Oleson on fire as Walleye Tour co-angler

Walleye League boater proves mettle as Walleye Tour co-angler with Winnebago win

OSHKOSH, Wis. – Seven years ago, Larry Oleson of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., was diagnosed with prostate cancer. To say it changed his life would be an understatement.

Oleson, 70, had the cancer removed and has remained cancer-free since then. Almost as good, he sold his building contracting business to his son and went fishing.

Today he’s doing it quite well, having just wrapped up the co-angler title at the 2009 Walmart FLW Walleye Tour tournament on Lake Winnebago. Oleson did it with 48 pounds, 7 ounces, had a winning margin of 4 ounces and earned a check for $14,133.

Oleson now has a victory and nine top-10 performances, including three straight on tour, dating back to the second qualifier of the year on Lake Pepin.

Here, his day-one pro was Byron Peterson, with whom he pulled a 48th-place weight of 7 pounds, 1 ounce. On day two he drew Tom Brunz, and together they pulled the heaviest weight of the day, 15 pounds, 8 ounces. Oleson moved up to ninth. On day three he teamed with Jason Przekurat, and with 12 pounds, 3 ounces, he made a big jump into third place, where he went out this morning for the final round.

“Jason was really struggling,” Oleson said. “He knew I was in ninth, and he wanted to help me out. And he wanted to make the championship. It ended up working out great for both of us.”

Indeed, both Oleson and Przekurat will be in Bismarck, N.D., for the upcoming Walmart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the Missouri River. Oleson calls going to the championship “icing on the cake.” It will be be his fourth straight championship.

“I try to do my best to help that pro out,” he said of his co-angler strategy. “I’m a pro in the (FLW Walleye) League division. I try to make my co-anglers feel wanted. I know what it feels like to be on that side.”

Oleson currently is 11th in the FLW Walleye League Wisconsin Division standings and is a shoo-in to make the Walleye League Finals as a boater on Lake Wissota.

“That boat Jimmy Hughes was talking about that he won last year,” Oleson said. “That’s my boat this year.”

Note: Before today’s weigh-in started, Justin Steinke accepted the Co-Angler of the Year award. “It’s been a long time coming,” said Steinke, who has fished the tour as a co-angler since 2003. “This is my fourth full season on the tour and it’s not easy to do. You’re constantly learning. We have to have the confidence that the pro can produce fish for us and we have to help them. It’s very rewarding.”

Best of the rest

2. Del Ringling, Valley, Neb., 48 pounds, 3 ounces, $6,713

3. Robert Brunz, Madison Lake, Minn., 47 pounds, 1 ounce, $2,827

4. Donald Doran, Sun Prairie, Wis., 45 pounds, 14 ounces, $2,297

5. James Muntean, Maplewood, Minn., 45 pounds, 2 ounces, $1,590

6. Richard Dobbs, Woodridge, Ill., 44 pounds, 15 ounces, $1,413

7. Don Cozzie, Orland Park, Ill., 41 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,237

8. Tad Saunders, Fond du Lac, Wis., 41 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,060

9. Mike Wiza, Stevens Point, Wis., 41 pounds, 1 ounce, $1,060

10. Korey Sprengel, Beaver Dam, Wis., 38 pounds, 5 ounces, $707