Separate ways, same result
Shimota, Eiden hold on to top spots at Walleye League Finals
MOLINE, Ill. – When boater Bill Shimota and co-angler Mike Eiden bid one another farewell Thursday afternoon, they shared the day-one lead at the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Finals. A day later, both had capitalized on their early momentum and again sat atop their respective divisions.
Hailing from Lonsdale, Minn., Shimota mirrored his opening-round pattern by fishing what he called “washboard bottom” – low, sandy humps in an outside bend near a side channel off the Mississippi River. Still unsettled from recent heavy rains, the river presented murky water, while abundant natural forage minimized the fish’s interest in artificial lures.
Improving his day-one limit weight of 9 pounds, 4 ounces, Shimota added three saugers worth 5 pounds, 4 ounces for a two-day total of 14-8 and a 1-pound, 7-ounce margin over second-place boater Dan Krukow of Rochester, Minn., who sits at 13-1. Shimota concentrated on his hand-lining technique, which yielded the optimal presentation for finicky fish.
“It’s just such an effective technique for fishing in current,” he said. “Your lures are constantly where they need to be, which is within 6 to 8 inches off the bottom or less. Also, it takes no time to get your baits back in the water (after a strike).”
Shimota said that while the fish showed no distinct preference in lure color, his forced diversity may have actually aided his effort.
“I wish I could tell you a color pattern, but there isn’t one. I’ve been switching baits all day long (both days), and I can’t nail it down. Maybe that’s one of the things that’s helping me – changing so often and keeping different baits in front of those fish when they’re used to seeing everyone else with the same ones coming by all day.”
The top boater picked up a fish on his first pass of the morning, added another about an hour later and completed his trio around noon. The lines remained mostly quiet the rest of the day, save for one missed fish. Nevertheless, when Shimota boated his biggest sauger – a 20-incher – he couldn’t contain his elation.
“I was probably whooping and hollering a little louder than I should have been,” he said. “I didn’t want to draw attention, but I was pretty pumped. A fish like that is worth two 15-inchers, so that was huge.”
Friday’s cool, windy conditions foretold a serious cold front scheduled to arrive that night. With near-freezing temperatures on tap for Saturday morning, Shimota said he was concerned – but not about his fish.
“I’m not too worried about the weather affecting the fish. I’m just worried about keeping myself warm going down the river.
“Typically, in a river system, cold fronts don’t have that much effect on the fish. If my bite slows down, everyone else’s will too. Hopefully, I can get three or four bites, and I’ll have a chance.”
With Saturday’s boater field cut to the top 10, Shimota said he’s unlikely to face one of the frustrations common to leading the first day of any tournament. “I got moved in on big time today, so that made it a little tough for me. Tomorrow should be the extreme opposite. There should be very few boats in there, so I can work my area a little better.”
Rest of the best
Krukow was in second with 13 pounds, 1 ounce; Don Marx of Rockford, Minn., finished third with 11 pounds, 11 ounces; Jonathan Shoemaker of Elyria, Ohio, placed fourth with 11-7; and Eric Olson of Red Wing, Minn. was fifth with 9-13.
Rounding out the top 10 boaters at the Walleye League Finals:
6th: Dusty Minke of New Brighton, Minn., 9-2
7th: Lamarr Van Dame of Fargo, N.D., 8-12
8th: Paul Fallaw of McHenry, Ill, 8-7
9th: Tim Fields of Rochester, Minn., 7-10
10th: Chad Wertepny of Green Bay, Wis., 7-8
Slow start ends well for Eiden
A resident of New Haven, Ind., Eiden fished with Marx on Friday and trolled crankbaits through a backwater slough in 14 feet of water. Despite his day-one lead, Eiden said he was unsure of how he’d finish on day two.
“I was really worried because the fish were biting a lot slower than they were on day one,” Eiden said. “We weren’t bringing a lot of fish to the boat, and the ones we did bring were (shorter than the 15-inch minimum). To get three (keepers), we were really happy.”
Eiden credits his boater for helping him secure a top-10 finish. “Don was really working hard – he kept things going and kept up with the lines. Boat control was perfect. He was very determined.”
Best of the rest
Steve Keller of Beloit, Wis., placed second with 11 pounds, 14 ounces; Eldon Olson of Mason City, Iowa, took third with 9-6; Aaron Mestad of Deerwood, Minn., finished fourth with 8-15; and Todd Wiedmann of Audubon, Minn., was fifth with 8-11.
Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers at the Walleye League Finals:
6th: Jamie Revermann, St. Joseph, Minn., 7-12
7th: Kenneth Dage, Maple Park, Ill., 7-12
8th: Brandon McCarthy, Nekoosa, Wis., 7-10
9th: Jamie Nieland, Albany, Minn., 7-8
10th: Raymond Chase, Friendship, Wis., 7-5
Day three of Walleye League Finals action on the Mississippi River continues at Saturday’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 7 a.m. Central at Sunset Park Marina, located at Route 92 and 31st Avenue in Rock Island, Ill.