Mo’ better sauger
Leader Lotz does it again, but day two of RCL Tour on Illinois River is one of serious comebacks
SPRING VALLEY, Ill. – At the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour event on the Illinois River, the day of reckoning for the top-20 cut was a day less of consistency than drastic turnarounds. Yet, in steady fashion, the top two pros after day two followed strong and stronger performances on day one with identical limits of 12 pounds, 6 ounces.
Topping the leader board was Steve Lotz of Lena, Ill., the day-one leader, totaling 25 pounds, 4 ounces. Next up was Lund pro Mark Courts of Harris, Minnesota, who followed a three-fish performance with a limit that put him at 19 pounds, 2 ounces. Both did it in the same general area, nailing sauger near the town of Peru, with three-way rigs pulled upstream.
But perhaps equally important as how and where they fished was the steadily improving conditions after extremely high and muddy water, in combination with a cold front, plagued the anglers on opening day.
“The water has cleaned up about an inch,” says leader Lotz. “The water didn’t drop all day but that didn’t matter because the fish are starting to go. It’s going to be a shootout tomorrow. Anybody has a chance.”
Quite possibly an even bigger story than Lotz’s and Courts’ one-two punch were the zero-to-hero performances of six competitors who took the collar on day one and smoked the sauger on Thursday. Five others had but one fish on day one and sufficient bags on Thursday to make it into the cut.
Little vs. heavy lead
In Courts’ consistent performance, the pro who made the top 10 last year at Devils Lake, N.D., got them early and often, which provided him ample time to look around for Friday.
“I had my limit at 10 o’clock,” Courts says, “so it gave me the opportunity to go out and pre-fish, and I found three more spots. I’m not stuck with my one spot anymore.”
Courts says he credits both the area and the unique combination of twin offerings on each line. Dragging three-ways upstream, Courts focused on 8 feet of water in an area with lesser current and plumbed bottom with enormous 1-ounce jigs run on a dropper. To the orange or pink jigs Courts skewered a Berkley pumpkin-colored 6-inch night crawler off of which he snipped a couple of inches. Then, on a trailing leader, Courts went with a pink hook and a minnow.
Some other notable jiggers made the cut after less-than-notable day one performances. For one, Lund pro Mike Gofron of Antioch, Ill., nailed a limit of 11 pounds three ounces on top of Wednesday’s solitary sauger for 2 pounds, 6 ounces. Gofron finished in 13th.
In another serious comeback, Tommy Skarlis of Walker, Minn., shook off an opening-day zero with a limit of 13 pounds, 15 ounces to come in 12th.
Not to be outdone in the zero-to-hero department, Ranger pro Rick LaCourse of Port Clinton, Ohio, handlined up an impressive limit, the day’s largest at 15 pounds, 11 ounces. And LaCourse says he went through a very plentiful 19 fish to do it.
“The water dropped back down and the fish moved up shallower,” LaCourse says. “I also found some slack water tighter to shore and hammered them. I did the same thing with the same baits I used yesterday and worked them up tighter to shore.”
Another handliner who vaulted into the cut was 2003 RCL Angler of the Year Jason Przekurat of Stevens Point, Wis. Przekurat came up with 9 pounds after a single fish for 2 pounds, 5 ounces, bringing him to 11 pounds, 5 ounces, good for 19th place.
Club Zero
Meanwhile, rounding out day one’s Club Zero, then turning in sufficient weights for the cut on day two, were handliner and Land O Lakes pro Eric Olson (15th, with 13 pounds 1 ounce) of Redwing, Minn.; Ranger pro Pat Neu (17th, with 11 pounds, 13 ounces) of Forestville, Wis.; Aaron McQuoid (18th, with 11 pounds, 9 ounces) of Isle, Minn.; and Crestliner pro Dan Plautz (20th, with 11 pounds, 2 ounces) of Muskego, Wis.
Among the co-anglers, there’s an interesting story in the fifth-place finisher, Carolyn Brandon of River Falls, Ohio, who travels with Crestliner pro Jeff Koester of Brookville, Ind., learning over the years the technique of handlining, among others.
Good thing. On Wednesday, Brandon pulled in all three of the fish caught in the boat of pro Pat Byle of Hartford, Wis. Together their weight was 8 pounds, 2 ounces. On Thursday, Brandon followed that performance with 7 pounds, 10 ounces on three-way rigs. Her weight of 15 pounds, 12 ounces put her in fifth.
“It’s just great,” Brandon says. “I finally made [the cut]. Yesterday was the first time I ever handlined in a tournament.”
Brandon and the rest of the top 20 cos, along with their pros, will take off Friday for the semifinals at 7 a.m. Central from the Spring Valley Boat Club.