Twin Cities angler becomes first woman to win FLW Walleye Tour event
74-pound, 12 -ounce catch lands Szczech in record books
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Twin Cities angler Kristine Szczech became the first woman in history to win a Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event when she topped a field of 150 co-anglers during a tour stop presented by Yamaha on the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minn., May 6. The win netted her $15,000 and a crucial top-50 ranking heading into her next event on the prestigious $2.69 million tour – a tournament on Devils Lake in Devils Lake, N.D., June 7-10.
Szczech of St. Paul, Minn., along with her pro partners (pros and co-anglers share weight in FLW Walleye Tour competition), caught 18 walleyes weighing 74 pounds, 12 ounces during the four-day, $503,300 tournament in Red Wing and bested her closest competitor by 6 pounds, 6 ounces. She is one of seven women fishing the FLW Walleye Tour this season, and her victory places her in an elite sorority of tournament trailblazers that includes Wanda Rucker of Cocoa, Fla., who in 1998 became the first woman to win any FLW Outdoors bass tournament; Nobie Lebert of Brooklyn, Texas, who in 1999 became the first woman to win a Stren Series bass tournament; and Judy Israel of Clewiston, Fla., who in 2004 became the first woman to win an FLW Tour bass tournament.
“It’s been a roller coaster, very exciting,” said Szczech, who gave up her career as a corporate chef last year to pursue life as a professional walleye angler. “This has always been a dream of mine and to actually have it come true is amazing and yet surreal.”
Szczech hopes that her win will inspire other women to compete in fishing tournaments or just pick up a rod and go fishing.
“I hope it will jumpstart people who have been wanting to do it – people like me,” Szczech said. “A lot of women talk to me about fishing. They’ve watched their fathers, brothers or husbands fish, and they’ve always wanted to try it, but have been hesitant. I tell them they just need to do it. That’s what’s so great about fishing. It doesn’t matter if you are young, old, male or female. Everyone can get out and fish.”
Like a lot of people, Szczech learned to fish from her father. As she grew older, her love for fishing continued to blossom.
“I picked up fly fishing and began traveling all over the place to fish,” she said. “Then I found out about competitive fishing.”
Szczech got into tournament fishing shortly after a mutual friend introduced her to Wal-Mart FLW Tour angler Karen Savik of St. Louis Park, Minn., in 2004. Savik is a professional angler fishing for Team Land O’Lakes and one of only two female pros currently fishing the nation’s must lucrative bass-fishing circuit – the $7.6 million FLW Tour. After that chance encounter, the two quickly became friends, and Szczech’s emphasis on fishing full-time greatly increased.
“We talked about fishing over dinner, and then I went out on her boat,” Szczech said. “I watched her career grow, and I knew it was something I had to do.”
Savik says Szczech is one of the most enthusiastic and talented anglers she was ever met.
“When she decided to get serious about competing, she was gung-ho, real fast,” Savik said. “She said, `I’ll do whatever I have to do,’ and she does. She’s one of the hardest working and most talented people I know.”
Savik was so impressed with Szczech’s fishing ability that she invited her to practice with her for the FLW Tour stop on Lake Champlain in upstate New York.
“I’m real picky about who I practice with,” Savik said. “As a walleye angler, Kristine has such a light touch and can detect the faintest of bites. She’s a great all-around angler.”
Eager to dive into professional fishing, Szczech began scaling back her duties as a corporate chef in 2005 and started fishing the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League – a weekend qualifying circuit for the FLW Walleye Tour. She also started a guide business in the metro Twin Cities.
“I have somewhat of a niche market,” Szczech said. “Everyone around here knows where the river is. They either live by it, walk by it or drive over it every day, but very few actually go on the river downtown. I get a lot of people who are looking to experience the city and river atmosphere.”
Teaching cooking classes and running a fishing guide business while also fishing the FLW Walleye Tour takes up a lot of Szczech’s time, but she always finds the time for volunteer work.
“Every Tuesday night, I go down to the Dorothy Day Center, a homeless shelter in St. Paul, to cook dinner,” Szczech said. “Even then, the ladies I cook with are always asking me about fishing and they are in their 70s and 80s. I think they find it interesting that I compete against all of the men.”
Ranked 42nd in the FLW Walleye Tour points race after two events, Szczech has a good shot at qualifying for the $675,000 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship.
The FLW Walleye Tour Championship, which features the tour’s top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers, is the most lucrative event in professional walleye fishing. In the Pro Division, the winner will earn as much as $150,000 cash. In the Co-angler Division, where Szczech competes, the winner will earn as much as $22,000 cash.
Coverage of Szczech’s win on the Mississippi River will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States June 11 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 next stop for Szczech and her fellow FLW Walleye Tour anglers is Devils Lake in Devils Lake, N.D., June 7-10 followed by the tour’s final regular-season 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 presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, 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 exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, browse 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.