GREEN BAY, Wis. – Pro Ted Takasaki of East Gull Lake, Minn., caught a three-day total of 15 walleyes weighing 94 pounds, 11 ounces to take a commanding lead on day three of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event presented by Evinrude on Green Bay in Green Bay, Wis. With a $2.69 million total purse, including the no-entry-fee $675,000 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Oahe near Pierre, S.D., Oct. 4-7, and television coverage on FSN (Fox Sports Net), the FLW Walleye Tour is bigger and better than ever.
With a full field of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers, anglers are competing for their share of a $503,300 purse, including as much as $100,000 for the winning pro and $18,000 for the winning co-angler.
With searing hot weather, Takasaki was able to iron out another limit on day three weighing 30 pounds. That’s not to say he didn’t have to work to get the quality bites, however. “At 2 p.m., I only had two fish in the livewell,” Takasaki said. “Then, later in the afternoon, the sun came up and that causes walleyes to feed up higher in the water column. We caught 12 in 45 minutes.”
Though he’d hinted at making a run farther north at the end of day two, Takasaki said he chose to stick to Geano’s Reef and grind it out for the big fish. “The whole purpose is to win the tournament,” Takasaki said. “So I didn’t want to run north and fish for little ones. We just stayed and waited for the big ones. I think a combination of a good choice in blade pattern combined with where I’m presenting it in the water column is accounting for a lot of my fish.”
The field will cut to the top 10 pros and co-anglers for the final day of competition, and by reducing the field by 140 boats, Takasaki is hoping for an easier bite on the final day. “I’m hoping with the reduced pressure that I’ll have an easier time tomorrow,” the pro said. “I’ll be able to move a little more and go where I want to go.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Wayne Butz of Oneida, Wis. (15 walleyes, 81 pounds, 1 ounce); Dean Arnoldussen of Appleton, Wis. (15 walleyes, 76 pounds, 5 ounces); Bill Ortiz of Richland Center, Wis. (15 walleyes, 76 pounds, 1 ounce); and Ken Schoenecker of West Bend, Wis. (15 walleyes, 74 pounds, 14 ounces).
Leading the Co-angler Division is Red Wing, Minn., co-angler champion Kristine Szczech of St. Paul, Minn., with a three-day total of 14 walleyes weighing 80 pounds, 14 ounces. Szczech already made a mark in the competitive walleye-fishing history books when she became the first woman to win an FLW Walleye Tour event in the Co-angler Division earlier this spring. Now, with the chance for two wins in a single season and the fact that she’ll be paired with Takasaki on day four, eyes will be on Szczech at the final day’s weigh-in.
“I’m glad I’m getting to fish with Ted tomorrow,” Szczech said. “When I’m in these tournaments, I just have to stay focused, do my part and follow my pro’s lead.”
Szczech fished with pro Pat Neu of Forestville, Wis., who won the Green Bay event in 2005. “Pat is an intense angler, and it really paid off today,” Szczech said.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Chad Wertepny of Green Bay (15 walleyes, 79 pounds, 15 ounces); Todd Mueller of Appleton (15 walleyes, 78 pounds, 9 ounces); Joshua Northagen of Grand Forks, N.D. (15 walleyes, 78 pounds, 9 ounces) and Flo Swank of Pierre, S.D. (15 walleyes, 75 pounds, 11 ounces).
The Packer Country Visitor and Convention Bureau is hosting the event. Anglers have launched daily at 7 a.m. from Green Bay Metro Boat Launch. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 2440 West Mason Street in Green Bay 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 2006 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 Green Bay will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Sept. 10 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “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, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, 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 exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, browse 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 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.