Pro Bill Shimota of Lonsdale, Minn., and co-angler Dave Hennings of Hartley, Iowa, caught five fish weighing 31 pounds, 1 ounce Friday to propel Shimota into the lead at the FLW Walleye Tour Western Division tournament on Mississippi River, where the anglers are fishing pool no. 3. Shimota now has a two-day catch of 10 walleyes weighing 54-12 and a 4-pound, 3-ounce lead over second place going into the final day of competition. Anglers are competing for top awards of up to $30,455 in the Pro Division and up to $5,398 in the Co-angler Division.
“It was a great day. We caught a lot of fish today,” said Shimota. “Yesterday I made the mistake of throwing some smaller ones in [the box]. Today we didn’t do that. We set our goals high and they kept coming and we got the job done. I got right on my fish today. The only thing I did different today was yesterday I threw two 16-inch fish into the livewell.. They were my first two fish. The way pre-fishing was going, I was a little nervous and wanted to make sure I got a limit. Today I was throwing back the 16- and 18-inchers because I knew I would get my big bites as we caught them quick yesterday.
“Today we had 25 pounds by about 11:30 this morning and I still had two spots open. So I left my ‘A’ spot to leave it alone and save those fish for tomorrow. I went out wondering around and stumbled into a big school of fish and upgraded two more times.”
Shimota mentioned concern about hitting his spot hard the past couple days. “My spot has slowed down a little compared to yesterday so I am a little worried that I could be fishing it out. It is basically me and one other guy working that spot.”
Rounding out the top-10 pros are:
| 2nd: | Dusty Minke | Forest Lake, Minn | 10 fish | 50-9 |
| 3rd: | Toby Kvalevog | Brainerd, Minn. | 10 fish | 48-11 |
| 4th: | Steve Lotz | Lena, Ill. | 10 fish | 46-3 |
| 5th: | Nick Fautsch | Maddock, N.D. | 10 fish | 41-4 |
| 6th: | Paul Meleen | Isle, Minn. | 10 fish | 38-4 |
| 7th: | Chad Nissen | White Bear Township, Minn. | 10 fish | 33-6 |
| 8th: | Richard Lowe | Soldiers Grove, Wis. | 10 fish | 31-9 |
| 9th: | Byron Peterson | Blair, Neb. | 8 fish | 28-3 |
| 10th: | Brian Bjorkman | Fargo, N.D. | 10 fish | 27-7 |
Cal Van Cleve of Wilmot, S.D., held on to the lead in the Co-angler Division with five fish today weighing 16-13, giving him a two-day total of 10 fish weighing 44 pounds, 4 ounces, followed by Hennings, in second place with 10 fish weighing 43-3.
Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers are:
| 3rd: | Robert Dube | Williston, N.D. | 9 fish | 42-11 |
| 4th: | Victor Wood | Rapid City, S.D. | 10 fish | 35-10 |
| 5th: | Lance Bainville | Mounds View, Minn. | 7 fish | 33-15 |
| 6th: | Christopher Hanson | New Hope, Minn. | 7 fish | 31-8 |
| 7th: | National Guard co-angler Daniel Halan |
Rochester, Minn. | 9 fish | 31-5 |
| 8th: | William Drake | Horace, N.D. | 10 fish | 31-3 |
| 9th: | Daniel Meisner | Merrill, Wis. | 8 fish | 30-6 |
| 10th: | Bryan Bayerkohler | Eagan, Minn. | 9 fish | 30-1 |
Overall there were 186 walleyes weighing 539 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 55 boats Friday. The catch included 22 five-fish limits.
In FLW Walleye Tour competition, pros and cos 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.
Top-10 anglers and co-anglers will take off from Treasure Island Resort Marina located at 5636 Sturgeon Lake Rd. in Welch at 7 a.m. Saturday. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Treasure Island Casino parking lot located at 5734 Sturgeon Lake Rd. in Welch beginning at 4 p.m. Prior to the final weigh-in, fans are encouraged to attend the free Family Fishing Clinic which will start at 2:30 p.m. in the Treasure Island parking lot. Children can get free rod and reels while supplies last, plus other great giveaways.
ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.By: Julie Huber,
