Pro Nick Johnson of Elmwood, Wis., caught a two-day total of five walleyes weighing 15 pounds, 10 ounces on Bull Shoals Lake to lead the first event of the $2.6 million 2005 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour. The entire field will continue opening-round competition Friday. After Friday, only the top-10 anglers in both divisions continue fishing Saturday, with the pros battling for a top award of as much as $80,000 and co-anglers battling for as much as $16,000.
An increase in temperatures and cloudy skies Thursday morning lifted the spirits of anglers who struggled Wednesday to catch walleyes. Many anglers feel the fish are feeding heavily at night, and that is why the bite has been so tough. Others feel the walleyes are gorging themselves on shad, as a few anglers reported seeing walleyes regurgitating shad in their livewells. Some struggling anglers, however, figured out how to coax the over-fed walleyes into their boats Thursday, and the rest of leader board changed as a result.
“I had a little slower day out there today,” Johnson said. “We got a heavy rain Wednesday night, and today there was a mud line on the banks I was fishing, as well as increased pressure from other boats.” Calmer waters also made the fishing tougher for Johnson, but he feels his bite will improve with a little more wind on Friday.
“I lost one towards the end of the day, but it was after I changed my technique. I might have figured something out for Friday, so I’m just hanging in there and hoping I can make the cut.”
Rounding out the top-five pros are Todd Riley of Amery, Wis. (three walleyes, 12 pounds, 9 ounces); Robert Lampman of De Soto, Wis. (two walleyes, 12 pounds, 1 ounce); Robert Crow of Paterson, Wash. (four walleyes, 10 pounds, 4 ounces); and Jason Przekurat of Stevens Point, Wis. (three walleyes, 8 pounds, 11 ounces).
William Brewer of Omaha, Neb., leads the Co-angler Division with three walleyes weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces. He fished with pro John Kolinski of Greenville, Wis., on day one and with Riley on day two.
“This is my fifth year fishing with the tour as a co-angler, and I really want to make this year’s championship,” Brewer said. “I hit the first fish yesterday, and I hit the first one again today. After it was in the boat, I got a real big bear hug and a high five from my pro partner.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jim Schleicher of Maxwell, Neb. (four walleyes, 12 pounds, 9 ounces); Dave Crawford of Maybee, Mich. (two walleyes, 12 pounds, 1 ounce); Janet Flynn of Tea, S.D. (three walleyes, 8 pounds, 11 ounces); and Kenneth Brenner of Moline, Ill. (three walleyes, 7 pounds, 6 ounces).
Only 29 walleyes were caught Thursday, but they weighed 93 pounds, 1 ounce.
Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight and are randomly paired each day. The FLW Walleye Tour is the world’s most lucrative professional walleye-fishing series. At the $650,000 million Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the Mississippi River in Moline, Ill., Sept. 28 – Oct. 1, pros will fish for as much as $140,000 cash and co-anglers will chase as much as $22,000.
Daily takeoffs at Bull Shoals start at 7 a.m. at Bull Shoals Boat Dock. Friday’s weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. at the marina, and Saturday’s weigh-in starts at 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart store located at Highway 62/412 in Flippin. The community is invited to attend daily takeoffs and weigh-ins, which are free and open to the public.
Anglers from 18 states are fishing. 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.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour 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 and Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour.
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.