Anglers gearing up for April 3-6 RCL walleye tourney on Detroit River
DETROIT – Get ready to see huge sacks of walleyes being weighed in this week at the RCL Walleye tournament on the Detroit River, the first stop on the 2002 RCL schedule. Although most local anglers are familiar with the legendary behemoth walleyes that frequent this area of southeastern Michigan, walleye anglers new to the Detroit River could be in for a real treat.
However, it’s not only the size of the fish that will be big. Prize money is at a premium as well. Pro anglers will be competing for $50,000 cash and a fully rigged Ranger, Crestliner or Lund boat powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha motor, while the co-anglers will be competing for a first place prize of $15,000 cash.
“Unless Mother Nature tosses some kind of catastrophe at us, I expect a real thriller in Motown,” says Ranger Pro Tommy Skarlis from Walker, Minn. Last year, Skarlis won a major tournament on the Detroit River during early April and is a pre-tournament favorite heading into the inaugural RCL tournament of the 2002 season.
“It is really hard to tell what we will be faced with in this tournament,” says Skarlis. “All I know is that the walleye will be in some stage of spawning, most probably pre-spawn with the big females making their way into the river. If these are the conditions that happen during the tournament, look out. There will be some huge limits of fish weighed in. I bet it takes at least 30 pounds of fish per day to qualify for the first cut.”
Big fish are starting to show up with some regularity according to local anglers.
“This time of the year, I take out an awful lot of fishing charters,” says Captain Jim Barta at Michigan Charter Fishing Service. “I have been on the water every day lately, except for Easter, and let me tell you, the big fish are just starting to show. Most of the fish we are catching are in the 4- to 7-pound range, but I have taken fish over 10 pounds. I look for the migration of the big 10-pounders to show up at anytime. In fact, whoever is dropping their jig in the river when this happens might end up with a limit of 10-pounders.”
Look for the Trenton Channel, at the southern tip of the river, to produce an abundance of fish.
The section of the river near the Wyandotte Boat Ramp is another top place the pros will be fishing. This area isn’t as rocky and difficult to fish as the Trenton Channel, yet it will hold more than enough walleye to fill out an angler’s limit.
Horse Island near Gibraltar and the ditches and flats between Celeron Island and Grosse Isle are also favorite lower Detroit River hot spots.
But don’t forget about the Bass Islands if the weather and water conditions are right.
“If the water is clear enough and the winds are not too bad, I might make a run to fish the Bass Islands in Lake Erie,” says Julia “Jules” Davis, a Ranger pro from Port Clinton, Ohio. “If the big fish are not all over the river during the tournament and the conditions are right to fish the Bass Islands, it might be worth the run out there. Sometimes a big gamble may pay off. However, if the water is muddy out there the fishing probably won’t be very good.”
While there are many effective tackle options to choose from, jigs are preferred by most river anglers.
“To get in on the action here, look for 3/8- to 3/4- ounce jigs to take the majority of walleyes,” says Barta. “During the early, cold-water periods, tip these jigs with a minnow and keep your presentation as vertical as possible. Right now the water temperatures are in the upper 30s. This is pretty cold for this time of the year. I have not been able to use my normal power-jigging approach. Instead, I have had to use a finesse approach where I let my jig lie still on the bottom and most of the walleye are lightly hitting and getting hooked on my stinger hook. I am using jigs tipped with 3-4 inch minnows.”
Skarlis hopes for a jig bite as well
“I will use whatever technique it takes to win,” says Skarlis. “But, I love to use a vertical jigging approach. If this is what the fish are taking during the tournament, then I will be in a good position to do well this week.”
Hand lining may also play a role on the Detroit River.
“This fishery is well known for the tremendous hand-lining bite that happens this time of the year,” says Davis. “I have only been hand-lining for a few years, but I have had great success with it on many river systems. If this is the method that is working, it is going to be fun.”
Anglers using the hand-lining method will use lures such as floating Rapalas, Thundersticks, Rattling Rouges or even crawler harnesses.
However, the real question facing the anglers fishing the RCL in Motown: When will the female walleyes show up in the river? If the fish follow their normal patterns, expect this tournament to produce large numbers of huge fish, as early April is prime fishing time for trophy walleyes.
The long-range forecast for the Detroit area shows temperatures ranging from the 40s Wednesday through Friday and the lower 50s for Saturday’s finale.
Anglers in both divisions fish in three elimination rounds. After the two-day opening round, the field is cut to the top 20 pros and top 20 co-anglers who advance to the one-day semifinal round. The top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers after the semifinal round advance to the finals. Catch weights carry over for the first two days, but anglers start the semifinal and final rounds from zero.
Weigh-ins during the first two days of the tournament will be held at Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown, Mich., starting at 3 p.m. each day. The semifinal and final round weigh-ins April 5-6 will be held at the Taylor Wal-Mart located at 7555 Telegraph Road at 4 p.m. each day. Takeoff will be at 7 o’clock each morning at Lake Erie Metropark.