Pro
Stephen Paulsen of Peshtigo, Wis., and co-angler Joe Ebel of Waukesha,
Wis., caught five walleyes weighing 32 pounds, 6 ounces to win the
National Guard FLW Walleye Tour tournament presented by Evinrude on
Green Bay. Paulsen had a three-day catch of 15 walleyes weighing 92-5.
He won by more than 11-pounds over his closest competitor, Danny Plautz,
in event featuring anglers from 17 states and Canada. Paulsen took home
$55,000 for his efforts.
“This is a dream come true,” said Paulsen, who was fishing in
his first ever FLW Walleye Tour event. “I really wasn’t doing anything
special. Like everyone else I was pulling crawler harnesses. The one
thing that helped me was that I didn’t see a single boat in my area for
three days. That really kept the pressure off the fish and I didn’t have
to worry about guys beating me to my spot.
“I was fishing humps mid lake,” Paulsen went on to say. “I
really needed the wind to get them to bite in my area so have just been
prayin’ hard all week for wind.
“I was trolling at about 1.2 to 1.3. The fishing wasn’t fast or
furious for me the entire week. Today we only caught about six or seven
fish. I use Tommy Harris custom blades in green and gold,” Paulsen
continued. “I am also a fan of snap weights. I think they act a little
like shock absorbers and really get the bite going.”
While most of the field played it safe going south to fish,
Paulsen took the gamble and went northeast where the fish are known to
be bigger but can be elusive this time of year. According to Paulsen the
bigger fish are just starting to move north where typically it is a
late summer/early fall bite.
Many of the anglers who fished the tournament spent some time
practicing north and northeast but couldn’t get a bite so played it safe
and stayed south. Paulsen didn’t get a single bite during his practice
either but being a guide on the bay he knew that if the wind kicked in
so would the bite.
Rounding out the top 10 pros are:
2nd: Danny Plautz, Milwaukee, Wis., 15 walleyes, 80-13, $15,000
3rd: Ryan Jirik, Rhinelander, Wis., 15 walleyes, 79-11, $10,000
4th: David Andersen, Amery, Wis., 15 walleyes, 78-1, $8,000
5th: Nick Schertz, Tomahawk, Wis., 14 walleyes, 76-13, $9,500
6th: Tom Keenan, Hatley, Wis., 15 walleyes, 74-1, $8,500
7th: Paul Meleen, Isle, Minn., 14 walleyes, 71-6, $7,500
8th: Castrol pro John Campbell, Marco Island, Fla., 14 walleyes, 68-12, $5,000
9th: Rob Nickels, Norway, Mich., 12 walleyes, 60-9, $5,000
10th: National Guard pro Mark Courts, Harris, Minn., 11 walleyes, 51-5, $5,500
Joe Ebel of Waukesha, Wis., earned the victory in the Co-angler
Division and took home $6,000. His three-day weight totaled 86 pounds, 8
ounces. He fished with Gil Mollet, Thursday, JD Carr, Friday and
Stephen Paulsen, Saturday to earn his victory.
“I couldn’t have asked for better partners,” said Ebel, who made
his first top-10 appearance. “Today fishing was a lot slower than it
has been all week for me. We only had eight or nine bites all day and we
brought six in the boat. This has just been an incredible tournament
and I am so excited to have finally made a top-10 finish.”
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are:
2nd: Daniel Leach, Linwood, Mich., 15 walleyes, 79-12, $3,000
3rd: Master Sgt. Leroy McCoy, Fridley, Minn., 15 walleyes, 78-15, $1,800
4th: Edward Mucha, Shabbona, Ill., 15 walleyes, 78-11, $2,450
5th: Wallace Carter Jr., of Lawrenceburg, Ky., 15 walleyes, 75-1, $1,000
6th: Shane Frevert, Centerville, Iowa, 15 walleyes, 73-9, $900
7th: John Spiegel, Appleton, Wis., 14 walleyes, 71-0, $800
8th: Boyd Strissel, Billings, Mont., 14 walleyes, 70-0, $700
9th: Buck Gehm, Crivitz, Wis., 12 walleyes, 59-13, $600
10th: Edward Piekutowski, Moorhead, Minn., 11 walleyes, 53-0, $1,000
In Walleye Tour competition, pro and co-anglers are also
competing for valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at
the 2011 National Guard FLW Walleye Tour Championship held on the
Missouri River in Bismarck, N.D., Sept. 22-25. Anglers are also vying
for the coveted Angler of the Year title, which earns them a place in
the 2012 Walleye Tour Championship, as well as $10,000 for the pro and
$2,500 for the co-angler.
