Quick Bites: FLW Walleye Tour Championship, Day 4

Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour

Lake Erie, Cleveland

Final day, Saturday

Sports center … An all-star team of Ohio dignitaries attended the final weigh-in of the 2007 Walleye Tour Championship, including U.S. Sen. George Voinivich and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson. But it was Peter Lawson Jones, vice president of the Cuyahoga Board of County Commissioners, who revved the crowd into high gear. “This is the place to be, Cleveland, Ohio! The No. 1 sports capital of the world!” he cried. It would be understandable for anyone to get fired up about their home city, but after Jones ticked off recent Cleveland sporting accomplishments, it was tough to argue that he was exaggerating in any way. “The Browns (NFL) won today; the Indians (MLB) are headed to the playoffs; LeBron James (of the 2007 NBA playoff runner-up Cavaliers) hosted `Saturday Night Live‘ last night – and now today is the culmination of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship!” As the weigh-in crowd erupted with thunderous applause and a roar of cheers, it left little doubt that Cleveland was the place to be for sports fans Sunday.

On the record … It’s doubtful that any professional athlete was happier to be in Cleveland on Sunday than Brookings, S.D., native Dustin Kjelden, who will leave the city $150,000 richer from his championship win. Not only did Kjelden earn his first Walleye Tour Championship title, but he’s now in the FLW Outdoors record books as well. His winning weekend total of 62 pounds stands as the heaviest two-day, final-round weight in the circuit’s championship history. When asked how Lake Erie compares to walleye fishing in eastern South Dakota, Kjelden said: “It’s not like fishing back home at all. Where I fish … there’s a lot of weeds and stumps; it’s more like bass fishing.” The BFGoodrich Tires pro said that the last two days have been some of the best – if not the best – fishing he’s ever had. Consider Kjelden as one Walleye Tour angler who will be rooting for a return to Cleveland.

Surprise, surprise, surprise … Pro Denny Lantzy of Warren, Mich., got a three-fold surprise today that made for some good TV. Right before the Folgers pro weighed in his walleyes, FSN cameramen accompanied “FLW Outdoors” TV personality Robbie Floyd to a section of family seating. Standing to wave at their top-10 tourney angler were Lantzy’s wife, Pat, his step daughter, Lisa, and grandson Jack, 8. “I told him I had to work, but I came out to surprise him,” said Pat, adding that she’d never attended one of his weigh-ins before. As a nurse, Pat works the midnight shift back home, so when Denny called her last night to say he was in the finals and to ask if she might be able to find a ride to the finals, she said she wouldn’t be able to make it. What he didn’t know was that Pat was brewing a last-minute plan. “I got up at 3 in the afternoon (Saturday) and called my daughter and said, `Can we do this?’ and she said, `Yeah!'” According to Pat, Lantzy had said during their phone conversation, “Can you imagine winning $150,000?” to which she answered with her own question: “Well, can we get a new garage door?” Lantzy said he was caught completely unaware. “When they did the whole camera thing and stood up and waved, that’s the first I knew … I really appreciate the support.” Though Lantzy’s fourth-place finish didn’t earn the jackpot, Floyd said, “I think you should maybe still get a new garage door for your wife.” With a $25,000 payday, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Quick numbers

675,850: Number of dollars awarded to anglers at the Walleye Tour Championship.

0: Number of dollars it cost anglers to compete in the event.

5 million: Number of dollars projected to flow into the Cleveland economy over the course of the season-ending tournament.

10-13: Margin, in pounds and ounces, of Kjelden’s victory over runner up Scott Fairbairn.

992: Record number of ounces weighed in over the course of a two-day Walleye Tour Championship final round (record set today by Kjelden).

151.21: Dollar value, per ounce, of Kjelden’s two-day winning weight.

Sound bites

“My wife seems to make cookies for me every tournament.”

– Jason Przekurat, 2007 Walleye Tour Angler of the Year, on a possible reason he’s won the title twice.

“Now you know why we appreciate you so much.”

– CBCC Vice President Jones, after telling FLW Outdoors CEO Charlie Evans how much Cleveland businesses appreciate the championship coming to town and Evans letting him know that a projected $5 million was likely spent in the local economy.