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Arnoldussen Clings to Lead at Detroit River FLW

Category: Tournament

 Apr 7th, 2006 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified Apr 7th, 2006 at 12:00 AM

	Arnoldussen keeps a slim lead

TRENTON, Mich. (April 7, 2006) – Johnson and Johnson pro Dean Arnoldussen of Appleton, Wis., caught a three-day total of 15 walleyes weighing 65 pounds, 11 ounces to lead day three of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event on the Detroit River near Trenton, Mich. With a full field of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers, anglers are competing for their share of a $503,300 purse, including as much as $100,000 for the winning pro and $18,000 for the winning co-angler. With periods of rain and fog greeting anglers at takeoff, Arnoldussen made the run to one of his primary areas, which had cleared up enough for jigs and minnows to really produce. “I had to use my Lowrance GPS just to find my place in the fog,” Arnoldussen said. “But the fog kept us hidden from other boats for the better part of three hours.” The fishing was good early on, with Arnoldussen and co-angler, George Miller of Flint, Mich., landing most of their walleyes by 11:30 a.m. Arnoldussen has been steadfast in his choice of jig and minnow all week, even when other anglers have been pulling in some giant walleyes on handlining equipment. “There’s new fish that just keep moving through the river from Lake Erie,” Arnoldussen said. “I’m going to need 30 pounds or more to win it tomorrow.”

	Ross Grothe (3rd) made a big move on Day 3 to make the cut.

Ross Grothe of Northfield, Minn., caught the heaviest limit of the event on day three, evidence to ever-improving fishing conditions as the tournament wears on. Grothe brought five walleyes to the scale that registered 39 pounds, 7 ounces to make the top-10 cut in third place with a three-day total weight of 61 pounds. Rounding out the top five pros are Patrick Byle of Colgate, Wis. (11 walleyes, 64 pounds, 13 ounces); Paul Fallaw of McHenry, Ill. (13 walleyes, 59 pounds, 4 ounces); and Troy Morris of Bismarck, N.D. (12 walleyes, 57 pounds, 10 ounces). Jack Adams of Bucyrus, Ohio, took a commanding lead in the Co-angler Division on day three after fishing with pro Aaron Hogland of Sycamore, Ill., who made the cut in tenth place. Together, they caught five walleyes weighing 35 pounds, giving Adams a three-day total weight of 67 pounds, 5 ounces and a lead of nearly 20 pounds. “Aaron was an absolutely fantastic partner,” Adams said. “We had a 4-pounder after about 30 seconds and a 7-pounder after about 20 minutes. All five were in the livewell by 1 or 1:30.” Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Darrell Diskey of Mt. Zion, Ohio (15 walleyes, 47 pounds, 11 ounces); Boyd Strissel of Billings, Mont. (10 walleyes, 46 pounds, 12 ounces); Justin Steinke of Birnamwood, Wis. (10 walleyes, 46 pounds, 7 ounces); and Tim Cigany of Cleveland, Ohio (11 walleyes, 46 pounds, 4 ounces). Elizabeth Park Marina in Trenton hosts daily takeoffs each morning at 7. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 23800 Allen Road in Woodhaven, Mich., 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, and the field is cut to the top 10 anglers in each division, who will continue competition on the final day. Weights carry over to day four, with the winners being 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 angler standings. The top 50 pros and 50 co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the 2006 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship, held Oct. 4-7 on Lake Oahe in Pierre, S.D. The FLW Walleye Tour Championship is the most lucrative event in professional walleye angling, with guaranteed cash awards for the entire field. A guaranteed cash award of $100,000 plus potential sponsor bonuses totaling $50,000 will go to the FLW Walleye Tour Championship winner for a total pro award of $150,000. The champion co-angler will win a guaranteed cash award of $11,000 plus potential sponsor bonuses totaling $11,000 for a total co-angler award of $22,000. Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour opener on the Detroit River will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on May 21 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to more than 350 million households in such countries as 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. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network. Following the Detroit River tournament, the FLW Walleye Tour will visit the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minn., May 3-6 for an event presented by Yamaha. Devils Lake in Devils Lake, N.D., will host the third regular-season event June 7-10, and the regular season will come to a close with an event presented by Evinrude July 12-15 on Green Bay in Green Bay, Wis.Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.9 million through 241 events in 2006. FLW Outdoors also recently announced the addition of a striped bass circuit, which will debut in May. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.