Devil’s advocate
High winds might vex RCL Tour semifinalists on Devils Lake
DEVILS LAKE, N.D. – No one in the top 20 for the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour event on Devils Lake wants to deviate from the strategy that has overcome 176 other boats, even if the wind rips as predicted.
Crestliner pro Rick Walter of Casper, Wyo., plans to cast crankbaits in the shallows.
Ranger pro John Campbell of Marco Island, Fla., intends to hopscotch around the lake to a number of spots with crankbaits, spinners and bobbers.
Most of the rest, including RCL Tour Angler of the Year leader Jason Przekurat of Stevens Point, Wis., are off to slip bobber in the trees.
“I’ve got to go to my same spot,” Walter says. “Nobody has seen me catch a fish in two days. I’m going to hope for the best.”
The catch? Winds as high as 50 mph are forecast by afternoon, which could be both a danger for making it back to the launch and a hindrance to fishing effectively beforehand.
“Both spots I’ve got, the wind doesn’t matter,” Przekurat says. “I’ve got two south wind spots.”
Indeed, the wind is expected to reach 25-35 mph and possibly, according to the marine band forecast, gust to 50 mph.
If the prior day’s results are any indication, when the leader fell out of the top 20 and the former angler-of-the-year candidate swooned with a single fish, Devils could pose some difficulty for the semifinalists. It did it without the extreme weather and with more moderate 20-mph winds. What it could do to the leaderboard with winds twice that strong is anyone’s guess.
Thursday’s weigh-in takes place at 3 p.m. at Wal-Mart, 10 Highway 2 West, in Devils Lake.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 5:35 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 64 degrees
Expected high temperature: mid-80s
Water temperature: 70-75 degrees
Wind: south at 20 mph
Relative humidity: 59 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly sunny and windy; south winds 25-35 mph with gusts over 40 mph by afternoon
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