Pro Brian Deffner of Eland, Wis., and co-angler Bob Miller of Oshkosh, Wis., caught four walleyes weighing 19 pounds, 11 ounces Friday to propel Deffner into the lead at the FLW Walleye Tour Eastern Division tournament on Lake Winnebago. Deffner now has a two-day catch of five walleyes weighing 20-13 and a 13-ounce lead over second place going into the final day of competition. Anglers are fishing for top awards of up to $35,000 in the Pro Division and up to $7,500 in the Co-angler Division.
The first day of competition on Lake Winnebago resulted in few fish caught and low weights because of a weather system that resulted in storms in the Oshkosh area Wednesday evening. The second day of competition seemed to be more of the same for most anglers.
“Well, it was slow until about 11 o’clock,” said Deffner, who is fishing in his first FLW Walleye Tour event of the season. “We didn’t have any fish by our fourth spot. But we found a small spot with pretty good fish and ended up with four bites and landed all four.”
Deffner said he caught his fish trolling the main lake and he managed to bounce back from a day-one one-fish day by switching locations.
“It sounds like a lot of guys have had a tough week,” Deffner said. “We caught some fish in practice – enough where I thought I could get a limit. But the big storms that rolled through here two nights ago really messed things up. It’s been kind of a tough bite down here all year, but hopefully we can get them tomorrow.”
Deffner said he plans to pick up on the final day of competition where he left off on day two.
“This is lake Winnebago and it’s classic for big weight one day and nothing the next,” Deffner said.
Rounding out the top-10 pros are:
| 2nd: | Brett Wilkens | Kiel, Wis. | 10 walleyes | 20-0 |
| 3rd: | Paul Meleen | Isle, Minn. | seven walleyes | 13-0 |
| 4th: | Stephen Gaston | Montegut, La. | five walleyes | 12-0 |
| 5th: | Chris Gilman | Chisago City, Minn. | five walleyes | 9-6 |
| 6th: | Don Loch | Iron Mountain, Mich. | four walleyes | 9-4 |
| 7th: | Gregory Dekalb | Franklin, Wis. | three walleyes | 9-3 |
| 8th: | Mark Keenan | Appleton, Wis. | five walleyes | 8-2 |
| 9th: | Ryan Jirik | Rhinelander, Wis. | three walleyes | 7-14 |
| 10th: | Steve Lotz | Lena, Ill. | two walleyes | 7-6 |
Miller leads the Co-angler Division with nine walleyes weighing 31-6 followed by Derek Navis of Waupun, Wis., in second place with six walleyes weighing 13-4.
“We started off throwing crankbaits and hit three different spots then came back to this one spot and decided we’d start trolling,” said Miller, who holds an astounding 18-pound, 2-ounce lead.
Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers are:
| 3rd: | Steve Beasley | Macomb, Mich. | six walleyes | 13-0 |
| 4th: | Mike Taylor | Midland, Mich. | five walleyes | 10-1 |
| 5th: | Randal Sterr | Oconomowoc, Wis. | six walleyes | 9-7 |
| 6th: | Tim Depooter | Rock Island, Ill. | four walleyes | 9-4 |
| 7th: | Collin Martin | Appleton, Wis. | three walleyes | 9-3 |
| 8th: | Eugene Little | Milton, Wis. | four walleyes | 8-4 |
| 9th: | Bob Allen | Brookfield, Wis. | three walleyes | 8-2 |
| 10th: | Brian Boelter | Colgate, Wis. | three walleyes | 7-6 |
Overall there were 71 walleyes weighing 150 pounds, 5 ounces caught Friday. The catch included two five-walleye limits.
In FLW Walleye Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are also competing for valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at the FLW Walleye Tour Championship held on Leech Lake in Walker, Minn., Sept. 23-25.
The top five anglers and co-anglers will take off from Pioneer Resort Marina located at 1000 Pioneer Drive in Oshkosh on Saturday for the final day of competition. The final weigh-in will be held at the Pioneer Resort Marina beginning at 3 p.m.By: FLW Outdoors Staff
