Lydic in Second and Fluekiger in Third
Day-1 NWT Story is presented by Garmin
Red Wing, MN. (May 23, 2024) – The Day One lead of the 2024 Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s National Walleye Tour (NWT) presented by Progressive being held on the Mississippi River out of Red Wing, MN goes to Ranger/ Mercury Pro-Angler Hunter Nitti.
The native Minnesota angler is just coming off the momentum of a second-place finish at the first NWT event of the 2024 season on Lake Erie last month. Today, Hunter went out on the river, a place he is very familiar with, knowing he needed a key over-slot walleye to give himself a shot at being at the top and he caught one to anchor his limit. He ended the day with a 4-fish limit weighing in at 15-02, which gives him the lead over 116 other NWT Pro-Anglers in front of his home state crowd.
“The day started really slow, I started in an area that I have history with, but I could not find anything solid on the [Live]scope”, said the young NWT Pro-Angler. “Once I finally got dialed in, I found a few good “unders” and the momentum just took off from there. The biggest thing for me was my over being a larger than normal big fish here, plus my co-angler caught a few, so it all just panned out.”
Nitti mentioned running to his same area for Day-2 that he fished today that gave him the lead. “…they are there, and I didn’t work them over too much today.”
Wisconsin Pro-Angler Allan Lydic Finishes Day-1 in Second with 14-15
Triton/ Mercury angler Allan Lydic from Cassville, WI ends Day 1 less than a pound out of the lead after weighing in a 4-fish limit worth 14-15. After weighing-in early at the Treasure Island Casino & Resort marina. Allan reported staying close to weigh-in and catching his fish quickly in the morning.
“I really didn’t think my limit would do much, in fact I didn’t feel good about it at all. But I was incredibly surprised once I came to weigh-in”, reported the Wisconsin Pro-Angler.
“Even with the weather change tomorrow, I feel confident I can do it again, or a little better. We lost way too many fish today, so I am very hopeful for tomorrow. I just have to make sure to get the fish in the boat.”
Third Place belongs to First Time NWT Pro-Angler Jordan Fluekiger
Young first time NWT Pro-Angler Jordan Fluekiger from Alma, WI rounded out the Top-3 NWT Pro-Anglers with a solid limit of Mississippi River walleyes weighing 14.04 which leaves him less than a pound off the lead.
“Wow is all I can say,” said the Ranger/Mercury NWT Pro-Angler. “You see these anglers out here, the best in the world. You dream of coming out here and fishing at this level, and to be in contention like this really has me lost for words.”
Jordan was also an angler that decided to weigh-in early. Fishing around his dad, another NWT Pro-Angler, he was able to capitalize on a crucial over-slot walleye in the first five minutes of fishing.
“I’m just going to have fun out there tomorrow; I am not worried about anything but having fun and hopefully putting another solid limit in the livewell.”
The Rest of the Top-Ten After Day 1 on the Mississippi River
4.) Stacy Forsberg Isle, MN 14-04
5.) Mike Schommer Jr. Prescott, WI 14-03
6.) Will Pappenfus Shevlin, MN 13-13
7.) Corey Heiser West Fargo, ND 13-11
8.) Josh Wetzstein Wanamingo, MN 13-10
9.) Evan Rosemore North Branch, MN 13-09
10.) Tony Flatten Albert Lea, MN 13-08
Day 1 Pro-Angler results can be found here.
Day-1 leading Co-Angler is Scott Peterson, from Ramsey, MN, with 15-02
Full Co-Angler results from Day 1 are here.
A special ‘Thank You’ to the City of Red Wing, MN, and Treasure Island Casino & Resort for the great hospitality toward the NWT throughout the entire week and weekend!
Day-2 LIVE weigh-in coverage will start at 1:30pm CST through this link: https://outdoorteamworks.com/live/
Immediately following weigh-in the National Professional Angler’s Association will be hosting a Kid’s Fishing Clinic! The first 200 kids at the event will receive either a fishing rod or t-shirt.
For more information on the National Walleye Tour, including the 2024 tournament schedule, fact sheets, photos, and official tournament results from past events, visit nationalwalleyetour.com. Subscribing to the NWT e-newsletter is the best way to receive up-to-date information, registration announcements, sponsor incentives, and Outdoor TeamWorks news.
About National Walleye Tour
National Walleye Tour (NWT) is part of the Outdoor Team Works family of fishing tournaments. The OTW brand offers a wide range of fishing events from professional tournaments to grassroots fishing derbies. All events are supported by some of the top companies in the nation and include on-site activation and activities, as well as extensive media support. For live updates and information, follow NWT on Facebook and Instagram or visit https://outdoorteamworks.com/ to catch up on all the action.
2024 Proud Sponsors
Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Progressive, Nitro Boats, Ranger Boats, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Aftco, Garmin, Power-Pole, TH Marine, Sunline, Gamakatsu, TrollMaster, Panther Marine, Gemini G2