Wisconsin man reels in walleye tour season opener on Lake Erie

4/20/2008

PORT CLINTON - Pro John Swanstrom of Superior, Wis., caught five walleye weighing 21 pounds, 7 ounces yesterday to win $100,000 in the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour season opener here presented by Yamaha on Lake Erie.

He had a four-day total of 20 walleye weighing 143 pounds, 7 ounces.

Swanstrom trolled crankbaits and spinners at speeds of .8 to 1 mph to catch his fish. His crankbait of choice was a 700 Series Lights Out Reef Runner.

Rounding out the top 10 pros were Larry Smith of Berlin, Wis. (20 walleye, 142-13, $27,500); Erik Furseth of East Lansing, Mich. (20 walleye, 138-15, $25,000); Bob Henton of Spartansburg, Pa. (19 walleye, 137-03, $15,000); Rick Franklin of Bemidji, Minn. (18 walleye, 136-07, $8,000); Dan Stier of Clearwater, Minn. (20 walleye, 133-15, $10,000); Chad Schilling of Akaska, S.D. (20 walleye, 133-14, $9,000); David Frey of Avon Lake, Ohio (20 walleye, 131-03, $5,000); Kevin Michnicki of Cleveland (19 walleye, 129-04, $5,500) and Pete Harsh of Sauk Centre, Minn. (18 walleye, 121-12, $5,000).