A reversal of fortunes
Despite doubting power of jigging, Kolinski abandons trolling to take first RCL Tour tournament of 2003
SPRING VALLEY, Ill. – In an about-face from morning predictions on the final day of the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour event on the Illinois River, trolling didn’t quite cut it. Jigging ultimately did for John Kolinski of Menasha, Wis., who trolled for a couple of hours Saturday morning before giving it up in favor of a pair of jig rods.
It was ultimately a wise decision that put six smallish saugers in the boat that weighed 10 pounds, 15 ounces and were worthy of the win, with $50,000 cash and a new Lund boat, in the opening RCL tournament of 2003. Kolinski’s decisions to jig and to spirit upriver were on-the-water moves made when he had a better look at the river conditions.
“I feel the most confident with jigging,” Kolinski says. “When I saw how fast that current was moving and how much debris was in the water, I knew I could beat the handliners by jigging.”
Four if by hand
Indeed, Kolinski outpaced one of the most consistent performers of the tournament, edging Ranger pro Keith Eshbaugh of West Alexander, Pa., who had handlined 50 pounds of fish over three days. But on the final day – the one that counts when the top 10 competitors start from scratch with zero pounds – Eshbaugh could manage only four fish for 7 pounds, 14 ounces. But it was good for a $12,500 check.
Earlier in the tournament, Eshbaugh was reluctant to spill any of the details that made his program so dominant over the first three days. But once the weigh-in was over, Eshbaugh said he was handling with No. 9 Rapalas with a piece of night crawler on the front hook – just enough added attraction that the Illinois’ sauger often grabbed the front treble when they were at their most moody.
Speed was another factor in Eshbaugh’s previous domination. In fact, Eshbaugh had been handlining at speeds of up to 2.5 mph, but today he dropped it down to the low-1-mph range when faced with high water, cold weather and a tough bite.
Six quick picks
Even Kolinski had started the day handlining after noticing Eshbaugh’s prior success and experiencing a dwindling jig bite. Kolinski kept at it until 9:30 a.m. before bailing on the heretofore productive area near Negro Creek and heading upstream with hopes of catching a limit of males by jigging and saving face.
The strategy didn’t initially pay off. Kolinski hit two more spots without catching anything before he started vertical jigging just downstream of the Route 39 bridge. But not all of the saugers were males, and not all of them were small – a couple of them were crucial 2-pounders.
Even so, the action was short-lived. “It was a phenomenal bite until a barge went through” and pushed the fish out of the area or off the feed, Kolinski says.
A talented jigger, Kolinski says he learned how to fish rivers with his father on the Pentenwell Flowage in Wisconsin, an impoundment on the Wisconsin River. Hence he had little tricks up his sleeve, including the use of hair jigs and slicing the fluff down right behind the hook to get a better shot at short-strikers. He also worked quarter-ounce jigs with a sherbet Berkley Power Grub on which he cut the tail – again to nab the short strikers. To all of the jigs he added a fathead minnow and a stinger hook.
Dam saugers
The closest two competitors behind Kolinski were Ranger pro Richard Zachowski of Milwaukee and Land O’Lakes pro Eric Olson of Minneapolis. When faced with the prospect of higher water and a potentially tougher bite, the two of them anchored side by side and cast jigs with plastic tails into a hole beneath the dam at Starved Rock. Each team caught about 40 to 50 fish, but neither caught one sizable specimen to power past Kolinski.
Zachowski weighed six fish for 9 pounds, 10 ounces, good for second place and $25,000. Olson brought six to the scales for 9 pounds, enough for third and $20,000.
A potential pro partner
Meanwhile, Kolinski’s final-day partner, Dan Miller of Madison, Wis., helped his pro put the six-fish limit in the boat, prompting Kolinski to tell the crowd at the Wal-Mart in Peru that Miller had the abilities to go pro. A modest Miller later deflected the compliment and complimented Kolinski’s decision-making.
“I’ve fished a lot of tournaments, but if you ever quit learning, you’re in trouble,” Miller says. “I’ve learned never to get caught in a rut. You need to make a change.”
So even though Kolinski had doubted the likelihood of his surpassing the trollers, the full-time pro who quit his engineering job in a machine shop a year ago went with his strength – jigging – to eke out the heaviest six-fish limit in 33-degree cold that stymied the trolling bite. Decisions, decisions – in the end, Kolinski made right ones to take the opening tournament of 2003.
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