WINONA, Minn. – Boater Jimmy Hughes of Oshkosh, Wis., and his co-angler partner, Paul Delaney of Baileys Harbor, Wis., caught five walleyes weighing 21 pounds, 4 ounces Thursday to secure an opening day lead of 7 pounds, 2 ounces over their closest competitors in the Walmart FLW Walleye League Finals on the Mississippi River in Winona, Minn. The field, representing the league’s Heartland, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin divisions, is competing for a $53,000 Ranger 621 powered by either an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard, while co-anglers are competing for a $38,000 G3 V185F powered by Yamaha.
“We were fishing underwater structure,” Hughes said. “Primarily wing dams that come up the shorelines.”
Hughes said he targeted fish in five to 16 feet of water using willow cats and minnows rigged on a rig that would resemble a short Carolina rig. Hughes said his leader from hook to slip sinker was about 12 inches and he was pitching that rig out about 10 feet from the boat.
Willow cats are the bait of choice for this event, and Hughes said the inventory of the smallest member of the catfish family was scarce for the tournament.
“I think I have enough to get me through tomorrow,” Hughes said. “I think as the guys leave town, more will become available.”
Rounding out the top five are boater Mitchell Jerowski of Winona and co-angler Chris Kuehn of Osseo, Wis. (five walleyes, 14 pounds, 2 ounces); boater Jerry Fox Jr. of Algonac, Mich., and co-angler Roy Hammond of New Berlin, Wis. (five walleyes, 12 pounds); boater Kannon Kares of Eaton Rapids, Mich., and co-angler Jerry Manning of Maquoketa, Iowa (five walleyes, 11 pounds, 7 ounces); and boater Brad Dirkman of Fergus Falls, Minn., and co-angler Jason Koschnik of Neenah, Wis. (five walleyes, 10 pounds, 9 ounces).
A total of 245 walleyes weighing 428 pounds, 12 ounces were caught Thursday, including 25 five-fish limits.
Boaters and co-anglers who finished in the top 30 in final points standings after three qualifying events in each FLW Walleye League division advanced to this no-entry-fee tournament.
Anglers will take off from Dick’s Marine at 7 each morning. Friday’s weigh-ins will be held at Levee Park beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in moves to the Walmart store located at 955 E. Frontenac Drive in Winona beginning at 4 p.m. The community is invited to attend the free takeoff and weigh-in festivities.
Boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired each day of the event and fish for a combined boat weight that carries over from day to day. Boaters compete against other boaters, and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers. The winners are determined by the heaviest three-day accumulated weight, with only the top 10 boaters and top 10 co-anglers fishing on day three.
Coverage of the FLW Walleye League Finals on the Mississippi River will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States 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.
The Winona Convention and Visitors Bureau is hosting the FLW Walleye League Finals. For more information, call (507) 452-0735.
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. 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, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.