ESCANABA, Mich. – Pro Steve Vande Mark of Linwood, Mich., caught a three-day total of 13 walleyes weighing 58 pounds to lead day three of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event on Bays de Noc in Escanaba, Mich., the fourth and final regular-season event of the 2007 FLW Walleye Tour.
The 2007 FLW Walleye Tour features a $2.71 million total purse, including the no-entry-fee $675,850 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie at Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 27-30, and television coverage on FSN (Fox Sports Net). With a full field of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers, anglers are competing for their share of a $509,300 purse, including as much as $100,000 for the winning pro and $18,000 for the winning co-angler.
“It was a textbook day,” said Vande Mark, who has amassed more than $46,000 in career earnings with FLW Outdoors. “We made about six passes this morning and caught two good ones right of the bat, followed by two slot fish. After that, we had some boat traffic move in on us so we opted to make a run back toward the harbor at another spot I had. We trolled this spot for about three hours and finally pulled in our limit fish. With the weather conditions and the slot fish in these areas I decided to fish only Michigan waters.
“Tomorrow, I’m going right back out there. It’s been really good to me all week so I’m sticking to the same game plan. I just hope I can sleep tonight.”
Vande Mark has been trolling really slowly, dragging gold blade spinners in 20 to 22 feet of water around the Garden Peninsula area.
The field will cut to the top 10 pros and co-anglers for the final day of competition.
Rounding out the top five pros are Troy Morris of Bismarck, N.D. (15 walleyes, 51 pounds, 1 ounce); BP pro Jason Przekurat of Stevens Point, Wis. (15 walleyes, 50 pounds, 1 ounce); Patrick Byle of Colgate, Wis. (10 walleyes, 45 pounds, 9 ounces); and Kelly Klemm of Beardsley, Minn. (nine walleyes, 44 pounds, 12 ounces).
Rounding out the top 10 pros are Tom Kemos of Oconomowoc, Wis., Todd Riley of Amery, Wis., Chevy pro Tom Keenan of Hatley, Wis., Mark Courts of Harris, Minn., and BF Goodrich Tires pro Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D.
Saturday will be the deciding day on who will be crowned the 2007 FLW Walleye Tour Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year. The race is tight between BP pro Jason Przekurat and Chris Gilman of Chisago City, Minn. If Przekurat finishes ninth place or higher at the conclusion of Saturdays weigh-in, he will be crowned Angler of the Year for the second time in his career. If not, Chris Gilman will step in and take the title. Since Gilman did not make the top-10 cut, there is nothing he can do but set back and wait to see how things will unfold on Saturday.
Trent McLaughlin of Hays, Kan., leads the co-angler division with 14 walleyes weighing 45 pounds, 7 ounces.
“Today was really good,” said McLaughlin, who is fishing in his first FLW Walleye Tour event. “I was really happy to draw Jason Przekurat today. It’s been a crazy ride and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight. Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Lawrence Booghier of Lakeview, Ohio (10 walleyes, 41 pounds, 3 ounces); Roy Hammond of New Berlin, Wis. (10 walleyes, 40 pounds, 8 ounces); James Plummer of Fairborn, Ohio (11 walleyes, 40 pounds, 4 ounces); and John Hammond of New Berlin, Wis. (seven walleyes, 36 pounds, 7 ounces).
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Shannon Larson of Rice Lake, Wis., Doug Lampen of Allegan, Mich., Kevin Kerkvliet of Maplewood, Minn., Joseph Manenti of Troy, Mich., and Chris Pluntz of Maple, Wis.
Bays de Noc Convention and Visitors Bureau is hosting the event. Anglers will launch at 7 a.m. Saturday from Escanaba Harbor located at Loren W. Jenkins Memorial Drive in Escanaba. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 601 North Lincoln Road in Escanaba 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 Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year standings. The top 50 pros and 50 co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the 2007 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 Bays de Noc will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Oct. 7 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern. “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 fishing program 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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
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 Walmart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.