OSHKOSH, Wis. – Kevin McQuoid of Isle, Minn., and co-angler Larry Oleson of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., caught five walleyes weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces to win the Walmart FLW Walleye Tour presented by Berkley on Lake Winnebago in Oshkosh, Wis. McQuoid had a four-day catch of 20 walleyes weighing 50-5. He won by just four ounces in the nationally televised tournament that featured anglers from 20 states and one Canadian province. Including boat and engine sponsor incentives, McQuoid took home $70,667 for his efforts.
“This is awesome, I couldn’t have asked for a better tournament,” said McQuoid, whose one-two punch included casting size 5 Shad Raps to weed-oriented walleyes early in the day, then heading out to troll mainlake mud flats for a kicker. “The weed fish held up through the tournament, and each day I got lucky and got one nicer fish out on the mud. Having the combination of the two was key.”
McQuoid trolled crankbaits on the basin for his larger fish, and tossed cranks in fertile near-shore weedbeds for numbers. “I started out casting to areas just outside where the weeds topped out at the surface, in 7 feet of water, then moved farther in looking for fish that had been pushed into the weeds. Most of the fish came from five feet of water,” he said, noting that short casts and fast, steady retrieves were critical. “I had to clean my baits a lot,” he added, crediting his 8-pound-test Berkley FireLine Crystal mainline, tied directly to a snap, for helping slice through the salad.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were Tom Hoinacki of Waupun, Wis., (20 walleyes, 48-15); Rick Olson of Mina, S.D. (20 walleyes, 48-7); Brad Davis of Jackson, Wis. (19 walleyes, 47-13); Chris Gilman of Chisago City, Minn. (20 walleyes, 47-3); Jimmy Hughes of Oshkosh, Wis. (19 walleyes, 45-12); Robert Crow of Paterson, Wash. (20 walleyes, 43-7); Brian Deffner of Eland, Wis. (20 walleyes, 42-13); Pat Neu of Forestville, Wis. (19 walleyes, 42-3); and Bill Shimota of Lonsdale, Minn. (19 walleyes, 39-0).
Oleson, a veteran co-angler, earned his first victory on the FLW Walleye Tour and took home $14,133. His four-day weight totaled 48 pounds, seven ounces. He fished with pros James Keller, Tom Brunz, Jason Przekurat and McQuoid during the course of the tournament.
“I’m on cloud nine,” said Oleson, who has fished 34 events and recorded eight top-10 finishes since 2005. “This is the culmination of four years of hard work and determination. I’ve been looking forward to it.”
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were Del Ringling of Valley, Neb. (19 walleyes, 48-3); Robert Brunz of Madison Lake, Minn. (19 walleyes, 47-1); Donald Doran of Sun Prairie, Wis. (20 walleyes, 45-14); James Muntean of Maplewood, Minn. (20 walleyes, 45-2); Richard Dobbs of Woodridge, Ill. (19 walleyes, 44-15); Don Cozzie of Orland Park, Ill. (19 walleyes, 41-12); Tad Saunders of Fond du Lac, Wis. (19 walleyes, 41-7); Mike Wiza of Stevens Point, Wis. (17 walleyes, 41-1); and Korey Sprengel of Beaver Dam, Wis. (19 walleyes, 38-5).
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 winners determined by the heaviest four-day weight.
Overall 48 walleyes weighing 105 pounds, 1 ounce were caught by 10 boats Saturday. The catch included eight five-walleye limits. The fish from the final day were harvested and donated to a local food shelf at the request of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
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 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 Oshkosh Convention & 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 Sept. 6 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.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors has taken 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.