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Zachowski Holds on to Lead Walmart FLW Walleye Tour Event on Mississippi

Category: press release

 May 7th, 2009 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified May 7th, 2009 at 12:00 AM

RED WING, Minn. (May 7, 2009) – Pro Rich Zachowski of Milwaukee, Wis., caught four walleyes weighing 12 pounds, 5 ounces to give him a two-day catch of nine walleyes weighing 52 pounds, 3 ounces to lead the Walmart FLW Walleye Tour presented by Berkley on the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minn. Zachowski holds a 2 pound, 2 ounce lead heading into Day 3 of the nationally televised tournament that features anglers from 19 states and Canada fishing for top awards of $66,667 in the Pro Division and $13,331 in the Co-angler Division.

	Rich Zachowski holds a few fish from his Day 2 catch (Photo Courtesy of WalleyeFIRST)

Larry Oleson of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. leads the Co-angler Division with a two-day catch of 10 walleyes weighing 45-13. Oleson brought in five walleyes weighing 24-3 today with his partner on the pro side, Randy Stevens. Oleson now holds an 11 ounce lead over the second place finisher going into the third day of competition.

Zachowski, who said he was in the first group of boats to take off today, talked about his location from yesterday where he started the tournament with a 40 pound catch. “Fishing wise, I was the first one there. I got the spot that I wanted for the morning. There were a lot of new faces there and I couldn’t work it the way I wanted to. I am pitching jigs plus I am putting out two dead sticks as it is better to have four baits in the water than just two.”

“I am in the third flight tomorrow so it is my long day,” said Zachowski. “I am probably going to go do something else first thing in the morning, then go [to my spot] in the afternoon. I’ll go get five 18 to 22 inch fish, then try and go get three big ones.”

Rounding out the top 10 pros are Randy Stevens of Hager City, Wis. (10 walleyes, 50-3); Nick Johnson of Elmwood, Wis. (10 walleyes, 44-11); Chris Gilman of Chisago City, Minn. (10 walleyes, 44-11); Ted Takasaki of Eat Gull Lake, Minn. (10 walleyes, 43-4); Pat Byle of Colgate, Wis. (10 walleyes, 41-2); Barry Walker of Big Springs, Neb. (10 walleyes, 38-8); Brett King of Claremont, Minn. (10 walleyes, 36-5); Scott Fairbairn of Hager City, Wis. (10 walleyes, 36-3); and Robert Blosser of Poynette, Wis. (10 walleyes, 36-2).

Oleson, who took over the lead on the co-angler side, said, “the fishing has been outstanding. Today, like yesterday, it took us all day long to get our five fish. We did not lose any either day and both pros that I have been with were outstanding fishermen and really knew their stuff.”

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Steve Berg of Hudson, Wis. (eight walleyes, 45-2); Chad Niemann of Rochester, Minn. (10 walleyes, 44-10); Robert Brunz of Madison Lake, Minn. (10 walleyes, 39-14); Gary Speicher of Cedar Rapids, Iowa (10 walleyes, 39-13); Todd Dankert of Anoka, Minn. (10 walleyes, 39-12); Edward Piekutowski of Moorhead, Minn. (10 walleyes, 36-5); John Mickish of White Bear Lake, Minn. (10 walleyes, 34-11); Rick Norris of Hudson, Wis. (nine walleyes, 33-5); and Jerry Miller of Lowell, Ind. (10 walleyes, 33-2).

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 competes during the three-day opening round for one of 10 final-round slots based on their three-day accumulated weight. Weights carry over to day four, with winners determined by the heaviest four-day weight.

Overall there were 395 walleyes weighing 1,070 pounds, 4 ounce caught by 100 boats Thursday. The catch included 56 five-walleye limits.

Bayport Marina, located at 1429 Levee Rd.  in Red Wing, will host daily takeoffs each morning at 7 a.m. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at Bayport Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart store located at 295 Tyler Rd. South in Red Wing beginning at 4 p.m. The community is invited to attend daily takeoffs and weigh-ins, which are free and open to the public.

Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 150 points awarded to the winner, 149 to second, 148 for third, and so on. These points determine Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year standings. The top 50 pros and 50 co-anglers in the standings will advance to the FLW Walleye Tour Championship in Bismarck, N.D., Sept. 30-Oct. 3 for a shot at top awards of $150,000 and $20,000, respectively. The prestigious championship, hosted by the Bismarck-Mandan Convention and Visitors Bureau, will also feature boater and co-angler points champions from each of four Walmart FLW Walleye League divisions. The no-entry-fee FLW Walleye Tour Championship is the most lucrative event in professional walleye angling, with cash awards for the entire field.

Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour, hosted by the Red Wing Business Community, 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 Aug. 9 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 taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.

FLW Tour Pro Qualifier – Mississippi River Results