Fike Leads FLW Walleye Tour Event On The Detroit River

Apr 9th, 2010 by OutdoorsFIRST

Modified Apr 9th, 2010 at 12:00 AM

TRENTON, Mich. (April 9, 2010) – Pro Richard Fike of Farmington, Pa., and co-angler Dan Jarvi of Rockford, Ill., caught five walleyes weighing 34 pounds, 3 ounces Friday to barely keep Fike in the lead at the FLW Walleye Tour Eastern Division tournament on the Detroit River. Fike now has a two-day catch of 10 walleyes weighing 70-9 and a narrow 8 ounce lead over second place David Kolb of Rockford, Mich., going into the final day of competition. Anglers are fishing for top awards of up to $35,000 in the Pro Division and up to $7,500 in the Co-angler Division.

“I didn’t get quite as many fish today as I did yesterday,” said Fike, who maintained his slim lead in Eastern Division competition, “but the quality was every bit as good as yesterday. I kept trolling spinners and the fish kept coming. On the third pass I dropped in a honey hole catching three fish in about 15 minutes. I actually jerked my line ice fishing style! After that the fishing wasn’t nearly as fast and furious and it was in the last 15 minutes of competition that we got an 8 ½ pounder that helped me stay in first place.

“I am expecting better weather tomorrow and am hoping that will help maintain the steady bite that I have been enjoying. That and a little luck will determine tomorrow’s outcome.”

Fike has been making the long run to the lake in order to sack his fish and plans on making the run again tomorrow. Kolb believes, and proved today, that the fish are just as big and more plentiful in the river and plans to stay put for the final day of competition.

Rounding out the top-10 pros who will fish in Saturday’s final round are:

2nd: David Kolb, Rockford, Mich., 10 walleyes, 70-1

3rd: Dean Arnoldussen, Appleton, Wis., 10 walleyes, 67-14

4th: Don Loch, Iron Mountain, Mich., 10 walleyes, 65-1

5th: Ed Stachowski, Canton, Mich., 10 walleyes, 65

6th: Jon Bondy, Windsor, Ontario, 10 walleyes, 62-12

7th: John Campbell, Marco Island, Fla., 10 walleyes, 62-1

8th: Dan Stier, Mina, S.D., 10 walleyes, 61-13

9th: Mark Meravy, Shorewood, Ill., 10 walleyes, 61-5

10th Tom Keenan, Hatley, Wis., 10 walleyes, 59-4

Troy Cox of Jonesboro, Ark., leads the Co-angler Division with 10 walleyes weighing 66-13 followed by Randal Sterr of Oconomowoc, Wis., in second place with 10 walleyes weighing 66-11.

“I am having a blast,” said Cox, who is fishing in only his second walleye tournament. “I am really a bass fisherman, but my dad has been fishing the FLW Walleye Tour for several years. I told him I would love to go to a tournament where there will be a lot of fish caught (the one and only previous walleye tournament that I fished a few years ago didn’t produce a single bite for me in three days!) so here I am. I have caught more fish in the three days of practice than I have my entire life!

“Today I was jig fishing with David Kolb and we must have caught 25 keepers. From about 10:30 – 11:30 we just sacked ’em up, I don’t think there was one fish smaller than 7 pounds.

“I can’t wait to get out there tomorrow, I am really looking forward to going out with Richard (Fike), it should be an exciting finish!”

Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers are:

3rd: Todd Macker, Columbus, Mich., 10 walleyes, 66-6

4th: Joseph Bruno, Strongsville, Ohio, 10 walleyes, 63-2

5th: Jeff Edwards, Washington, Ill., 10 walleyes, 62

6th: Mirko Canji, Belle River, Ontario, 10 walleyes, 59-10

7th: Barry Gropp, Walled Lake, Mich., 10 walleyes, 59-9

8th: Rich Carmack, Trenton, Mich., 10 walleyes, 58-10

9th: Kyle Schuchard, Essex, Ontario, 10 walleyes, 57-14

10th: Bruce Frevert, Centerville, Iowa, 10 walleyes, 57-5

Overall there were 243 walleyes weighing 1,237 pounds, caught by 55 boats Friday. The catch included 46 five-walleye limits.

In FLW Walleye Tour competition, pros and cos are also competing for valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at the FLW Walleye Tour Championship held on Leech Lake in Walker, Minn., Sept. 23-25.

Top-10 anglers and co-anglers will take off from Elizabeth Park Marina located at 200 Grosse Ile Parkway in Trenton at 7 a.m. on Saturday for the final day of competition. The final weigh-in will be held at the marina as well with a Family Fishing Clinic being held at 1:30 p.m. prior to the 3 p.m. weigh-in.

ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.

Fike Leads FLW Walleye Tour Event On The Detroit River

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