Photo by Brett Carlson - see FLWOutdoors.com for more photos and coverage
Pro Dean Arnoldussen of Appleton, Wis., and co-angler Todd Macker of Columbus, Mich., caught five walleyes weighing 33 pounds, 15 ounces to win their respective divisions in the FLW Walleye Tour Eastern Division tournament on the Detroit River. Arnoldussen started the day in third place but his big limit on Saturday gave him a three-day catch of 15 walleyes weighing 101-13 to win by more than 2-pounds over his closest competitor. He took home $31,232 for his efforts and again showed how impressive the walleye fishing continues to be on Lake Erie. Passing the century mark in just three days is an incredible feat. But this is not Arnoldussen's first rodeo or first time in the winner's circle on Lake Erie.
“I stayed consistent all three days,” said Arnoldussen. “I was in the lake fishing in about 14-16 feet of water trolling spinners; we just jumped around until we found some good fish and stayed on ‘em.
“I think the difference for me this week was the fact that I was fishing higher than most of the rest of the anglers. I was staying above the fish in about 7 feet of water.”
Rounding out the top-10 pros were:
2nd: Richard Fike, Farmington, Pa., 15 walleyes, 99-6, $3,425
3rd: Don Loch, Iron Mountain, Mich., 15 walleyes, 94-3, $2.936
4th: Tom Keenan, Hatley, Wis., 15 walleyes, 94-3, $5,946*
5th: Dan Stier, Mina, S.D., 15 walleyes, 91-11, $2,957*
6th: Mark Meravy, Shorewood, Ill., 15 walleyes, 89-11, $1,713
7th David Kolb, Rockford, Mich., 15 walleyes, 87-11, $1,468
8th: Jon Bondy, Windsor, Ontario, 15 walleyes, 86-10, $1,223
9th: John Campbell, Marco Island, Fla., 15 walleyes, 83-5, $979
10th: Ed Stachowski, Canton, Mich., 13 walleyes, 80-1, $734*Includes contingency awards
A complete list of results and photos can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Todd Macker of Columbus, Mich., earned the victory in the Co-angler Division and took home $2,847. His three day weight totaled 100 pounds, 5 ounces. He fished with Mark Meravy, Alan Szoke, and Dean Arnoldussen over the course of the tournament.
“We don’t catch pigs like this back home,” said Macker, who fished in his first tournament ever. “This was just awesome; I had a great, great three days of fishing. This is like a dream come true, it’s an average fisherman’s fantasy!
“My pros and I were on the lake all three days, yesterday was just non-stop, I was with Alan Szoke and we must have pulled in over 40 fish. All of my pros were phenomenal. I couldn’t have asked for a better tournament debut.”
Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Troy Cox, Jonesboro, Ark., 15 walleyes, 95-10, $1,139
3rd: Joseph Bruno, Strongsville, Ohio, 15 walleyes, 92-04, $854
4th: Bruce Frevert, Centerville, Iowa, 15 walleyes, 92-4, $740
5th: Rich Carmack, Trenton, Mich., 15 walleyes, 88-8, $683
6th: Kyle Schuchard, Essex, Ontario, 15 walleye, 86-4, $626
7th: Randal Sterr, Oconomowoc, Wis., 15 walleyes, 84-5, $569
8th: Mirko Canji, Belle River, Ontario, 15 walleyes, 83-8, $512
9th: Barry Gropp, Walled Lake, Mich., 15 walleyes, 80-13, $456
10th: Jeff Edwards, Washington, Ill., 13 walleyes, 77-1, $399
Overall there were 48 walleyes weighing 262 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 10 boats Saturday. The catch included nine, five-walleye limits.
