Wertepny whacks 28 pounds, wins Co-angler Division - Major League Fishing

Wertepny whacks 28 pounds, wins Co-angler Division

Local fisherman earns first-place check worth $15,000
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Co-angler Chad Wertepny and pro Wayne Butz show off their first-place trophies. Photo by Brett Carlson. Anglers: Wayne Butz, Chad Wertepny.
July 15, 2006 • Brett Carlson • Archives

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Make it a clean sweep for the locals as co-angler Chad Wertepny continued his success on day four of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event on Green Bay and claimed victory participating in his first FLW Outdoors tournament. Wertepny was reunited with pro winner Wayne Butz on day four, and the two used impeccable teamwork to pull off victories in their respective divisions.

Wertepny caught five walleyes that weighed 28 pounds even on day four and finished the tournament with 20 walleyes weighing 107 pounds, 15 ounces.

Co-angler winner Chad Wertepny holds up two giant walleyes caught on day four of the FLW Walleye Tour event on Green Bay.While the weight is shared between a pro and a co-angler, Wertepny caught two of the weigh-fish himself on an 1/8-ounce jig tipped with a night crawler. Earlier in the day, the two caught a 7-pound walleye on a crawler harness, pulled behind a planer board. The board-fish came off Wertepny’s side of the boat as well.

“He was a great angler,” said Butz, a local himself. “He helped immensely and was a great netter.”

“We were just flipping those jigs out and twitching them along the bottom in rocky areas,” said Wertepny, who is an avid salmon fisherman. “We got a lot of perch and gobies on them, but every now and then, you’d hook a nice walleye.”

The primary areas the two anglers were jigging were near islands and lighthouses a short distance from Metro Park Boat Launch, the site of the daily takeoffs.

Wertepny grossed $15,000 in his first FLW Outdoors event.

“Salmon fishing doesn’t pay this well, not even close.”

Swank ascends to second

Pro Ken Schoenecker and co-angler Flo Swank celebrate after putting 25 pounds, 14 ounces on the scale.Coming in second for the co-anglers was day-two leader Flo Swank. Swank began the day in fifth place and moved up to second via a 25-pound, 14-ounce catch. She finished the tournament with 101 pounds, 9 ounces earning a purse of $5,000.

“You really learn a lot, and it is just a great experience,” said the colorful Swank. “Ken tried so hard to get his fifth fish that he hooked himself. Can he weigh himself in?”

Swank’s next tournament will be held out of her backyard. The Pierre, S.D., native has qualified for the 2006 FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Oahe.

Ludwig leaps to third

Co-angler Randy Ludwig finished the Green Bay tournament in third place, earning a check for $3,500.Co-angler Randy Ludwig of Neenah, Wis., partnered with pro Jeff Ryan on day four and moved up six places with a 29- pound, 3-ounce limit. His four-day total weight was 99 pounds, 1 ounce, good for a third-place finish and $3,500.

Mueller falls to fourth

Appleton, Wis., residents Dean Arnoldussen and Todd Mueller placed a 20-pound, 6-ounce limit on the day-four scale.The Appleton, Wis., duo of pro Dean Arnoldussen and co-angler Todd Mueller brought five walleyes to the scale Saturday, but they only weighed 20 pounds, 1 ounce. Sitting in third after three days of competition, Mueller dropped one spot among the co-anglers with a total weight of 98 pounds, 10 ounces. The local fisherman earned $2,500 for his fourth-place finish.

“I had an awesome time this week,” said Mueller. “If you want to fish a tournament, there’s no better circuit out there.”

Another top-10 for Northagen

Bill Ortiz and Josh Northagen place a limit of Green Bay walleyes on the scale Saturday afternoon.Fifth place went to Joshua Northagen of Grand Forks, N.D., who boated five walleyes that weighed 16 pounds, 5 ounces. His four-day total weight was 94 pounds, 14 ounces, which earned him a check for $2,200.

To date, Northagen has only competed in two FLW Walleye Tour events, yet it appears he will qualify for the championship after back-to-back top-10 finishes.

Rounding out the top 10 co-angler finalists at the FLW Walleye Tour event on Green Bay:

6th: James McCartin of Land O’Lakes, Wis., 93-15

7th: Kristine Szczech of St. Paul, Minn., 93-14

8th: Randy Reek of Minocqua, Wis., 89-6

9th: Charles Dahl of Burlington, Wis., 81-7

10th: Darrell Martin of Forest Lake, Minn., 81-0

FLW Walleye Tour competition resumes Oct. 4-7 as the top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers compete in the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Oahe in Pierre, S.D.