Minnesota Anglers to Compete in FLW Walleye Tour Championship
Category: Tournament
Aug 15th, 2005 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Aug 15th, 2005 at 12:00 AM
MOLINE, Ill. (Aug. 18, 2005) – Twenty walleye anglers from Minnesota will descend upon the Mississippi River Sept. 28-Oct. 1 to compete in the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship, the most lucrative walleye tournament in the world. The event, hosted in the Quad Cities, caps the $2.6 million 2005 FLW Walleye Tour season. As much as $125,000 cash will go to the winning pro, and as much as $22,000 cash will go to the winning co-angler. Minnesota pros include Scott Allar of Welch, Mark Courts of Harris, Steve Delain of Red Wing, Chris Gilman of Chisago City, Kevin Goligowski of Maplewood, Ross Grothe of Northfield, Jerry Hein of Stillwater, Aaron McQuoid of Isle, Kevin McQuoid of Isle, Eric Olson of Red Wing, Brad Powers of Princeton, Scott Steil of Richmond and Ted Takasaki of E. Gull Lake. All of them will compete in the Pro Division as part of the field of 50 anglers who comprise the best walleye fishermen in the world. Minnesota co-anglers include Sandra Don of Shoreview, Dean Holden of Red Wing, Jeff Jandl of Minnesota City, Kelly Klemm of Wheaton, Jackie Perry of Milaca, Jeff Sather of Montevideo and Roger Strand of Mankato. All of them will compete among the field of 50 co-anglers. The winning pro at the FLW Walleye Tour Championship is guaranteed a cash award of $75,000. If the winner is a registered owner of a Ranger boat, he will earn a $25,000 bonus, and if his boat is equipped with a qualifying Evinrude or Yamaha outboard, he will receive another $25,000 for a total cash award of $125,000. The winning co-angler is guaranteed $11,000 cash and is eligible for a $6,000 bonus from Ranger if he is a registered owner. The winning co-angler will also receive a $5,000 bonus if his boat is equipped with a qualifying Evinrude or Yamaha outboard for a total cash award of $22,000. 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 two-day opening round for one of 10 final-round slots based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for the final round, with the winning pro determined by the heaviest two-day total weight from days three and four. The co-angler winner is determined on day three based on the weight of that day’s catch. Television coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour Championship will be provided by FSN (Fox Sports Net). Check local listings for times and availability. Sunset Park on 18th Ave. in Rock Island will host daily 7 a.m. takeoffs throughout the event. Daily weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 3930 44th Ave. in Moline beginning at 5 p.m. The community is invited to attend takeoffs and weigh-ins as well as the Family Fun Zone, which opens at 3 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday outside the weigh-in tent at Wal-Mart. The Family Fun Zone features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family. All activities are absolutely free. Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour and eight other national tournament circuits offering more than $30 million in purses 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, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series. For more information on Wal-Mart FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about the Quad Cities, go to Visitquadcities.com.