WALKER, Minn. – Pro Kevin Carstensen of Merrill, Wis., and co-angler Kurt Zins of Nicollet, Minn., caught 5 walleyes weighing 15 pounds, 11 ounces Friday to propel Carstensen into the lead at the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour on Leech Lake presented by Mercury. Cartensen now has a two-day catch of 10 walleyes weighing 29-0 and a 1-pound, 5-ounce lead heading into the final day of competition. Anglers from 17 states are fishing for top awards of up to $63,000 in the Pro Division and up to $10,500 in the Co-angler Division.
“We were done fishing by 10 a.m.,” said Cartensen, who is looking for his first FLW Walleye Tour win. “Up until now Leech Lake has not been one of my favorite fisheries. This is old school fishing which really isn’t my style. But I found out in practice that I was giving too much thought to my fishing and I needed to keep it simple.
“So far it has been all jigging leeches, minnows and crawlers, that’s it,” Carstensen went on to say. “I have two primary spots that I have been fishing. Both are pretty dependent on the weather. Today I hit the shallower of the two. With the cloud cover that we had today I knew the bite would be on fire and I was right. Yesterday I went to the deeper area I had found because of the wind.
“The area I am fishing is unbelievable. I actually found this spot last year at the championship,” Carstensen added. “I don’t even think the locals know about it. Both my co-anglers have been shocked by how fast and furious it fishes. When I first got there both of them thought I was crazy. Neither one of them thought we would catch a fish there but you can catch small fish there all day long, it is so much fun. It will be my first stop tomorrow.”
Unlike most of the anglers that struggled with yesterday’s wind and cold, Carstensen said it did not impact his fishing. He indicated that today’s cloud cover actually helped him and increased the bite all around. Although there were more overs brought to the scale today than yesterday, many of the pros still struggled trying to get the elusive overs in the boat. A common complaint heard as the anglers crossed the stage was trying to catch the big ones first not giving them enough time to catch the slot fish.
Rounding out the top 10 pros are:
2nd: National Guard pro Bill Shimota, Lonsdale, Minn., 10 walleyes, 27-11
3rd: National Guard pro Mark Courts, Harris, Minn., 10 walleyes, 26-13
4th: Rick Olson, Mina, S.D., 10 walleyes, 24-2
5th: Tom Kemos, Oconomowoc, Wis., 10 walleyes, 23-4
6th: Paul Meleen, Isle, Minn., nine walleyes, 21-10
7th: Mark Christianson, Walker, Minn., 10 walleyes, 21-0
8th: David Bjorkman, Fargo, N.D., seven walleyes, 20-11
9th: Scott Larson, Mayville, N.D., nine walleyes, 20-11
10th: Eric Olson, Red Wing, Minn., 10 walleyes, 20-7
Alan Wegleitner of Somerset, Wis., leads the Co-angler Division with 10 walleyes weighing 26-6 followed by Kurt Zins of Nicollet, Minn., in second place with 10 walleyes weighing 25-12.
Fishing in his first FLW Walleye Tour tournament, Wegleitner said that both his partners were fishing with rigs. He was paired yesterday with Tom Keenan, Hatley Wis., and Christianson today.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are:
3rd: Tim Depooter, Rock Island, Ill., 10 walleyes, 24-07
4th: Boyd Strissel, Billings, Mont., 10 walleyes, 24-6
5th: Randal Sterr, Oconomowoc, Wis., eight walleyes, 23-9
6th: Edward Piekutowski, Moorhead, Minn., 10 walleyes, 23-8
7th: Tyrone Larson, Amherst, Wis., nine walleyes, 23-6
8th: James Stigen, Elk River, Minn., six walleyes, 22-13
9th: Dan Soehren, New Ulm, Minn., seven walleyes, 21-1
10th: Dan Meisner, Merrill, Wis., eight walleyes, 20-13
Overall there were 318 walleyes weighing 608 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 95 boats Friday. The catch included 33 five-walleye limits.
In Walleye Tour competition, pro and co-anglers are also competing for valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at the 2011 National Guard FLW Walleye Tour Championship held on the Missouri River in Bismarck, N.D., Sept. 22-25. Anglers are also vying for the coveted Angler of the Year title, which earns them a place in the 2012 Walleye Tour Championship, as well as $10,000 for the pro and $2,500 for the co-angler.
Top 10 anglers and co-anglers will take off from Walker City Park located at Highway 371 in Walker at 7 on Saturday for the final day of competition. The final weigh-in will be held at Northern Lights Casino located at 6800 Y Frontage Road NW in Walker beginning at 4 p.m. Prior to the final weigh-in, there will be a free Family Fishing Clinic where children can get free rod and reels while supplies last, plus other great giveaways. Fans will also have the opportunity to interact with professional anglers, ride Ranger boat simulators, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing. All activities are free and open to the public.
Coverage of the Leech Lake tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors” will air Aug. 21 from 1 to 2 p.m. ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Chip Leer, is broadcast to more than 500 million households worldwide.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com/LeechLake. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Walleye Tour on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWWalleyeTour and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWOutdoors.
About FLW Outdoors
FLW Outdoors is the best in fishing, on and off the water. Anglers worldwide can compete for millions over the course of 191 tournaments in 2011. FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with the world’s richest fantasy sports game, FLW Fantasy Fishing presented by Straight Talk, where competitors can play for free as well as sign up for Player’s Advantage to gain an edge. For more information about FLW Outdoors and FLW Fantasy Fishing, browse FLWOutdoors.com or visit FantasyFishing.com.