Kleszyk wins FLW Walleye League event on Illinois River

Depooter outfishes co-anglers in Heartland Division tourney

Boater David Kleszyk (left) earned $1,960, and co-angler Tim Depooter of earned $980 as winners of the FLW Walleye League Heartland Division event on the Illinois River. Anglers: David Kleszyk, Tim Depooter.

August 1, 2009 • MLF • Archives

SPRING VALLEY, Ill. – David Kleszyk of Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., caught five walleyes that weighed 10 pounds, 4 ounces and earned $1,960 Saturday as winner of the Walmart FLW Walleye League Heartland Division event on the Illinois River. Kleszyk’s co-angler, Tim Depooter of Rock Island, Ill., earned $980 for the win.

Rounding out the top five are Robert Apple of Chadwick, Ill., and Zachery Kovar of Ottumwa, Ill., who both earned $910 and co-anglers Cody Decker of Dubuque, Iowa, and Bret Rogers of Eauclaire, Wis., who both earned $455 (pairs tied with five walleyes, 9 pounds, 10 ounces, apiece); Adam Sandor of Tonica, Ill., who earned $700, and co-angler Ryan Vecchia of Ladd, Ill., who earned $350 (five walleyes, 9 pounds, 9 ounces); and Glenn Daugherity of Mokena, Ill., who earned $560, and co-angler Jeff Marusich of Spring Valley, Ill., who earned $280 (five walleyes, 9 pounds, 7 ounces).

Boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired for the event and fish for a combined boat weight. Boaters compete against other boaters, and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers. Cash payouts extend through 20th place based on a full field of 100 boats.

Four FLW Walleye League divisions – Michigan, Minnesota, Heartland and Wisconsin – each feature three one-day events. Every angler who receives weight credit earns points, with 100 points awarded to the winner, 99 for second, 98 for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings.

The top 30 boaters and top 30 co-anglers from each FLW Walleye League division at the end of the season advance to the 2009 Walmart FLW Walleye League Finals set for Sept. 17-19 on Lake Wissota in Chippewa Falls, Wis., where they will compete for a Ranger 621 powered by a 200 horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard and a Ranger Reata 1760 Angler, respectively. Anglers competing in the no-entry-fee League Finals may also participate in an optional payout that could boost boater winnings by $8,400 and co-angler winnings by $4,200 based on 120 boaters and co-anglers participating. The fee for participation in the optional payout is $300 for boaters and $150 for co-anglers. Qualifiers may elect to participate any time after qualifying through the Sept. 16 FLW Walleye League Finals pretournament meeting. Please check the online rules to view the payout table.

The boater and co-angler point’s champions from each division also advance to the no-entry-fee 2009 Walmart FLW Walleye Tour Championship in Bismarck, N.D., Sept. 30-Oct. 3 for a chance to compete for as much as $150,000 in the Pro Division and $20,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers finishing the season in the top 10 in each division also receive priority entry into the Walmart FLW Walleye Tour for 2010.

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.