GREEN BAY, Wis. – Pro Ted Takasaki of East Gull Lake, Minn., caught a two-day total of 10 walleyes weighing 64 pounds, 11 ounces to lead day two of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event presented by Evinrude on Green Bay in Green Bay, Wis., the fourth and final regular-season event of the 2006 FLW Walleye Tour. With a $2.69 million total purse, including the no-entry-fee $675,000 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Oahe near Pierre, S.D., Oct. 4-7, and television coverage on FSN (Fox Sports Net), the FLW Walleye Tour is bigger and better than ever.
With a full field of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers, anglers are competing for their share of a $503,300 purse, including as much as $100,000 for the winning pro and $18,000 for the winning co-angler.
Each day of the event has been getting a little warmer for the anglers, and Thursday’s temperatures approached the 90-degree mark. In addition, wind was at a minimum on Thursday, giving the waters of Green Bay an unusually glassy surface.
Takasaki, like the vast majority of the field, has been concentrating his efforts on pulling crawler harnesses over Geano’s Reef. Subtle differences in presentation have made the difference for the pro, who is also the president of the Lindy Tackle Company.
“You just have to keep your head down and don’t give up,” Takasaki said. “Lot’s of fishing success just has to do with having a positive attitude.
“I think I’ve got exactly the right depth and the right speed figured out for the fish in that area,” Takasaki continued. “But with the water warming each day, the bite is getting tougher. Most of the fish we caught today were a little smaller, but my three biggest ones came when it was dead calm.
“I’ve got another area a little farther north where the water is a little cooler. If the conditions are right tomorrow, I may try it up there if this spot quits producing.”
Rounding out the top five pros are John Schneider of Shawano, Wis. (10 walleyes, 56 pounds, 3 ounces); Dean Arnoldussen of Appleton, Wis. (10 walleyes, 55 pounds, 13 ounces); Wayne Butz of Oneida, Wis. (10 walleyes, 55 pounds, 7 ounces); and Jeff Ryan of Lake View, Iowa (10 walleyes, 55 pounds, 4 ounces).
In the Co-angler Division, female anglers are holding the top two spots. Flo Swank of Pierre, S.D., caught a two-day total of 10 walleyes weighing 61 pounds, 5 ounces to lead. Co-anglers share weight with their pro partner, and Swank fished with John Schneider on day two.
“It’s good to see women getting more and more into the sport,” Swank said. “I’ve been fishing walleye tournaments since 1997.”
In second place is Kristine Szczech of St. Paul, Minn., who became the first woman to win an FLW Walleye Tour event in the Co-angler Division during the second event of the 2006 season out of Red Wing, Minn. Szczech has a two-day total of nine walleyes weighing 58 pounds, 4 ounces.
“I was really glad to see Kristine win at Red Wing,” Swank said. “I’d gladly take being the second female winner with no complaints.”
Swank said she and Schneider did fish near the pack on day two with crawler harnesses, but they focused their efforts slightly away from the main flow to catch their walleyes.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Todd Mueller of Appleton, Wis. (10 walleyes, 57 pounds, 9 ounces); Randy Reek of Minocqua, Wis. (10 walleyes, 57 pounds, 7 ounces); and James McCartin of Land O Lakes, Wis. (10 walleyes, 56 pounds, 13 ounces).
The Packer Country Visitor and Convention Bureau is hosting the event. Anglers launch daily at 7 a.m. from Green Bay Metro Boat Launch. Friday’s weigh-in will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 2440 West Mason Street in Green Bay 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 angler standings. The top 50 pros and 50 co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the 2006 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 Green Bay will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Sept. 10 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.
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.