EverStart Pro Dan Stier of Mina, S.D., caught five walleyes weighing 18 pounds, 14 ounces to win the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the Missouri River. Stier had a four-day catch of 18 walleyes weighing 69-4. He won by more than 4-pounds over his closest competitor in an event featuring the top 40 pro and 40 co-anglers from the 2011 National Guard FLW Walleye Tour season. Stier took home $70,000 for his efforts.
“This is truly a dream come true for me,” said Stier, who won his first FLW championship title. “This is one of the greatest moments of my life. I’ve had a bad year. I lost my dad in Feb. and two weeks later my grandmother so things were not all that great. I’ve had a lot of fishing mishaps this year and I was beginning to wonder if I would ever catch a break. But this…this is amazing.
“I ended the tournament where I started,” Stier went on to say. “In the honey hole that we all fished this week. I was going down there just to play for one or two bites. It truly was a morning bite and I knew it was just a matter of time before the fish would replenish. The area had seen a lot of pressure all week so I was thinking if I could get one or two good bites early I would be okay. I had some areas in the main river where I was getting some pretty good action in the afternoon so figured as soon as I got my first two I would move into the river to catch the rest of my limit.
“I got my first fish within the first 20 minutes of the day. Fifteen minutes later I got my second fish. Then I lost the third fish that was probably 24 inches, landed the next fish and knew I wasn’t leaving that area. I had to stay there all day, the fish were back. At one point I lost four in a row that were all 20 to 25 inchers. Thankfully the lack of the fifth fish didn’t cost me the tournament.
“All week long I was either throwing a jig with plastics; Gulp! Minnows and Bass Pro. When the fish stopped biting the jig I would change up and start trolling crankbaits. Glo green was the color that seemed to work best for me this week.
Rounding out the top 10 pros are:
| 2nd: | Walmart pro Dean Arnoldussen | Appleton, Wis. | 19 walleyes | 64-15 | $29,000 |
| 3rd: | OFF! pro Chris Gilman | Chisago City, Minn. | 20 walleyes | 63-8 | $18,000 |
| 4th: | David Andersen | Amery, Wis. | 20 walleyes | 62-12 | $8,000 |
| 5th: | National Guard pro Bill Shimota | Lonsdale, Minn. | 18 walleyes | 61-1 | $10,000 |
| 6th: | Tommy Skarlis | Waukon, Iowa | 16 walleyes | 58-15 | $7,750 |
| 7th: | National Guard pro Mark Courts | Harris, Minn. | 20 walleyes | 56-10 | $6,500 |
| 8th: | Tom Kemos | Oconomowoc, Wis. | 20 walleyes | 55-9 | $4,000 |
| 9th: | Keith Kavajecz | Kaukauna, Wis. | 16 walleyes | 51-2 | $3,000 |
| 10th: | Kevin Carstensen | Merrill, Wis. | 15 walleyes | 44-14 | $3,250 |
Todd Dankert of Anoka, Minn., earned the Co-angler championship title on Saturday and took home $7,000. His three-day weight totaled 58 pounds, 12 ounces. He fished with OFF! pro Chris Gilman, David Andersen and Tommy Skarlis during the tournament.
Overall there were 34 walleyes weighing 92 pounds, 2 ounces caught by 10 pros Sunday. The catch included four five-walleye limits.
ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS
FLW Outdoors is the best in fishing, on and off the water. Anglers worldwide can compete for millions over the course of 191 tournaments in 2011. FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with the world’s richest fantasy sports game, FLW Fantasy Fishing presented by Straight Talk, where competitors can play for free as well as sign up for Player’s Advantage to gain an edge.By: Julie Huber,
