Stier Takes Crown at Walmart FLW Walleye Tour Event on Leech Lake
Category: press release
Jun 13th, 2009 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Jun 13th, 2009 at 12:00 AM
WALKER, Minn. (June 13, 2009) – Pro Dan Stier of Pierre, S.D., and co-angler Gerud Hetland of Maple Grove, Minn., caught five walleyes weighing 15 pounds, 13 ounces to win the Walmart FLW Walleye Tour presented by Berkley on Leech Lake in Walker, Minn. Stier had a four-day catch of 17 walleyes weighing 56-5. He surged past the Day 3 leader – local guide and FLW Pro Brian Brosdahl of Max, Minn. – by more than 2 pounds to win the nationally televised tournament that featured anglers from 18 states and three Canadian provinces. Stier took home $31,000 for first place plus another $31,000 in boat and engine bonuses for his efforts.
“The win feels awesome!” said Stier, who suffered a tooth infection during prefishing but at his wife’s advice sought medical attention and recovered by tournament time to focus on fishing. “The best part was I only burned half a tank of gas the whole time,” he added – having never left Walker Bay on Day 4 and seldom fished the main lake during the earlier days of competition.
Stier’s go-to tactic was rigging 4- to 8-inch chubs on 7-foot snells behind ½-ounce sinkers in depths of 13 to 38 feet of water, watching for fish on his electronics while moving at .8 to .9 mph, then slowing down when a fish was marked to give it time to take the bait. “One of the keys to getting these fish was being by myself,” he explained. “You might scratch one or two fish out with people around but you’re never going to be able to really work them hard, which is what you need to do to get the big ones.”
Another key, he noted, was working up and down the breakline in irregular “cups” on the edges of flats. “Those are holding areas where the fish can see all around while being protected,” he said.
Lacking a kicker fish over the 18- to 26-inch protected slot, Brosdahl’s Day 4 catch of five walleyes weighed just 5 pounds, 4 ounces, giving him a four-day total of 20 walleyes weighing 51-13 and third-place honors.
Team Chevy pro Tom Keenan of Hatley, Wis., lead the first two days of competition, but fell to second yesterday, an ounce behind Brosdahl. His final catch of five walleyes for 7 pounds, 11 ounces left him in second place with a four-day total of 20 walleyes for 54-3. “Today was tough,” he said. “I just couldn’t get the big bite.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were Kevin Larkins of Greenwood, Neb. (20 walleyes, 50-1); Brian Bjorkman of Fargo, N.D. (16 walleyes, 48-0); Chris Gilman of Chisago City, Minn. (18 walleyes, 47-14); Toby Kvalevog of Brainerd, Minn. (20 walleyes, 45-2); Andy Renner of Spicer, Minn. (18 walleyes, 44-13); Rick Olson of Mina, S.D. (20 walleyes, 44-3); and Scott Steil of Richmond, Minn. (12 walleyes, 39-12).
Hetland, who fished as a co-angler thanks to a combination birthday and Christmas gift from his family, was elated with his first victory on the FLW Walleye Tour, and took home $6,200. His four-day weight totaled 52 pounds, 6 ounces. He fished with pros Tommy Skarlis, Gilman, Keenan and Stier during the course of the tournament.
“I fished with four great guys this week,” said Hetland. “Everyone at the FLW was wonderful, too. I’ll definitely do this again.” Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Paul Doute, Jr. of Southgate, Mich. (20 walleyes, 46-9); Scott Perz of Crystal Lake, Ill. (16 walleyes, 46-9); Tim Renner of Spicer, Minn. (20 walleyes, 45-0); Justin Steinke of Birnamwood, Wis. (20 walleyes, 44-5); Larry Oleson of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. (16 walleyes, 44-2); Brian Dembouski of Isle, Minn. (20 walleyes, 43-10); Darrell Martin of Forest Lake, Minn. (17 walleyes, 43-3); Jerome Meyer of Hutchinson, Minn. (19 walleyes, 41-1); and Terry Reishus of Buffalo, Minn. (16 walleyes, 38-6).
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 winners determined by the heaviest four-day weight.
Overall there were 46 walleyes weighing 87 pounds, 11 ounces weighed by 10 boats Saturday. The catch included nine five-walleye limits.
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 in the standings will advance to the FLW Walleye Tour Championship in Bismarck, N.D., Sept. 30-Oct. 3 for a shot at top awards of $150,000 and $20,000, respectively. The prestigious championship, hosted by the Bismarck-Mandan Convention and Visitors Bureau, will also feature boater and co-angler points champions from each of four Walmart FLW Walleye League divisions. The no-entry-fee FLW Walleye Tour Championship is the most lucrative event in professional walleye angling, with cash awards for the entire field.
Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour, hosted by the Northern Lights Casino, will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS, the network which brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most-trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated “FLW Outdoors,” will air Sept. 6 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide, including internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to such countries as Canada, 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.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.