Vande Mark, Zoller win Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Super Tournament on Saginaw Bay

Boater Steve Vande Mark (left) of Linwood, Mich., and co-angler Tim Zoller of Auburn, Mich., were FLW Walleye League Michigan Division winners of the Aug. 6-7 Super Tournament on Saginaw Bay. Anglers: Steve Vandemark, Tim Zoller.

August 7, 2005 • MLF • Archives

LINWOOD, Mich. – Boater Steve Vande Mark of Linwood, Mich., caught a total of 10 walleyes weighing 49 pounds, 11 ounces to convincingly win the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Michigan Division Super Tournament presented by Evinrude held Saturday and Sunday on Saginaw Bay. Vande Mark claimed $2,880 plus a $750 bonus for meeting the contingency guidelines.

Vande Mark caught his walleyes trolling in-line spinners 30 to 32 feet deep over 60 to 62 feet of water. He trolled at speeds between .8 and 1 mph in the area around Tawas Point with #5 sliver and rainbow colored blades on his spinners.

Finishing second in the Boater Division was Nathan Seiferlein of Marine City ($1,600) with 10 walleyes weighing 45 pounds, 2 ounces. Shannon Robinson of Standish ($1,440 plus $400 bonus) caught 10 walleyes weighing 43 pounds, 2 ounces to finish third. Gregory Stoia of Brighton ($1,280) claimed fourth place with 10 walleyes that weighed 42 pounds, 4 ounces. Finishing fifth was Jason Kaniszewski of Au Gres ($1,024) thanks to an eight-walleye catch that weighed 41 pounds.

Tim Zoller of Auburn caught 10 walleyes with his partners that weighed 48 pounds, 4 ounces to win the Co-angler Division. Zoller earned $1,440 for his win. He and his partners also caught his winning fish trolling spinners with night crawlers around suspended walleyes in 30 feet of water.

Finishing second in the Co-angler Division was Jeff Gronski of Saginaw ($800) with 10 walleyes weighing 46 pounds, 10 ounces. Dave Dugall of Highland ($720) caught 10 walleyes weighing 46 pounds, 5 ounces to finish third. Joseph Manenti of Troy ($640) claimed fourth place with 10 walleyes that weighed 45 pounds, 14 ounces. Finishing fifth was Scott Cain of Midland ($512 plus $125 bonus) thanks to a 10-walleye catch that weighed 43 pounds, 9 ounces.

Boaters and co-anglers who finished in the top 35 in final points standings in each FLW Walleye League division will advance to the no-entry-fee $115,000 Wal-Mart FLW League Finals Sept. 8-10 on the Mississippi River in Winona, Minn. The winning boater at the finals will receive an Evinrude-or Yamaha-powered Ranger 621 boat. Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points awarded to the winner, 199 points for second, and so on, except for Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winner, 298 to second, and so on.

FLW Walleye League boaters and co-anglers fish together for a combined boat weight, with boaters competing against other boaters and co-anglers fishing against other co-anglers. The Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League meets the needs of America’s fishing masses by providing professionally administered, close-to-home, affordable events with lucrative cash purses.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.

For more information on FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.