Johnson, Thompson win Wal-Mart Walleye League Super Tournament on Lake Bemidji
Category: Tournament
Aug 2nd, 2005 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Aug 2nd, 2005 at 12:00 AM
JOHNSON, THOMPSON WIN WAL-MART FLW WALLEYE LEAGUE SUPER TOURNAMENT ON LAKE BEMIDJIBEMIDJI, Minn. (August 2, 2005) – Boater Thomas Johnson of Ottertail caught a total of nine walleyes weighing 21 pounds, 12 ounces to claim victory at the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Minnesota Division Super Tournament presented by Evinrude held Saturday and Sunday on Lake Bemidji. Johnson claimed $2,745 for his efforts. Johnson caught his walleyes trolling a J.B. Spinner with a nightcrawler behind a bottom bouncer in 10 to 14 feet of water around rock reefs in Lake Bemidji. Finishing second in the Boater Division was Harv Lueck of Akeley ($1,525) with 10 walleyes weighing 17 pounds, 15 ounces. Brady Bjorgaard of Lonsdale ($1,372 plus $400 bonus) caught nine walleyes weighing 16 pounds, 15 ounces to finish third. Leonard Newell of Bemidji ($1,220) claimed fourth place with seven walleyes that weighed 12 pounds, 7 ounces. Finishing fifth was Steve Bissett of Brainerd ($976) thanks to a six-walleye catch that weighed 11 pounds, 5 ounces. Jacob Thompson of Tampa, Fla., caught nine walleyes with his partners that weighed 16 pounds to win the Co-angler Division. Thompson earned $1,373 plus a $375 bonus for his win. He and his partners trolled and drifted Roach rigs with Northland floating jigheads in 6 to 9 feet of water on Lake Bemidji and Lake Irving. Finishing second in the Co-angler Division was Doug Sunde of Saint Cloud ($763) with seven walleyes weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces. Bryan Bayerkohler of Eagan ($686) caught seven walleyes weighing 14 pounds, 10 ounces to finish third. Roger Hoffman of Jefferson, Iowa ($610) claimed fourth place with eight walleyes that weighed 13 pounds, 11 ounces. Finishing fifth was Jason Watson of Spirit Lake, Iowa ($488) thanks to a six-walleye catch that weighed 13 pounds, 6 ounces. Boaters and co-anglers who finished in the top 35 in final points standings in each FLW Walleye League division will advance to the no-entry-fee $115,000 Wal-Mart FLW League Finals Sept. 8-10 on the Mississippi River in Winona, Minn. The winning boater at the finals will receive an Evinrude-or Yamaha-powered Ranger 621 boat. Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points awarded to the winner, 199 points for second, and so on, except for Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winner, 298 to second, and so on. FLW Walleye League boaters and co-anglers fish together for a combined boat weight, with boaters competing against other boaters and co-anglers fishing against other co-anglers. The Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League meets the needs of America’s fishing masses by providing professionally administered, close-to-home, affordable events with lucrative cash purses. Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series. For more information on 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 title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.