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PWT Rookie Pro Holds Lead; Veteran Pro Closes Gap at Mobridge

Category: Tournament

 May 29th, 2008 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified May 29th, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Rookie pro Aaron Deal, Herman, Minnesota, leads the Berkley/Lowrance Pro-Am, but veteran In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail pro Mark Martin closed the gap to one-fourth of a pound. Deal's total for five fish each of the first two days is 33.50 pounds. Martin has 33.22 pounds. They're competing in the Minn Kota Pro-Am series of PWT tournaments at Mobridge, SD.

	Martin's consistency is paying off

Martin, a past PWT Champion and a winner on the Missouri River, weighed the largest limit on day two, May 29, at 16.97 pounds. The PWT limit for each Pro-Am set of partners is five Missouri River walleyes. Two of those fish may exceed 20 inches; three must be less than 20 inches.

The windy start gave way to relatively calm conditions (less than 10 mph winds all day), which allowed every walleye presentation imaginable. According to PWT pros, all worked well. Trolling crank baits at key depths from 10 to 30 feet was the ticket, with Flicker Shads and Reef Runners the popular lures. Rigging with live bait and jigging with Gulp! Alive 3-inch minnows produced fish. Spinners behind bottom bouncers also produced.

The Missouri River within 10 miles of Mobridge, SD, was the hot spot, with walleyes lurking throughout the system. Pros and their amateur partners talked freely to the fans in the ALCO Discount Store lot (weigh-in site) about 30 to 50 fish days. The third and final stage and weigh-in ceremonies will occur in the store parking lot on Friday, with the weigh-in starting at 3:30 p.m., and continuing until the winner is crowned about 6:30 p.m.

Brent Beitelspacher, Gettysburg, SD holds third with 31.95 pounds, and Dave Anderson, Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, is in fourth with 31.13 pounds.
On day one, 100 boats arrived with limits; the total jumped to 102 on the second day. Two of the "zeroes" occurred due to one boat being late and another with an extra fish exceeding the 20-inch size limit.

The Real-Time Leaderboard on the PWT web site professionalwalleyetrail.com, lists each angler's weight as soon as the scale rings up the total. Photos of the action, stories, results and more news can also be found there. News media may also utilize the images and material.

The Minn Kota series continues in Arkansas June 25-27; then to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sept. 11-13; concluding at Hudson, Wisconsin Oct. 15-17, with the Championship Shootout on Oct. 18. The CAN-AM Super Pro occurs Aug. 13-15 in Dryden, Ontario, with 25-man teams selected by Captains John Butts (Canada) and Gary Parsons (United States).

The PWT is an integral element of the In-Fisherman Communications Network headquartered in Baxter, Minnesota, and InterMedia, America's leading producer of targeted media. PWT promotional partners include: Berkley, Lowrance Electronics, Optima Batteries, Minn Kota, Realtree, Outdoor Channel, Starcraft Marine, Northland Fishing Tackle, The Dow Chemical Company, Fin-Tech Tackle, StowMaster, Reef Runner, Yo-Zuri Quality Lures, Smooth Moves Seat Mounts, Kwik Pfyt Mud Flaps, Yellow Bird Planer Boards, Koppers Fishing Tackle, Allstar Graphics, Ram Mounts, Element Edge, Pflueger, Plano Tackle Systems, E-Cell, Cannon and Do-It Molds.

For Results Log onto: http://walleye.outdoorsfirst.com/leaderboard/llbpwt.asp