Grothe Wins $100,000 at FLW on the Detroit
Category: Tournament
Apr 8th, 2006 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Apr 8th, 2006 at 12:00 AM
TRENTON, Mich. (April 8, 2006) – Pro Ross Grothe of Northfield, Minn., caught a four-day total of 20 walleyes weighing 82 pounds, 2 ounces to win the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event on the Detroit River near Trenton, Mich. Grothe earned $60,000 plus a $25,000 Ranger-boat bonus and a $15,000 Yamaha-outboard bonus for a total of $100,000. The event, which began Wednesday, launched out of Elizabeth Park in Trenton, and saw tough fishing conditions on day one. At the end of the day, pro Richard Nascak of Winona, Minn., had the lead after catching five walleyes weighing 22 pounds, 5 ounces. Dean Arnoldussen of Appleton, Wis., carried the event on days three and four, catching his walleyes on jigs and minnows throughout the week. Arnoldussen brought in two more walleyes on the final day, giving him a four-day total of 17 walleyes for 75 pounds, 9 ounces, good for second place and a check for $42,000. Grothe awed the crowd at the day three weigh-in after bringing in the heaviest limit of the event – 39 pounds, 7 ounces. This helped him make the top-10 cut in third place, with a three-day weight of 61 pounds. The final day saw the Detroit River muddy up significantly, and many pros scrambled to get bites in what had been fish-producing hotspots just a day earlier. Grothe was able to find clear water at the edge of the mudline where the river bends just in front of the General Motors building near downtown Detroit. “I knew I only needed 5 or 6 pounds to catch the leader, and we had that with the first two fish,” said Grothe, who fished with co-angler Boyd Strissel of Billings, Mont., on the final day. The duo had six bites and caught six fish, culling once to end up with a final limit of five walleyes weighing 21 pounds, 2 ounces. Strissel finished second in the co-angler division with a four-day weight of 67 pounds, 14 ounces and earned $7,000. “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime to capitalize on something like this,” Grothe said. “It was a good day, picture perfect. We made several drifts and just ran around, looking for clean water. When we didn’t mark fish, I just kept going.” Grothe caught his walleyes on 5/8-ounce Northland jigs tipped with Berkley Power Bait, thrown on 10-pound SpiderWire Stealth line. When asked what he planned to do with his check, Grothe replied: “My wife’s a financial advisor, so I’m sure she’s got plans for it.” Rounding out the top five pros are Tommy Skarlis of Dorchester, Iowa (20 walleyes, 73 pounds, 3 ounces, $25,000); Bill Ortiz of Richland Center, Wis. (18 walleyes, 69 pounds, $13,000); and Paul Fallaw of McHenry, Ill. (15 walleyes, 68 pounds, 5 ounces, $11,000). After taking a commanding lead of nearly 20 pounds on day three, Jack Adams of Bucyrus, Ohio, won the Co-angler Division while fishing with Arnoldussen on day four, finishing up with a four-day total of 16 walleyes weighing 77 pounds, 4 ounces. Adams earned $10,000 for his win. “This is something I’ve always wanted,” Adams said. “I grew up fishing and watching fishing shows on TV when I was a kid.” Much of Adams’ success can be attributed to the 35-pound bag of walleyes he caught on day three along with pro Aaron Hogland of Sycamore, Ill., who finished in 10th place. Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Julie Towle of Glencoe, Minn. (13 walleyes, 61 pounds, 13 ounces, $3,500); Adam Adler of Oconto Falls, Wis. (20 walleyes, 57 pounds, 13 ounces, $2,500); and Justin Steinke of Birnamwood, Wis. (12 walleyes, 55 pounds, 8 ounces, $2,200). 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. 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.