Renner Takes Big Lead in Walmart FLW Walleye Tour Championship
Category: npaa
Oct 2nd, 2009 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Oct 2nd, 2009 at 12:00 AM
BISMARCK, N.D. (Oct. 2, 2009) – Pro Tony Renner of Hutchinson, Minn., and co-angler Lowell Joy of Bemidji, Minn., brought in five walleyes weighing 24 pounds, 8 ounces to help Renner lead the Walmart FLW Walleye Tour Championship presented by Berkley on the Missouri River in Bismarck, N.D. Renner holds a lead of 8 pounds over his closest rivals in the nationally televised tournament that features 108 anglers from 16 states and Canada fishing for top awards of $105,000 in the Pro Division and $14,000 in the Co-angler Division.
“This morning we started out and snagged a 30-pound carp that snagged and tangled up all our lead-core lines,” said Renner. “I told Lowell that we have to put this together. So within about an hour, we had three fish. Then we got the big ones in the boat. We caught the first one, and I told Lowell that if this is a walleye, you aren’t going to want to miss this with the net. We got our fifth fish and we had a good, solid box and so we made a move to another big fish spot of mine. We went there and caught the 26-incher. Once we got that one, I told Lowell that I think you might of won this one.”
Renner said that he wants this title, especially with the work that has gone into it. “I want this bad. We worked hard today to get those fish. We had problems with the line today, lost a fish and we just kept a real good attitude. We kept working hard and I will tell you tomorrow I will work as hard as I can to finish it off.
“My plan wasn’t to do what I did today tomorrow as I think the winds are going to die down and I could go down to the lake and try to get a good solid weight, but now I will stay where I am at and keep doing what I am doing. I think I can get the right fish there like I did today.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros are Scott Steil of Richmond, Minn. (five walleyes, 16-8); Robert Crow of Paterson, Wash. (five walleyes, 15-2); David Anderson of Amery, Wis. (five walleyes, 14-8); Carl Adams, Jr. of Blackduck, Minn. (five walleyes, 14-7); Todd Riley of Amery, Wis. (five walleyes, 11-12); Ron Seelhoff of Burlington, Colo. (five walleyes, 11-12); Tommy Skarlis of Waukon, Iowa (five walleyes, 11-12); Chris Gilman of Chisago City, Minn. (five walleyes, 8-7); and Nicolas Schertz of Tomahawk, Wis. (one walleye, 2-9);
Joy took home the title in the co-angler division earning $7,000. Joy put himself into the final day by fishing with pro Chris Gilman on day one bringing in five walleyes weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces, and pro Tommy Skarlis on day two catching five walleyes weighing 16 pounds, two ounces.
Joy, who was filled with emotion on the victory said it has not sank in. “This is hard to believe and sort of unreal. This is a great organization and I will plan on being back again. All the pros I fished with are a class act. There is no doubt about.”
“We fished pretty much the same all day long and used the same baits and fished the same areas,” said Joy, not wanting to disclose any information from today as his partner will be fishing for the championship tomorrow.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Jerry Chwierut of Lake Villa, Ill. (five walleyes, 16-8, $10,600); Troy Vanacek of Omaha, Neb. (five walleyes, 15-2, $5,250); William Drake of Horace, N.D. (five walleyes, 14-8, $4,900); Dave Smith of Bemidji, Minn. (five walleyes, 14-7, $2,100); Jimmy Cox of Bono, Ark. (five walleyes, 11-12, $1,900); Patrick Bertelsen of Jackson, Minn. (five walleyes, 11-2, $1,275); Christopher Hanson of New Hope, Minn. (five walleyes, 11-12, $1,150); Justin Steinke of Birnamwood, Wis. (five walleyes, 8-7, $1,000); and Philip Zimpel of Plummer, Minn. (one walleye, 2-9, $850);
Overall there were 46 walleyes weighing 131 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 10 boats Friday. The catch included nine five-walleye limits.
Pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day and fish for a combined boat weight. Pros compete against other pros, and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers. The full field competed the first two days and was cut to the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers for day three. Anglers in both divisions start from zero on day three, and co-angler competition concludes with the winner determined by the day’s heaviest catch. Pros carry their weights over to day four, and the winner is determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
Fans are encouraged to attend the weigh-in Saturday at the Bismarck Civic Center at 4:30 p.m. Fans can also visit the free Family Fun Zone at the Bismarck Civic Center on Saturday, beginning at noon, to win free prizes, test their skills at the casting pond, visit various sponsor booths for giveaways and promotions and ride the Ranger boat simulator for free. The first 300 children ages 14 and under on Saturday will receive a free rod and reel courtesy of Cumulus Bismarck.
The community is invited to attend takeoff Saturday from Hazelton Launch Ramp, located approximately 30 miles southeast of Bismarck on Highway 1804, at 8:00 a.m.
Coverage of the Walleye Tour Championship, hosted by the Bismarck-Mandan Convention & Visitors Bureau, will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS, the network which brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most-trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated “FLW Outdoors,” will air Nov. 15 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide, including internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to such countries as Canada, Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports. Sign up for Player’s Advantage to get your edge and win.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.