Christensen, Samson Rule the Water on Day Two
Category: Tournament
Jun 14th, 2006 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Jun 14th, 2006 at 12:00 AM
Veteran In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail anglers Bruce Samson and Daryl Christensen remained the top two pros in the Lund Pro-Am at Ottertail, Minn. Samson from Minnetrista, Minn., and Christensen from Montello, Wis., flopped positions from day one. They are competing in the Super Pro series presented by Minn Kota on Otter Tail Lake, a 13,000 acre natural lake filled with an amazing amount of structure in west-central Minnesota. The 60 Super Pros fished a dozen tactics on hundreds of miles of rock and sand breaks and patrolled weed edges. On Thursday, June 15, at the final day weigh-in, the pros will share their secrets at the Ottertail Fairgrounds (near the water tower). Festivities start about 5:30 p.m. A large crowd of walleye fans and families enjoyed the PWT Outdoor Festival, set-up adjacent to the weigh-in stage. Free activities include a rock climbing wall and a “host your own PWT television show” simulator presented by the Outdoor Channel. The free trout fishing pond is sponsored by Cabela’s and Shakespeare with youngsters able to win rod and reel combos and tackle bags. The free shooting gallery (air rifles) is presented by GAMO. These activities open at 1 p.m., and run through the final-day stage ceremonies. Samson and Christensen have five PWT victories combined, and look to add one more trophy and the $55,000 first prize to one of their collections. Both have won more than $200,000 on the PWT tour. Samson, with 24.81 pounds is about one pound ahead of Christensen, and about seven pounds ahead of Super Pro Mark Christianson, Walker, Minn. The Minnesotan Christianson scored the E-Cell Heavyweight of the tournament through two days, 14.22 pounds for his PWT limit of four walleyes. He fished with amateur/co-angler Bruce Boyne, Wadena, Minn., and landed the Coleman Big Fish of the tournament through two days. It weighed 6.62 pounds, and could mean $2,000 for the partners. The E-Cell Heavyweight pays $1,000. Boyne leads the amateur division, and if he retains his position will win a $15,000 Lund boat and Mercury outboard on an E-Z Loader trailer. Mark Martin, Twin Lake, Mich., a 2-time PWT winner and the original Mercury Champion, jumped from 49th place to fourth on the back of a 12.94-pound catch on day two. Bay City, Mich. pro Bill St. Peter moved to fifth place with 16 pounds for two days. Each Pro-Am boat could keep four walleyes, with two in excess of 20 inches per day. The fish were filleted and donated to the Ottertail Nursing Home, the Battle Lake Good Sam Home and the Fergus Falls Veterans Home. The PWT is an integral element of the In-Fisherman Communications Network headquartered in Brainerd, Minnesota, and PRIMEDIA, America’s leading producer of targeted media. PWT promotional partners include: Mercury Marine, Lund, The Outdoor Channel, Berkley, Optima Batteries, Realtree, MotorGuide, Lowrance, MinnKota, Trilene, Frenzy, Blue Fox, Powerbait, Johnsonville Brats, Northland Fishing Tackle, Lindy Legendary Fishing Tackle, GULP!, Coleman, Storm, Tommy Docks, Smooth Moves Seat Mounts, E-Village, Kwik Pfyt, Raymarine, Rapala, Pflueger, Ram rod holders, Gerbing’s Heated Clothing, Aqua-Vu, Plano, Stowmaster.net, Navionics, Yellow Bird, Beckman, Drift Control, Gemini Sport Marketing, Yo-Zuri , Reef Runner and the Ottertail Country Tourism, 218.758.2716.