RCL Tour leader at Devils Lake has backup plan in case wind howls
DEVILS LAKE, N.D. – With enough wind to rumple the surface and more forecast for later in the day, the competitors in the hunt on the second day of the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour event on Devils Lake are at once hoping for an even better bobber bite and considering backup plans in case the prairie gusts slash by afternoon.
“With a 20-25-mph wind out of the southeast, we might do something different,” says Lund pro and leader Keith Seidlinger of Devils Lake, N.D. “We’ll start with the same program. There’s no doubt about it.”
For the most part, the pros in contention entering the second day have been soaking slip bobbers with leeches or night crawler in the abundance of flooded trees, the result of record rainfalls that have boosted the lake more than 25 feet and tripled its surface area since the early ’90s. Among the patterns and tricks that are separating the contenders from the also-rans is attention to the thickets of sunken trees – the thicker, the better.
To pry the walleyes out of the trees, the pros, too, are focusing on the shady tangles and going after the fish with weedless jigs below their bobbers. A Northland Weed Weasel jig, with nylon brush and weedguards, helps fend off a constant parade of snags. It’s also possible to cast one around the base of the trees.
Another trick to save bobbers and make retying easier: Tie heavier line to a barrel swivel and lighter line to the hook, often a colored hook for added attraction, which lets you break the line without losing the rest of the setup.
Besides the trees, another wildcard on Devils is the no-cull regulations, which means that once a walleye goes in the livewell, there’s no turning it back to upgrade it with a bigger one. Providing the pros a little bit of wiggle room is the ability to keep seven fish and weigh five of them. That way, it’s possible to have a limit in the box and keep angling for two more upgrades.
In contention for the top 20 is Lund pro Mark Courts of Harris, Minn., who’s in 34th with 20 pounds, 10 ounces and doesn’t plan to be overly greedy and turn back quality fish in the hopes for something bigger. “I’m going with the same plan: keeping two over 19 inches, and the rest have to be over 20,” Court says.
Thursday’s weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. at Spirit Lake Resort and Casino.
Thursday’s conditions
Sunrise: 5:34 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 64 degrees
Expected high temperature: 80-85 degrees
Water temperature: 70-75 degrees
Wind: south at 7 mph
Relative humidity: 56 percent
Day’s outlook: sunny; south winds 10-20 mph
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