children 14 and under who visit the show will receive a free fishing reel.
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 Thursday and Friday and then is cut to the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers for Saturday. Anglers in both divisions start from zero Saturday, and the co-angler winner is determined by the day's heaviest catch. Pros carry their weights from Saturday over to Sunday, and the winner will be determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from both days.
Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Dec. 2 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through Matchroom Sport, 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.
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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| Kolb Leads Walleye Anglers Into FLW Finals |
CLEVELAND (Sept. 28, 2007) - Bounty pro David Kolb of Ada, Mich., and co-angler Chris Pluntz of Maple, Wis., caught five walleyes weighing 31 pounds, 5 ounces Friday to give Kolb a two-day total of 10 walleyes weighing 68-10 in the sport's most lucrative event - the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship - on Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland. The impressive catch, which outpaced his closest competitor by 13 pounds, 3 ounces, advanced Kolb to the all-important final round of 10 pros as the No. 1 seed. Weights zero Saturday, however, so Kolb will have to turn in a repeat performance to win the tournament's $150,000 top award.
In the Co-angler Division, Ryan Kelly of Ortonville, Minn., advanced to the final round as the No. 1 seed with 10 walleyes weighing in at 50 pounds, 2 ounces. Kelly and the rest of the co-angler contenders will wrap up competition Saturday with the winner earning as much as $22,000.
After a relatively calm start to the tournament Thursday, the field faced some of Lake Erie's worst conditions Friday, as high winds produced punishing 5 to 6 foot waves. The conditions pushed anglers to their limits, both mentally and physically, but the sport's best from 15 states and Canada took to the water and hauled in another great catch of 135 fish weighing 547 pounds, 3 ounces. The catch included 21 five-fish limits.
"It was a little choppy out there this morning," said Kolb, who won the 2003 FLW Walleye Tour stop on Lake Erie out of Port Clinton, Ohio. "We went ahead and made the long run again this morning. It took us a little over an hour and a half, but as soon as we started putting out the lines, we were catching fish. We probably caught about seven before we ever got completely set up. We caught so many fish over the last two days. Its incredible, I love it."
Kolb and Pluntz found that the fish were aggressive first thing in the morning. As the day went on, the bite seemed to slow down but picked up again around noon, right before the team decided to make the long run in.
"This weather has kind of played into my favor. I think I am around enough fish in my area to keep me right up in this. I have a lot of confidence on this water and the school of fish I'm working," Kolb said. "I' m going to make the run back to the same area tomorrow. It's a huge school, I found them in practice last Friday, and I think they are replenishing themselves everyday. The only thing is that the other people who weren't able to make the runs the last couple of days will be able to if the weather dies like they are calling for. I've won here before. We will just have to see and play it by ear."
Rounding out the top five pros are BFGoodrich Tires pro Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D. (10 walleyes, 55-07); John Gillman of Freeland, Mich. (10 walleyes, 50-14); Folgers pro Denny Lantzy of Warren, Mich. (10 walleyes, 49-12); and Yamaha pro Ross Grothe of Northfield, Minn. (10 walleyes, 48-12).
Also clearing the top-10 weight of 41-09 are Coleman pro Tommy Skarlis of Waukon, Iowa; Scott Fairbairn of Hager City, Wis.; Jim Preissner of Hastings, Minn.; Jason Kerr of Holly, Mich.; and Robert Crow of Paterson, Wash.
The team of Kjelden and Brunz claimed the events Snickers Big Walleye Award with a 10-pound, 12-ounce fish, earning the team an additional $1,000.
"This is awesome," said Kelly, who is leading the Co-angler Division after fishing with pro Robert Lampman of De Soto, Wis. "Being only 19 and in college, this is great. It was really good to be able to fish with a past champion (Lampman). We didn't really run that far today. It was only about nine miles. I was the net man today. I didn't trust myself to reel. In my prefishing, I never got a fish in the boat. It's going to be nice to fish with David Kolb."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mike Zawistowski of Wonder Lake, Ill. (10 walleyes, 48-11); Jerome Chwierut of Lake Villa, Ill., (10 walleyes, 47-8); Patrick Bertelsen of Jackson, Minn. (10 walleyes, 47-5); and Pluntz (10 walleyes, 46-14).
Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 42-15 are Darrel Martin of Forest Lake, Minn.; Adam Adler of Oconto Falls, Wis.; Nate Brunz of Madison Lake, Minn.; Sally Blain of Hopkins, Mich.; and Dewey Watson of Twin Falls, Idaho.
Voinovich Bicentennial Park, located at 800 E. Ninth St. in Cleveland, will host daily takeoffs at 7:30 a.m. Daily weigh-ins will be held at the Cleveland Convention Center, located at 500 Lakeside Ave. E., beginning at 4 p.m. The community is invited to attend takeoffs and weigh-ins as well as the Family Fun Zone, which opens at noon Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is free fishing rod day at the Fun Zone, where the first 200 children 14 and under receive a free fishing rod, and Sunday is free fishing reel day, where the first 200 children 14 and under receive a free fishing reel.
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 Thursday and Friday and then is cut to the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers for Saturday. Anglers in both divisions start from zero Saturday, and co-angler competition will conclude with the winner determined by the day's heaviest catch. Pros will carry their weights from Saturday over to Sunday, and the winner will be determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from both days.
Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Dec. 2 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through Matchroom Sport, 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.
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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| Kolb, Fallaw Lead FLW Walleye Tour Championship |
CLEVELAND (Sept. 27, 2007) - Bounty pro David Kolb of Ada, Mich., and co-angler Joe Fallaw of Wonder Lake, Ill., caught five walleyes weighing 37 pounds, 5 ounces to lead day one of walleye fishing's most lucrative event - the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship - on Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland.
One hundred and six anglers representing 15 states and Canada are competing for top awards of $150,000 in the Pro Division and $22,000 in the Co-angler Division.
The field was greeted by 4-foot waves on the big waters of Lake Erie, which has been known to humble anglers with its fierce conditions. The giant body of water remained relatively calm throughout the day, however, allowing anglers to make long runs. Under these conditions, the field showed exactly why Lake Erie in Cleveland is one of the country's most prized walleye fisheries.
"I didn't even fish yesterday, I think I had it figured out," said Kolb, who had a enormous bag of walleyes anchored by two that were around the 9-pound mark and a giant that weighed in at 10 pounds even. "I was surprised to get those big fish today. I haven't seen any that big since I have been here. I thought I could get around 20 to 25 pounds. We just had three big fish and two little ones. It was a good day, and a great catch. I'm not complaining."
Kolb and Fallaw found that the fish were really low in the water column early in the morning. As the day progressed, however, the schools would become more aggressive and rise to shallower water.
"This morning we started out trolling nearly on the bottom, around the 40-foot mark. I knew if and when the fish ever started to come up the column, the bite was going to be on. We caught nearly 20 fish throughout the day with seven coming from the first pass," Kolb said.
While the choppy water slowed some competitors, Kolb said it didn't affect him.
"I probably fished more today than anyone else," he said. "I run hard and go after it. We were boat 51 going out this morning, and before we reached our spot, we had nearly caught the No. 2 boat. I live for this kind of stuff."
Rounding out the top five pros and co-anglers are John Gillman of Freeland, Mich., and Gary Session of Rapid City, S.D. (five walleyes, 31-05); Ross Grothe of Northfield, Minn., and Richard Ness of Ruthton, Minn. (five walleyes, 30-06); Mark Courts of Harris, Minn., and Mike Zawistowski of Wonder Lake, Ill. (five walleyes, 29-02); and Jeff Vereeke of Grand Rapids, Mich., and Ryan Kelly of Ortonville, Minn. (five walleyes, 28-11).
The team of Grothe and Ness claimed the day's Snickers Big Walleye Award, earning the team an additional $1,000.
Overall, there were 216 fish caught by all 106 anglers with a total weight of 906 pounds, 2 ounces. The catch included 32 five-fish limits.
Voinovich Bicentennial Park, located at 800 E. Ninth St. in Cleveland, will host daily takeoffs at 7:30 a.m. Daily weigh-ins will be held at the Cleveland Convention Center, located at 500 Lakeside Ave. E., beginning at 4 p.m. The community is invited to attend takeoffs and weigh-ins as well as the Family Fun Zone, which opens at 2 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday and Sunday. Friday is Solar Bat Sunglasses day, where the first 100 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone receive a free pair of Solar Bat Sunglasses similar to those that many of the pros wear. Saturday is free fishing rod day at the Fun Zone, where the first 200 children 14 and under receive a free fishing rod, and Sunday is free fishing reel day, where the first 200 children 14 and under receive a free fishing reel.
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 Thursday and Friday and then is cut to the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers for Saturday. Anglers in both divisions will start from zero Saturday, and co-angler competition will conclude with the winner determined by the day's heaviest catch. Pros will carry their weights from Saturday over to Sunday, and the winner will be determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from both days.
Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Dec. 2 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through Matchroom Sport, 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.
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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