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SCHENECKER AND TODD LEAD WAL-MART FLW WALLEYE TOUR EVENT ON
LAKE ERIE PORT CLINTON, Ohio (April 27, 2005) - Pro Greg Schenecker
of Watertown, S.D., and co-angler Dale Todd of Janesville, Wis.,
caught five walleyes weighing 30 pounds, 4 ounces to lead day
one of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event on Lake Erie near
Port Clinton. A field of 136 pros is competing for a potential
top award of $87,000, while co-anglers are competing for a potential
top award of $16,700. After the worst April storm in 97 years
moved through the area Saturday - dumping as much as 10 inches
of snow in some parts - anglers were just hoping for modest
limits on Wednesday. Several impressive walleyes came to the
scales despite the conditions. Anglers faced hail, sleet and
winds to 20 mph but proved once again that Lake Erie was still
one of the best walleye fisheries in the nation. No catch, however,
was more impressive than Schenecker and Todd's day-one limit.
"During pre-fish, we didn't have much time to find may areas
because of the storm," Schenecker said. "We went to one area
Wednesday morning and were finished catching our walleyes by
10:30 a.m." Schenecker and Todd were targeting suspending walleyes
that were hovering 12 to 15 feet deep over 40 feet of water.
"I'm going to start out doing the same thing tomorrow, but it
all depends on the weather and the mud," Schenecker said. "We
haven't been catching any walleyes in the mud, and it's starting
to get into our area. The wind is supposed to calm down, though,
and that will help tremendously." Rounding out the top five
teams are pro Richard LaCourse of Port Clinton and co-angler
Joseph Fallaw of McHenry, Ill. (five walleyes, 29 pounds, 14
ounces); pro Patrick Neu of Forestville, Wis., and co-angler
Jeff Sather of Montevideo, Minn. (five walleyes, 29 pounds,
5 ounces); pro Larry Lambert of Lakeside Marblehead and co-angler
Micahel Watson of Spirit Lake, Iowa (five walleyes, 27 pounds,
11 ounces); and pro Mike Schaefer of Fond Du Lac, Wis., and
co-angler Don Jelinek of Fargo, N.D. (five walleyes, 26 pounds,
5 ounces). A total of 31 limits and 329 walleyes weighing 1,039
pounds, 3 ounces were caught Wednesday. "I reeled in a few fish,
and I netted a few fish for my pro," Todd said. "I was glad
he had the confidence to let me land a few and help out as much
as I did. There were other boats in sight, but none of them
were fishing our area." Pros and co-anglers fish for a combined
boat weight and are randomly paired each day. The FLW Walleye
Tour is the world's most lucrative professional walleye-fishing
series. At the $650,000 million Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship
on the Mississippi River in Moline, Ill., Sept. 28 - Oct. 1,
pros will fish for as much as $140,000 cash and co-anglers will
chase as much as $22,000. Daily takeoffs at Port Clinton start
at 7 a.m. at West Harbor Launch Ramp. Thursday and Friday's
weigh-ins starts at 3 p.m. at the Waterworks Park on Perry Street
and Saturday's weigh-in starts at 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart store
located at 4070 East Harbor Road in Port Clinton. The community
is invited to attend daily takeoffs and weigh-ins, which are
free and open to the public. Anglers from 21 states are fishing.
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 the winner determined
by the heaviest four-day weight. Named after the legendary founder
of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the
Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour and seven other national tournament
circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through 214
events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor
of America's largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments,
including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart
Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart
FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League and Wal-Mart FLW
Kingfish Tour. For more information on FLW Outdoors and its
tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most respected companies
support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed
on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the
title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information
on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com
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