Frigid finale
Temperature plummets as hopes rise for day three of Walleye League championship
MOLINE, Ill. – With steam and stillness defining daybreak at Sunset Park Marina, wispy white ghosts swirled across the glassy waters as 10 boats, 20 anglers and a team of cameramen readied for day three of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Finals.
Overnight temperatures hovered in the low 30s, and Saturday’s sunrise brought subtle breezes, brilliant clarity and cold air that mingled metaphorically with the warm marina water. Most of the top-10 boaters and co-anglers bundled tightly for the inevitably icy blast of their takeoff run.
Leading the boater division through both qualifying rounds, Bill Shimota of Lonsdale, Minn., brings a two-day total of 14 pounds, 8 ounces into the final round. His 1-pound, 7-ounce lead over second-place boater Dan Krukow (13-1) provides little comfort in a fishery where erratic action means victory could hinge on one lucky catch.
“I just need to get bit,” Shimota said. “I have basically a one-fish lead over Dan, but I know he’s on some big saugers, as well as I am. It’s going to come down to whoever can get three to four, maybe five fish is going to bring this one home.”
Shimota will be hand-lining over sandy humps in 8 to 15 feet in an outside river bend about 17 miles south of Sunset Park. For the past two days, he’s been switching lure colors often, and he believes that strategy will help him draw strikes from lackadaisical fish.
“I’ll change at least one, usually two colors on every pass and then cycle them back in later,” he said. “I’m just trying everything I can to keep something different in front of the fish.”
Hailing from Rochester, Minn., Krukow said he will hand-line with crankbaits over sandy humps in 14 to 16 feet of water, about 12 miles south of the launch site. “Saugers’ (nickname) is `sand pike.’ They’re just lying in troughs in the sand, and I’m banging the lures over the top of them.”
Of the day’s lower temperatures, Krukow said: “I don’t think it’s going to affect the fish at all. In fact, it might turn them on with the cooling water.”
In the Co-angler Division, Mike Eiden of New Haven, Ind., holds the top spot with 14 pounds, 5 ounces after leading day one as Shimota’s partner and then securing his top-10 lead with boater Don Marx of Rockford, Minn., on day two. Eiden has a 2-pound, 7-ounce margin over second-place co-angler Steve Keller of Beloit, Wis., who sits at 11-14. Marx enters the final round as the third-place boater (11-11).
Walleyes and saugers are both eligible species in this event. The former has a 15- to 20-inch slot limit and anglers are allowed to keep two over 27 inches. Saugers have only a 15-inch minimum, so anglers can keep more of what they catch.
A few anglers may put together five-fish limits, but that’s a thin expectation. Considering the sparse catches of two qualifying rounds, it’s unlikely that anyone will swing for the fence and burn the clock looking for jumbo fish. The more prudent strategy will involve finding as many legal fish as possible – a task that will probably take all day.
Tournament rules
The Walleye League event, which runs Sept. 13-15, gathers the top finishers from three divisions – Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Pro anglers are competing for a top award of a $47,500 Ranger 621 boat powered by either an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard. Co-anglers are fishing for a $27,000 G3 V185F powered by Yamaha.
Action continues at today’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. Central time at the Wal-Mart store located at 3930 44th Ave. in Moline, Ill.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:42 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 42 degrees
Expected high temperature: 65 degrees
Water temperature: 70 degrees
Wind: E at 2-5 mph, switching to S at 5 mph
Humidity: 50 percent
Day’s outlook: sunny and cool