Bruer finally tastes victory

Longtime co-angler earns $10,000

CASS LAKE, Minn. – Kevin Bruer has been fishing walleyes competitively with FLW Outdoors since 2000, when its top walleye circuit was still the RCL. In those nine seasons, Bruer had never once accumulated a top-10 finish, never mind a win. That all changed Saturday in his home state of Minnesota.

Partnering with fellow Minnesotan Carl Adams Jr., Bruer caught a five-walleye limit on day four that weighed 15 pounds, 4 ounces. While Adams focused on the big bites with chubs, Bruer caught the slot fish with shiners. They rigged the live bait on a 7-foot snell and fished in 7 to 10 feet of water. Together, they pulled 23 walleyes up to the boat.

“I was the small-fish guy, he was the big-fish guy,” said Bruer, who grew up in western Minnesota near Big Stone Lake. “This has been really cool. I’ve never been in a situation like this before. I hope to do it again sometime soon.”

Although Bruer had never made an FLW cutoff, he has fished two PWT tournaments on Cass Lake. He passed on the knowledge he learned from those tournaments and applied it this week.

“I just love to fish walleyes. I go up to Devils Lake a lot, and I fish the northern Minnesota lakes a lot too.”

When he’s not chasing walleyes, the 44-year-old is a cabinetry manufacturer with the C.S.I. corporation.

“It’s been fun. I’ve had four great partners, and I’ve learned a lot. To win is a relief. I knew they (Steil and Brunz) had a good basket of fish, so I was worried.”

The Robbinsdale, Minn., angler will head back to the Twin Cities with a $10,000 check for a four-day total of 20 walleyes weighing 53 pounds, 15 ounces.

“I knew that Carl was on some good spots, so I felt confident that we would have a big bag. But to win by 8 ounces was a little too close.”

Brunz retains second

Pro Tom Brunz has earned a nickname on the Walleye Tour as “big-fish Brunz.” That moniker is becoming more and more applicable to his nephew, co-angler Nate Brunz. While Bruer waited nine years for his first top-10 finish, Brunz has already accumulated four in less than two years.

His second-place finish on Cass was his best yet, and he earned $6,644. On day four Brunz caught a 27-inch kicker that helped Steil seal the pro victory. The two finished the day with a limit weighing 18 pounds, 1 ounce – the second-heaviest limit of the entire tournament. He finished the tournament with 53 pounds, 7 ounces.

“We struggled a little bit this morning, but I knew I had big-fish Brunz in my boat,” said Steil. “Sure enough, he comes up with a 27-incher.”

“I wish I could have won, but I’ll take second,” said Brunz, whose father also fishes as a co-angler. “It makes me feel good knowing that I played a big role in Scott’s win.”

With one tournament remaining, Brunz is currently leading the points race in the Co-angler Division. In the not-too-distant future, the Madison Lake, Minn., native wants to step up to the pro side.

Anderson rises to third

Co-angler David Anderson of Sauk Rapids, Minn., rose from fourth to third with a 13-pound, 7-ounce catch. On day four, Anderson fished with pro Toby Kvalevog of Brainerd, Minn. The two caught their walleyes by quickly dragging redtail chubs. Anderson landed the biggest fish of the day, a stout 27-incher.

Anderson’s four-day total weight was 48 pounds, 4 ounces, good for $3,547. Not only did he earn the first top-10 finish of his career, he fished with pros David Kolb, Gary Roach, Tom Backer and Kvalevog. Accumulating that kind of walleye knowledge is priceless.

Oppegard falls to fourth

Greg Oppegard of West St. Paul, Minn., was able to catch five walleyes on Saturday, but he still fell from third place to fourth place among the co-anglers with a total weight of 48 pounds, 2 ounces. Oppegard’s fourth-place finish earned him $2,225.

“Opey is as good a partner as you can ask for,” said Pete Harsh, his day-four pro partner. “That really helps a pro look good.”

Oppegard said, “If someone would have told me a few years ago that I would be fishing in the finals with Pete Harsh, I would have said you’re dreaming.”

Taylor ascends to fifth



Fifth place went to Mike Taylor of Midland, Mich., who boated five walleyes that weighed 14 pounds even. Taylor’s cumulative weight was 47 pounds, 2 ounces, which earned him a check for $2,880, thanks to an $877 Ranger contingency bonus. This was Taylor’s first appearance in the final round of 10 boats.

Fishing with James Gordon on day four, Taylor apparently did the heavy lifting.

“I ran the net real well,” Gordon quipped. “We had a limit by 9:30 and really couldn’t have asked for a better day.”

Taylor will head to his home state for stop No. 4 on the Walleye Tour as the second-place co-angler in the points race.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 co-angler finalists at the FLW Walleye Tour event on Cass Lake:

6th: Josh Johnson of Fargo, N.D., 45-8, $1,780

7th: Ronald Carson of Omaha, Neb., 45-2, $2,436

8th: Michael Tesmer of Eden Prairie, Minn., 43-11, $2,213

9th: Jeff Holz of Dodge Center, Minn., 41-14, $1,552

10th: Justin Steinke of Birnamwood, Wis., 38-12, $890

Competition resumes July 23-26 for the final qualifying event of the $2.49 million FLW Walleye Tour season on Bays de Noc in Escanaba, Mich.