McQuoid Wins National Guard FLW Walleye Tour Event on Lake Erie

PORT CLINTON, Ohio, May 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Link to photo of winner Kevin McQuoid

Coming into the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour on Lake Erie presented by Dr. Pepper only two anglers could state that they had won three FLW Walleye Tour events – Walmart pro Dean Arnoldussen and National Guard pro Bill Shimota. On Saturday, pro Kevin McQuoid of Isle, Minn., added his name to that elite list as he claimed the third title of his National Guard FLW Walleye Tour career. After bringing five walleyes weighing 38 pounds, 8 ounces to the scales, McQuoid's three-day total of 15 walleyes weighing 118 pounds, 4 ounces was enough to claim the victory and the $63,000 paycheck in Port Clinton.

"Winning this event is just awesome," said McQuoid who upped his FLW career winnings to more than $350,000. "You can't ever take away the feeling of winning your first tournament, but to win my third and join Dean and Bill as the only guys to win three, well that feels pretty special. I've fished more than 50 tournaments with FLW and this was really only the third time I've ever had a shot at winning one. I'm running on 100 percent adrenaline right now. Life is good!

"Today started out a little slower than Thursday and Friday," McQuoid continued. "The first two days of the tournament I had an awesome weight by 9 a.m. I did get one solid 9-pounder right away about 7:30 a.m. this morning, but then it slowed down and we were catching peanuts. A lot of other places a 4-pound walleye would be a pretty nice fish, but out here on Lake Erie, they are peanuts. I did get a little bit nervous, but we just kept grinding it out and we made the right adjustments. It ended up being a pretty solid day right on through. It really helped to have a co-angler like Jimmy Cox. He is awesome. I didn't have to tell him how to do anything. We just talked back and forth today and really made a great team.

"I was running pretty much the same pattern throughout the whole week," McQuoid continued. "I was running a break line on the east side of Kelly's Island about 30 feet deep. I was throwing in-line spinners with 1-ounce weights, using blade sizes of No.#5 and No.#6. Every day was a little different for hot colors, but I had the most success with a gold back and white, pink, purple and a little bit of chartreuse on the front. I just kind of ran a different gamut of colors between the beads and the blades, and I kept them about 40 to 50 feet behind the planer boards. I traveled to this event with a couple of other guys, Mark Courts, Jason Przekurat and Scott Steil, and working together really makes a huge difference out here."

Minutes after earning the victory, McQuoid was already looking forward to the next event on the 2012 FLW Walleye Tour schedule.

"I'm really looking forward to fishing Lake Oahe," he said. "That's a reservoir where you can do a lot of trolling. Last year when we were out there we were trolling some treetops and it was won with spinnerbaits, but there were a lot of fish coming out with Rapala Husky Jerks and Lindy Rigging with live bait as well. There's just so many different ways that you can catch fish out there. It will make for a really interesting tournament."

Final results for the top 10 pros on Lake Erie are:

2nd:    Walmart pro Dean Arnoldussen, Appleton, Wis., 15 walleyes, 113-2, $23,500 
3rd:     David Kolb, Rockford, Mich., 15 walleyes, 111-14, $11,000 
4th:     Richard Zachowski, Milwaukee, Wis., 15 walleyes, 110-9, $12,500 
5th:     David Kleszyk, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., 15 walleyes, 109-11, $9,500 
6th:     Greg Yarbrough, Port Clinton, Ohio, 15 walleyes, 109-6, $7,000 
7th:     Brian Bjorkman, Fargo, N.D., 15 walleyes, 104-11, $7,000 
8th:     Aaron Depinet, Tiffin, Ohio, 15 walleyes, 104-9, $5,000 
9th:     Nathan Seiferlein, Chesterfield, Mich., 15 walleyes, 104-6, $4,500 
10th:   Don Loch, Iron Mountain, Mich., 15 walleyes, 99-13, $4,000

Jimmy Cox of Bono, Ark., earned the victory in the Co-angler division to take home $8,500. He posted a three-day weight of 15 walleyes totaling 115 pounds, 12 ounces.

"I am so happy right now," said Cox, who is now atop the standings for 2012 Co-angler of the Year. "I would say for a co-angler, 20 percent of winning these tournaments is based on skill and 80 percent is based on who you get partnered with. I had some really fantastic partners this week. If you want to see what true teamwork is all about, watch Kevin and I when this show airs. He's such a gentle, kind spirit, and it was an absolute pleasure to be out on the water with him today. This trophy will make the long drive back to Arkansas that much better."

Final results for the top 10 co-anglers on Lake Erie are:

2nd:    Kevin Yancey, Newport, Mich., 15 walleyes,108-13, $3,000 
3rd:     Philip Maher, Lincoln Park, Ill., 15 walleyes, 107-14, $2,000
4th:     Aaron Lochotzki, Sandusky, Ohio, 15 walleyes, 106-2, $1,600 
5th:     Tony Harris, Chatham, Ill., 15 walleyes, 106-0, $1,400 
6th:     Mike Chutes, Sheffield Lake, Ohio, 15 walleyes, 105-6, $1,200 
7th:     C.J. Johnson, Monticello, Iowa, 15 walleyes, 102-6, $1,000 
8th:     Tom Nevans, Strongsville, Ohio, 15 walleyes, 101-6, $800 
9th:     Boyd Strissel, Billings, Mont., 15 walleyes, 99-8, $700 
10th:   Cody Armstrong, Devils Lake, N.D., 15 walleyes, 96-1, $600

Final results for the remaining field can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.

Overall there were 50 walleyes weighing 323 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 10 boats Saturday. The catch included 10 five-walleye limits.

In Walleye Tour competition, pro and co-anglers are competing for valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at the 2012 National Guard FLW Walleye Tour Championship which will be held on the Mississippi River in the Quad Cities Oct. 25-28. Anglers are also vying for the coveted Angler of the Year title, which earns them a place in the 2013 Walleye Tour Championship, as well as $10,000 for the pro and $2,500 for the co-angler.

Coverage of the Lake Erie tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network when "FLW" airs October 7 from 1 - 2 p.m. ET. "FLW" is hosted by Chip Leer and is broadcast to more than 559 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.

The next National Guard FLW Walleye Tour event will be held on Lake Oahe on July 12-14 in Pierre, S.D. The event will be hosted by the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce and boats will launch from Spring Creek Resort & Deep Water Marina. For a complete schedule visit FLWOutdoors.com.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

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