CLEVELAND – Partnering with BFGoodrich Tires pro Dustin Kjelden on day three of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship, Mike Zawistowski had one of those days most anglers only dream about. He and his pro partner caught over 30 Lake Erie walleyes Saturday. Their best five weighed 39 pounds, 3 ounces, more than enough for Zawistowski to clinch the title and $11,000.
The Wonder Lake, Ill., native chalked up the impressive win in just his third complete season on tour. Proving his consistency, he has qualified for the year-end championship in each of those three years.
“It was an incredible day,” he said. “This has been an outstanding year. I made the top-10 at Detroit and won here. It’s just unreal.”
Zawistowski said the fishing was so good at times that there was utter chaos in the boat.
“We had tons of doubles and even a triple. We were just trying to get them in and get the baits back out as fast possible. The camera guy said he couldn’t even keep up.”
Kjelden and the co-angler champion caught their fish by trolling spinners with planer boards near the top of the water column in an area 42 miles northwest of Cleveland near the Canadian border. Because Kjelden has one more day of competition, Zawistowski wouldn’t reveal the specific bead and blade pattern.
The 26-year-old qualified for the championship as the 26th-seeded co-angler. This was his fourth top-10 finish of his career and his first five-digit payday.
“I’ll use the money to get home, pay some bills and go have some fun.”
Adler second
Coming in second for the co-anglers was Adam Adler of Oconto Falls, Wis. Adler finished the opening round in seventh place and rose to second after catching 32 pounds, 13 ounces on day three. Adler earned a purse of $15,000 thanks to $8,500 in boat and motor contingency awards.
Fishing with pro Scott Fairbairn, Adler started the day by trolling crankbaits at 2 mph. The action was slow, and at noon they decided to try crawler harnesses. The result was a total of nine walleyes.
“Scott did awesome today, and all my pros did an awesome job of helping me get here,” he said.
Each of the last two seasons, Adler has finished third in the year-long points race. This is his fourth top-10 finish in only 11 FLW Outdoors events. With results like that, Adler is earning a reputation as a pro’s best friend.
Bertelsen third, Watson fourth
Twenty-two-year-old co-angler Patrick Bertelsen of Jackson, Minn., moved up one place with a 24-pound, 1-ounce catch and finished third. For his efforts, Bertelsen earned a check worth $5,000.
Veteran co-angler Dewey Watson took fourth after catching 23 pounds, 12 ounces on day three while fishing with pro Robert Crow. Watson finished fifth and earned $4,500 at the 2006 Walleye Tour Championship. This time around the Twin Falls, Idaho, native earned $5,500.
Brunz fifth
Fifth place went to first-year co-angler Nate Brunz of Madison Lake, Minn. Brunz is the grandson of pro Tom Brunz, who finished third at the 2006 Walleye Tour Championship. The younger Brunz boated five walleyes Saturday that weighed 23 pounds, 5 ounces, earning him a check for $3,000.
Rounding out the top 10 co-angler finalists at the FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie:
6th: Sally Blain of Hopkins, Mich., five walleyes, 21-15, $2,000
7th: Ryan Kelly of Ortonville, Minn., five walleyes, 21-3, $1,800
8th: Chris Pluntz of Maple, Wis., five walleyes, 19-11, $2,300
9th: Darrell Martin of Forest Lake, Minn., five walleyes, 18-5, $2,400
10th: Jerry Chwierut of Lake Villa, Ill., three walleyes, 16-2, $2,900