FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHENIER, SCHULTZ WIN WAL-MART FLW WALLEYE LEAGUE FINALS ON LAKE MICHIGAN

ESCANABA, Mich. (Sept. 9, 2006) - Boater Glenn Chenier of Gladstone, Mich., caught 15 walleyes weighing 62 pounds, 2 ounces during three days of competition in the $141,950 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Finals on Lake Michigan to secure a victory Saturday by 2 pounds, 3 ounces over his closest competitor. Chenier earned a $45,000 Ranger 621 powered by Evinrude for his victory.
"This feels wonderful," said Chenier, who finished second during his last FLW Walleye League Finals appearance in Escanaba in 2004. "I rolled the dice last time I was here, going after big fish, and I fell a little short. This year, I played it safe and concentrated on getting five fish in the boat before I went after size."
Local regulations restrict anglers to three walleyes under 23 inches and two walleyes over 23 inches.
On Thursday, Chenier caught five walleyes weighing 20 pounds, 13 ounces while fishing with co-angler Terry Barrette of River Falls, Wis. He added another five fish weighing 19 pounds, 7 ounces to his total Friday while fishing with co-angler Mike Kordus of Menasha, Wis., then he capped off his win Saturday with another five-walleye limit weighing 21 pounds, 14 ounces while fishing with co-angler Randy Schultz of Fond Du Lac, Wis.
All of his walleyes Saturday came on crawler harnesses pulled along a reef in 9 to 30 feet of water approximately 14 miles from Escanaba. Throughout the week, Chenier fished five key areas.
Rounding out the top five boaters are John Schneider of Shawano, Wis. (14 walleyes, 59 pounds, 15 ounces, Polar Kraft V1910 Pro DC powered by Yamaha); David Kolb of Ada, Mich. (14 walleyes, 57 pounds, 9 ounces, $4,500); Mike Kamp of Fox Lake, Wis. (15 walleyes, 57 pounds, 2 ounces, $2,000); and Patrick Bertelsen of Jackson, Minn. (13 walleyes, 55 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,500).
Schultz won the Co-angler Division with a three-day total of 13 walleyes weighing 60 pounds, 10 ounces. His outstanding effort earned him a G3 V185F powered by Yamaha.
"We were a little worried until about noon (Saturday), because we only had two small fish in the boat," said Schultz, who also won the Wisconsin Division Super Tournament on Green Bay earlier this season. "Then we doubled up and put two over 23 inches in the box in one pass. We knew we had a shot at that point."
On Thursday, Schultz caught five walleyes weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces while fishing with Kolb. He added another three walleyes weighing 21 pounds, 6 ounces to his total Friday while fishing with boater Brian Deffner of Eland, Wis., then he capped off his win Saturday with five walleyes weighing 21 pounds, 14 ounces while fishing with Chenier.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mark Cloutier of Escanaba, Mich. (13 walleyes, 57 pounds, 13 ounces, $2,000); Greg Fischer of Appleton, Wis. (11 walleyes, 53 pounds, 9 ounces, $1,600); Mike Eiden of New Haven, Ind. (12 walleyes, 53 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,000); and Jamie Revermann of St. Joseph, Minn. (12 walleyes, 52 pounds, 15 ounces, $700).
A total of 59 walleyes weighing 242 pounds, 10 ounces were caught Saturday by the 15 teams who made the final-round cut. Nine teams caught five-fish limits.
Boaters and co-anglers who finished in the top 35 in final points standings in each FLW Walleye League division advanced to this no-entry-fee tournament.
FLW Walleye League boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired and fish for a combined boat weight, with boaters competing against other boaters and co-anglers competing against other co-anglers. The full field competed Thursday and Friday, with the top 15 boaters and 15 co-anglers advancing to Saturday.
The Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League was created in 2003 to provide the grassroots walleye angler a chance to compete in professionally administered, close-to-home tournaments with lucrative cash awards.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
For more information about 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 an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world's leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.