Cleaning up

Water clarity likely to determine winner of first qualifying event

TRENTON, Mich. – The fait of the season-opening Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event likely rests in the visibility of the Detroit River. If it’s clean, with visibility of greater than a foot, jiggers like pro leader Mark Meravy will have the upper hand. But if the river is still dirty like yesterday, the best bet might be a local handlining expert like Josh Vanderweide.

It’s not that Meravy can’t catch fish in dirty water; it’s just that he strongly prefers jigging, a difficult task considering the river’s present mud-laden hue.

“For me, the dirtier the better,” said the 26-year-old Vanderweide. “Compared to the rest of the field, I feel like I can catch more fish in dirty conditions. The northeast wind should bring some mud down with it. It’s calm right now, but even a little wind can bring the mud in real quick.”

Truthfully, any of the top-10 pros still have a chance at clearing the $100,000 first-place check. Don’t forget that last year Ross Grothe caught a limit weighing 39 pounds, 7 ounces on day three in route to his first FLW Walleye Tour victory. Plus, the lure of Lake Erie might still be sitting in the back of a few anglers’ minds. In fact, second-place pro Dustin Kjelden said he plans to go for a small limit early by polelining, then gamble and run to the lake.

“All I’m asking for is two or three bites on the lake,” said the Brookings, S.D., pro, who is looking for his second FLW Walleye Tour win.

Despite the fact that 140 boats have been eliminated from the event, crowding will still be a factor on day four. Today marks day one of a weekend tournament for the Michigan Walleye Tour, which is expected to draw up to 100 boats.

Meravy’s plan is spend up to an hour looking for clean water before retreating to handlining or polelining if he doesn’t like what he finds.

“The water is not going to be ideal for another day or two,” Meravy explained. “But I’m going to try to jig if at all possible.”

The final weigh-in will take place today at 4 p.m. Eastern time at the Wal-Mart store located at 23800 Allen Road in Woodhaven, Mich. The winner in both the Pro Division and Co-angler Division is determined by the heaviest four-day weight.

Saturday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:54 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 36 degrees

Expected high temperature: 48 degrees

Water temperature: 37-42 degrees

Wind: ENE at 8 mph

Maximum humidity: 55 percent

Day’s outlook: mostly cloudy