McQuoid wins his third title
PORT CLINTON, Ohio – Going into the final day of the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour Isle, Minn., native Kevin McQuoid said that he liked being in second place. Luckily for McQuoid, he didn’t need to stay there long. He brought in the largest bag weighed on the final day, 38 pounds, 8 ounces to help boost him to the top of the leader board. With a three-day total weight of 118 pounds, 4 ounces, McQuoid grabs his third victory on the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour and joins fellow anglers Dean Arnoldussen and Bill Shimota as the only pros to do so. He also got to take home $63,000 in winnings

Walmart pro looks to grab his third title on Lake Erie
PORT CLINTON, Ohio – For a guy who has won two of his three tour titles off of Lake Erie, it was no surprise to see Walmart pro Dean Arnoldussen in the top 10 after day one. Going into day two the Appleton, Wis., native set to prove once again that he knows how to catch those Lake Erie giants. Arnoldussen brought the largest bag of the tournament so far, and the largest bag of his career, to the scales that sat at 45 pounds even. This brings his overall two-day total to a massive 82 pounds, 14 ounces giving him a 3 pound, 2 ounce lead for the final day.

Opening day of National Guard FLW Walleye Tour does not disappoint
PORT CLINTON, Ohio – It was not a question of when a big bag would be weighed in today but, instead, how long would it take? That question was quickly answered by Evinrude pro Richard Zachowski and co-angler Jimmy Cox who brought 42 pounds, 13 ounces to the scales right off the bat. Not only did they take the lead and hold it to finish day one, but Zachowski also weighed in his largest single day catch to date.

PORT CLINTON, Ohio – The first National Guard FLW Walleye Tour event on the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minn., featured good fishing but less than ideal water conditions due to an early spring. Coming into this event on Lake Erie anglers yet again knew conditions would different than years past. Water conditions aside, this is still Lake Erie, one of the best walleye fisheries in the country. And on this body of water you never know what to expect.

Second stop for the tour to be held May 10-12
PORT CLINTON, Ohio – The warm winter of 2012 had Lake Erie about a month ahead of where it normally would have been in March for walleye habitat and spawning. So when the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour presented by Dr Pepper visits the Great Lake May 12-14 anglers may not expect to see some of the spectacular weights that have been seen in past years. Jeff Graves of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, won the 2011 event with more than 117 pounds. It is predicted that the winning weight will be right around the century mark — still nothing to sneeze about and one of the reasons anglers look forward to this stop on the FLW Walleye Tour year after year.

Skarlis claims wire-to-wire win on Mississippi River
RED WING, Minn. – Tommy Skarlis was competitive like always during the 2011 tournament season. But in many respects, it was a disappointing year in that he failed to close after leading several major events. In fact, he was one day away from becoming the first pro to win two National Guard FLW Walleye Tour Championships until he stumbled and watched Dan Stier steal the show. The one that stung the most, however, was blowing a huge lead at the AIM event held on the Mississippi River in Dubuque, Iowa.

Skarlis running away with National Guard FLW Walleye Tour opener
RED WING, Minn. – Veteran pro Tommy Skarlis has done just about everything in 16 years of competitive walleye fishing, but he’s never won a tour-level event on his home waters of the Mississippi River. With a massive 17-pound, 7-ounce lead, that looks like it’s about to change, although Skarlis insists he still has work to do.

Iowa native grabs overall lead during FLW Walleye Tour season opener
RED WING, Minn. – Bolstered by a mammoth catch of 36 pounds, 12 ounces, veteran pro Tommy Skarlis of Waukon, Iowa, blistered the rest of the field along with co-angler partner Jimmy Cox of Bono, Ark., to grab the overall lead at the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour event on the Mississippi River.

Pros will be fishing top award of $63,000 during April 19-21 event
RED WING, Minn. – After a nearly seven-month hiatus since the conclusion of the 2011 season, the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour is finally back in action. Facing off against the fickle and unpredictable waters of the Mississippi River, walleye anglers will certainly have their work cut out for them this week if they are to have any hope of walking away the tournament title and the top award of $63,000.

When Scott Steil isn’t thinking about the weight he needs to win a walleye tournament, he’s thinking about the weight it will take to win the world championship in his other favorite type of competition. The magic number is 2,000 pounds – not as in fish, as in pumpkin.

Lack of current repositions Mississippi River walleyes in advance of FLW opener
RED WING, Minn. – With the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour preparing to kick the 2012 season off on the mighty Mississippi River there is one noticeable difference. What happened to all of the water? With the surprising lack of snow and ice throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin it has left water levels below average for this time of year.

Tour season to kick off April 19-21
RED WING, Minn. – The enigmatic winter that Minnesota enjoyed this year may have left residents free of backaches from shoveling snow and sunbathing a month early, but it is really going to challenge professional walleye anglers as the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour presented by Evinrude gets underway with the season opener on the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minn., April 19-21, 2012.

Longtime FLW Tournament Director Sonny Reynolds passed late Tuesday night in his Gilbertsville, Ky., home after a bout with cancer. He was 69.

Championship event returns to Mississippi River at Quad Cities
MINNEAPOLIS — FLW today announced the 2012 National Guard FLW Walleye Tour schedule and the return of the Walleye Tour Championship to the Mississippi River at Quad Cities. The 2012 season will feature four nationally televised regular-season events on America’s premier walleye fisheries as well as the no-entry-fee, nationally televised championship event on NBC Sports as part of the “FLW” show that airs every Sunday. Priority registration is now open.

For the past few seasons, Lake Erie has “bloomed,” but not in a positive sort of way. Instead of seeing all sorts of game fish and desirable forage species expanding in the lake, anglers have witnessed dramatic blooms of blue-green algae.

Aggressive or subtle, blade baits offer a unique attraction for hard-water walleyes
Walleyes under hard water often go from “just browsing” to lure-smashing in a matter of minutes. A blade bait can be a finesse and power lure, which allows ice anglers to stick walleyes even when they change moods. To ice the cake, blade baits not only trigger neutral and active walleyes, they have the capability to draw fish in to your hole better than other lures.

South Dakota pro sticks with big-fish spot for National Guard FLW Walleye Tour Championship win
BISMARCK, N.D. — EverStart pro Dan Stier seemed to be backsliding after the opening day of the 2011 National Guard FLW Walleye Tour Championship – he endured diminishing weights, fish counts and his place in the standings. But he never gave up on his spot or his game plan, and he was greatly rewarded for his tenacity Sunday with his first championship win.

When walleyes lurk among the weeds, casting and cranking a baitfish-imitating plug is an outstanding way to lure them out
Here’s a simple walleye-fishing fact for you: Walleyes love weeds. Here’s another: Walleyes in weeds love crankbaits.

Minnesota co-angler takes walleye championship title on Missouri River
BISMARCK, N.D. — Todd Dankert of Anoka, Minn., has come close to a tournament title before with three prior top-10 finishes in walleye events operated by FLW Outdoors, including a runner-up finish on Lake Oahe last year. When he finally got his win Saturday, it was a big one – a championship title.

Bro offers walleye tips for Missouri River

Iowa pro maintains lead on day three of National Guard FLW Walleye Tour Championship
BISMARCK, N.D. — Evinrude pro Tommy Skarlis won the 2008 championship on the Missouri River at Bismarck, N.D., and on Saturday he positioned himself to make National Guard FLW Walleye Tour history by sacking another strong limit weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces. He now has a three-day total of 58 pounds, nearly a 5-pound lead heading into the final day and a solid shot at a repeat performance.