$2.49 million Walmart FLW Walleye Tour to visit Leech Lake

WALKER, Minn. – The lucrative $2.49 million 2009 Walmart FLW Walleye Tour will hold its third of four qualifying events on Leech Lake in Walker, Minn., June 10-13. The $461,500 tournament hosted by the Northern Lights Casino will feature 150 anglers from 18 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces and national television coverage on VERSUS Country.

Pros will compete for a top award of $100,000 and co-anglers will compete for as much as $20,000.

“It’s going to be a smorgasbord of fishing,” said pro Pete Harsh of Sauk Centre, Minn. “There’s going to be fish of all sizes caught, good numbers, and a variety of tactics that are going to work. And the tactic that the individual feels the most comfortable with will probably be what’s most effective.”

Although this is the first time the FLW Walleye Tour has visited Leech Lake, Harsh has a positive outlook for the tournament. “I do have some experience on Leech Lake. Right now it’s really good fishery and so far the bites this spring are really good. Everybody is catching fish.”

On Leech Lake, according to Harsh, the bite is very wind driven. “If we get wind, there will be good weights and they’ll be taken from under 10 feet of water. If it’s a calm day, the fish will be taken out to around 17-20 feet of water. But it’s a lake where generally the bite is shallower.”

With walleye tournaments, anglers are allowed to use live baits. Harsh suggests that leeches will work very well, along with minnows and night crawlers. He also says there will be the opportunity to throw crankbaits.

Harsh says he is looking forward to fishing on Leech Lake. He believes it’s going to be a very enjoyable tournament for professional and co-anglers alike to participate in. “This is going to be a good tournament that people will catch fish of all sizes, from just barely legal all the way up to trophy class.”

Blue Water Lodge & Marina located at 7051 Wintergreen Trail in Walker will host daily takeoffs each morning at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held at Walker City Park located on Highway 371 beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Northern Lights Casino located at 6800 Y Frontage Road N.W. in Walker 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 winners 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 in the standings will advance to the $650,000 FLW Walleye Tour Championship in Bismarck, N.D., Sept. 30- Oct. 3 for a shot at top awards of $150,000 and $20,000, respectively. The prestigious championship, hosted by the Bismarck-Mandan Convention and Visitors Bureau, will also feature boater and co-angler points champions from each of four Walmart FLW Walleye League divisions. The no-entry-fee FLW Walleye Tour Championship is the most lucrative event in professional walleye angling, with cash awards for the entire field.

Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour, hosted by the City of Port Clinton and the Ottawa County Visitors Bureau, will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS, the network which brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most-trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated “FLW Outdoors,” will air May 24 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide, including internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to such countries as Canada, 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.

Total awards are based on a full field of 150 boats in every tournament.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.

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.