African American Walleye Fishermen Make Their Mark in Michigan FLW Walleye League
Saturday June 30, 2007
Five African American walleye fishermen, Raymond Nelson, Carter Tillage, William Mobley, Charlie Roberts, and Robert Jones finished in the top twenty at the FLW Walleye League tournament held on the Saginaw Bay in Michigan, June 30, 2007.
This was historic in that 2003 was the first year that African Americans participated in the walleye league.
The Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League was created to provide the grassroots walleye angler a chance to compete in professionally administered close-to-home tournaments with lucrative cash awards.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
Dr. Charlie Roberts, former president of Jackson State Community College (TN), and founder of the Academic Anglers Fishing Team, a group dedicated to increasing African American participation in competitive fishing said, “ This is a significant historic event. I have never seen this many African Americans finish in the top twenty in a single event”.
Competitive fishing continues to grow at a record pace; however, African American participation is still in its infancy.
Person interested in learning about tournament fishing should contact: Charlie Roberts at Charlie@academicanglers.com or visit the website: http://www.academicanglers.com
