Jeffrey leads FLW Walleye Tour on Devils Lake
Category: Tournament
Jun 8th, 2007 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Jun 8th, 2007 at 12:00 AM
DEVILS LAKE, N.D. – Pro Dennis Jeffrey of Garrison, N.D., caught a two-day total of 10 walleyes weighing 43 pounds, 5 ounces to lead day three of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event on Devils Lake in Devils Lake, N.D., the third regular-season event of the 2007 FLW Walleye Tour.The 2007 FLW Walleye Tour features a $2.71 million total purse, including the no-entry-fee $675,850 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie at Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 27-30, and television coverage on FSN (Fox Sports Net). With a full field of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers, anglers are competing for their share of a $509,300 purse, including as much as $100,000 for the winning pro and $18,000 for the winning co-angler.”Today was pretty good,” said Jeffrey, who has amassed more than $40,000 in career earnings with FLW Outdoors. “I know today that my number two spot has now became my first. I made the run back to the Pelican Bay area and pulled into my big fish spot and nothing. I couldn’t get bit. I tried some more shallow stuff early and ended up pulling back and trolling some offshore breaklines.”We were catching fish all day but they seemed to be right there in the 19 to 20 inch range. Those weren’t much of an upgrade for us. We just couldn’t get the big bite today. Hopefully, they will be in there tomorrow.”Jeffrey was throwing crankbaits and jigs in shallow water early in the day. The bite slowed and forced him to pull back to deeper water and troll. While trolling, he was pulling an array of different crankbaits varying in color and depth. He stated that being versatile is helping him stay on top.”I have been paired with two excellent co-anglers,” he said. “They have really helped me out and helped me bring in five fish to the weigh-in everyday.”The field will cut to the top 10 pros and co-anglers for the final day of competition.Rounding out the top five pros are John Renschen of Red Wing, Minn. (10 walleyes, 40 pounds, 11 ounces); Pete Harsh of Sauk Centre, Minn. (10 walleyes, 39 pounds, 14 ounce); Rick Franklin of Bemidji, Minn. (10 walleyes, 39 pounds, 11 ounces); and Joe Rossell of Leonard, Mich. (10 walleyes, 39 pounds, 6 ounces).Rounding out the top 10 pros are Brad Ertel of Hudson, Wis., BP pro Jason Przekurat of Stevens Point, Wis., Folgers pro Dennis Lantzy of Warren, Mich., Rick McLaughlin of Glenrock, Wyo., and Castrol pro Nick Johnson of Elmwood, Wis.Henry Juntunen of Minot, N.D., leads the co-angler division with 10 walleyes weighing 47 pounds, 11 ounces.”I think I am a lucky charm for these guys,” said Juntunen, who is fishing in his first FLW Walleye Tour event. “We didn’t really catch a small fish all day. We probably had our limit by noon.”This is actually my first tournament I have ever competed in. I have fished all my life, just not competitively. I’m just relying on the pros to put me on fish, and they have. I have been learning a lot and this week and it has been a lot of fun,” Juntunen added.Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight. Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jeff Trana of Devils Lake, N.D. (nine walleyes, 39 pounds, 15 ounces); Larry Williams of Fargo, N.D. (10 walleyes, 39 pounds, 11 ounces); Larry Oleson of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. (10 walleyes, 38 pounds, 4 ounces); and Mike Unger of Norfolk, Neb. (10 walleyes, 37 pounds, 9 ounces).Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Phillip Zimpel of Plummer, Minn., David Hosek of White Bear Lake, Minn., Donny Wald of Mandan, N.D., Dale Janota of Gillette, Wyo., and Greg Plautz of Muskego, Wis.Spirit Lake Casino and Resort is hosting the event. Anglers will launch at 7 a.m. Saturday from Spirit Lake Casino and Resort Marina located at 7889 Highway 57 in St. Michael, N.D. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 210 Highway 2 W. in Devils Lake, N.D., 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 for one of 10 final-round slots based on their three-day accumulated weight.Weights carry over to day four, with the winner 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 Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year standings. The top 50 pros and 50 co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the 2007 FLW Walleye Tour Championship.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 event on the Devils Lake will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Aug. 19 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern. “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 fishing program 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.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 presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.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 Walmart.com.For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.