Another cool, cloudy morning on Old Man River

Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour anglers make final push toward top 10

RED WING, Minn. – Friday marks the final day of the opening round with the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers to be established later this afternoon. With a tight leaderboard materializing and the walleye fishing on the Mississippi continuing to improve, day three promises to be an eventful day on the water.

Yesterday, pro Jeff Ryan duplicated his astounding day-one performance and brought over 26 pounds to the scale. His two-day total of over 53 pounds gives him a 14-pound lead over second-place pro Kevin McQuoid. Overall, 997 walleyes have been caught in the tournament, and the bite continues to get stronger.

Pro Greg Darsow sits in 12th place in the Pro Division and knows he has his work cut out for him if he wants to fish Saturday. Despite the clear disadvantage of living out West, the Billings, Mont., native says he enjoys traveling to compete against the best walleye anglers in the world.

“I fish the Yellowstone River a lot back home, and I’ve been trying to adapt my river knowledge to walleye fishing,” Darsow said. “Today, I’m going to go out there and hope that the big fish move back in.”

Darsow said he and his Friday partner, David Tufte, plan to start the day by trolling crankbaits and then later jig some spots that were successful earlier during practice when the water was high. Darsow added that he has absolutely no interest in fishing wing dams.

“That wing-dam bite is something that takes years to perfect. I’m guessing our spot will offer up 12 to 13 pounds today. But we’re dealing with migrating fish right now. They’re here one day, gone the next. I’ve just got to get those five fish in the boat.”

Jarred Fluekiger, who has been guiding on the river for the past 17 years, said the wing dams aren’t ready just yet.

“There are only four spots that are really going right now,” said the Alma, Wis., pro. “If the water was at a normal level, the wing dams would be going crazy.”

The critical day-three weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. Central time, when the full field of 150 boats is trimmed to the top 10 pros and the top 10 co-anglers. Friday’s weigh-in, which is free and open to the public, takes place at Colvill Park in Red Wing, Minn.

Friday’s conditions

Sunrise: 5:55 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 44 degrees

Expected high temperature: 59 degrees

Water temperature: 55-60 degrees

Wind: NW at 9 mph

Maximum humidity: 43 percent

Day’s outlook: partly cloudy