PIERRE, S.D. – Kelly Klemm of Wheaton, Minn., along with his partner, James Muntean of Maplewood, Minn., caught five walleyes weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces to lead day three of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour presented by Berkley event on Lake Sharpe in Pierre, S.D. Klemm now has a three-day catch of 15 walleyes weighing 28-12. He now holds a 2 pound, 12 ounce lead over the second place finisher going into the final day of competition.
The Lake Sharpe event is a nationally televised tournament that features 268 competitors fishing for top awards of $100,000 in the Pro Division and $20,000 in the Co-angler Division.
“I did the same thing in the same spot I’ve done the previous two days,” said Klemm, who has three top-10 finishes in seven seasons of FLW Walleye Tour competition. “I’m fishing ¼-ounce jigs with minnows right off shore.”
Klemm said he has made a 50-mile run south each day and has focused his efforts on a spot he has pulled 16 fish out of over the course of the three days. Klemm said he caught seven walleyes and then moved to a spot hoping for a big fish, but the big bite never came.
“We came back in and hit the spot where we caught the big one yesterday, and I thought I had it on, but it was an 8- or 10-pound carp,” Klemm said. “It came up and rolled on me and I saw what it was, and it was kind of a heartbreak.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Scott Banks of Cannon Falls, Minn. (15 walleyes, 26 pounds, 0 ounces); Kevin Larkins of Greenwood, Neb. (15 walleyes, 25 pounds, 14 ounces); Gerrick McComsey of Fort Pierre, S.D. (15 walleyes, 25 pounds, 12 ounces); and Scott Fairbairn of Hager City, Wis. (15 walleyes, 25 pounds, 10 ounces).
Darrell Rosemore of Jamestown, N.D., leads the co-angler division with a three day weight weighing 27-6.
“Today was really tough,” said Rosemore. “We only brought in four fish. We fished around Pierre, and at 9 a.m., we got gas and then made a 55-mile run down south. We didn’t have a fish until 11:30 and I was starting to get nervous.
“We had to leave by 1:30 to make it back, and we were 25 miles out and the gas gauge read empty,” Rosemore added.
Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight. Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Victor Wood of Rapid City, S.D. (15 walleyes, 26-11), Jack Ellenbecker of Pierre (15 walleyes, 26-11), Robert Nelson of Saint Croix Falls, Wis. (15 walleyes, 25-12) and Edward Piekutowski of Moorhead, Minn. (15 walleyes, 25-7).
Saturday’s takeoff will be at Downs Marina at 7 a.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1730 N. Garfield Road in Pierre 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.
In addition to cash awards, anglers are competing for valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the $650,000 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship – the sport’s richest event – in Bismarck, N.D., Sept. 24-27. The top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers in the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year points standings will advance to the Championship, where they will compete for top awards of $150,000 and $20,000, respectively.
Tournament pros aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing, FLW Outdoors offers anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card.
Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour event on Lake Sharpe will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Aug. 24 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through a distribution agreement with Matchroom Sport, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. The program airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time in most markets. Check local listings for times in your area.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
Awards are based on a full field of 150 boats in every tournament.