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LAMPMAN LEADS WAL-MART FLW WALLEYE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Hiller Wins Co-angler Division, Earns $11,000 MOLINE, Ill.
(Sept. 30, 2005) - Pro Robert Lampman of DeSoto, Wis., and co-angler
Matthew Hiller of Ada, Mich., caught two walleyes weighing 10
pounds, 8 ounces Friday to give Hiller an $11,000 victory and
send Lampman into the final day of competition with a 1-pound,
4-ounce lead in the $650,000 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship
on the Mississippi River in Moline. A win is worth as much as
$125,000 for the 10 remaining pros in the world's most lucrative
walleye-fishing tournament. "I fished this river last year and
finished 18th," said Lampman, who is making his sixth championship
appearance in as many years on the FLW Walleye Tour. "With the
warm summer we've had and the relatively low oxygen levels,
the fishing has been tough, but with the current picking up
and the water cooling down, the fish are just ready to bust.
Water temps are getting down to the perfect zone. That's a little
scary because all these guys are great fishermen and they are
going to be tough." Lampman caught two walleyes weighing 5 pounds,
7 ounces Wednesday while fishing with co-angler Jackie Perry
of Milaca, Minn., to finish the opening day in 13th place. He
then added two walleyes weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces to his total
Thursday while fishing with co-angler Jerome Chwierut of Glenview,
Ill., to advance to the finals as the No. 9 seed with a two-day
total of four walleyes weighing 10 pounds, 10 ounces. The original
field of 50 pros and 50 co-anglers representing 18 states and
Canada was cut to the top 10 Thursday evening and opening-round
weights were cleared for the final round. Friday's weights carry
over to Saturday, however, and the winning pro will be determined
by the heaviest two-day total catch. Lampman has 10 spots that
produced in practice, but all of his fish came from just one,
until today. "When I go to the spot I was fishing in the opening
round, I was fighting 3-foot waves," he said, "so I decided
to go to calmer water." Wing dams in Pool 14 have been Lampman's
targets of choice using Lindy Rigs and live bait. The pressure
of competing against the best co-anglers in the world is now
over for Hiller, and he is $11,000 richer for his efforts. Hiller,
a tour rookie, landed one walleye weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces
Wednesday while fishing with pro Joe Whitten of Toledo, Ohio,
to secure 29th place heading into day two. He then added five
walleyes weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces to his total Thursday
while fishing with pro Carl Grunwaldt of Green Bay, Wis., to
advance to the final day of co-angler competition as the No.
9 seed with a two-day total of six walleyes weighing 9 pounds,
7 ounces. Pro Shannon Kehl of Menoken, N.D., secured second
place heading into the final day and co-angler Keith Strauss
of Syracuse, Ind., won $6,500 plus $9,000 in boat and engine
bonuses with a four-walleye catch weighing 9 pounds, 4 ounces.
Rounding out the top five pros are Kevin Goligowski of Maplewood,
Minn. (three walleyes, 6 pounds, 13 ounces); Jarrad Fluekiger
of Alma, Wis. (two walleyes, 3 pounds, 1 ounce) and Dan Stier
of Pierre, S.D. (one walleye, 1 pound, 15 ounces). Rounding
out the top five co-anglers are John Hight of Pierre, S.D. (four
walleyes, 7 pounds, $5,000 plus $2,500 bonus); Marty Barski
of Crystal Lake, Ill. (three walleyes, 6 pounds, 13 ounces,
$4,000 plus $2,500 bonus) and Jimmy Cox of Bono, Ark., (two
walleyes, 3 pounds, 1 ounce, $3,000 plus $3,500 bonus). 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. Sunset Park on 18th Ave. in
Rock Island will host Saturday's final takeoff at 7 a.m. followed
by the final weigh-in at the Wal-Mart store located at 3930
44th Ave. in Moline beginning at 5 p.m. The FLW Walleye Tour
Family Fun Zone featuring interactive games, product samples
and activities for the entire family opens in the Wal-Mart parking
lot at 1 p.m. All activities are absolutely free. Named after
the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW
Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour and eight
other national tournament circuits offering more than $32 million
in purses through 230 events in 2006. The 27-year-old organization
is the purveyor of America's largest and most prestigious fishing
tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Stren Series,
Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail,
Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart
FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series and Wal-Mart
FLW Redfish Series. 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. For more
information about the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship
hosted by the Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau, visit
FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information
about the Quad Cities, go to Visitquadcities.com
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