Strauss sacks Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Michigan win on Saginaw Bay
Local Laveque wins Co-angler Division
LINWOOD, Mich. – Boater Keith Strauss of Syracuse, Ind., earned $2,295 Sunday as winner of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Michigan Division Super Tournament on Saginaw Bay. Strauss caught five walleyes weighing 6 pounds, 14 ounces on day one to make the top-15 cut in first place. He caught three walleyes weighing 8 pounds, 2 ounces in the final round to secure the victory with a two-day total of 15 pounds.
“The conditions were excellent,” Strauss said. “I’ve been fishing these events for about five years now and finally got my first win.”
Strauss, who also won a $750 Ranger bonus, trolled crawler harnesses in 20 to 28 feet of water concentrating on contour points and the edges of drop-offs.
“I prefer to be jigging but I do what works,” Strauss said. “I even took all my tackle out of my boat besides the harnesses just to fight the temptation of trying to jig. I had this trolling pattern going and there was no need in second-guessing myself.”
Rounding out the top five boaters Mike Kuzdzal of Ada, Mich. (seven walleyes, 14 pounds, 1 ounce, $1,275); Ted Peck of Swartz Creek, Mich. (six walleyes, 13 pounds, 13 ounces, $1,147 plus $400 contingency bonus); Don Curler of Bay City, Mich. (seven walleyes, 11 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,020) and Jeff Vereeke of Grand Rapids, Mich. (four walleyes, 8 pounds, 15 ounces, $816 plus $250 contingency bonus).
Tom Laveque of Saginaw, Mich., earned $1,148 as winner of the Co-angler Division with seven walleyes, weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Don Ransom of Sault Sainte Marie, Mich. (nine walleyes, 13 pounds, 6 ounces, $638); Larry Swiercz of Bay City, Mich. (five walleyes, 13 pounds, 4 ounces, $574); Charlie Roberts of Melbourne, Fla. (six walleyes, 11 pounds, 11ounces, $510); and Daniel Dietz of Hilliard, Ohio (eight walleyes, 10 pounds, 8 ounces, $408).
Three FLW Walleye League divisions – Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin – each feature three one-day events and one two-day Super Tournament during the regular season. Every angler who receives weight credit earns points, with 100 points awarded to the winner, 99 for second, 98 for third, and so on, except for Super Tournaments, which award 150 points to the winner, 149 for second, 148 for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings.
The top 35 boaters and 35 co-anglers from each FLW Walleye League division advance to the $141,950 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Finals, set for Sept. 7-9 on Lake Michigan in Escanaba, Mich. Anglers finishing in the top 10 in each division also receive priority entry into the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour for 2007.
The Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League was created to provide the grassroots walleye angler a chance to compete in professionally administered, close-to-home tournaments with lucrative cash awards.
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.