Shimota shows ’em
Minnesota boater scores second win at Walleye League Finals
MOLINE, Ill. – It’s nice when others recognize your achievements, but for Bill Shimota, it was an absence of attention that helped him secure a wire-to-wire victory at the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Finals on the Mississippi River.
After leading day one with a five-fish limit weighing 9 pounds, 4 ounces, Shimota found himself contending with a lot of company on day two. Word spreads quickly in tournament circles, and when others converged on the area he was working, the congestion kept him pinned down and unable to thoroughly work the spot.
However, topping day two with a 14-8 total qualified Shimota for the top-10 finale and gave the Lonsdale, Minn., angler another crack at his best spot. Seventeen miles downriver from the launch site at Sunset Point Marina, his main area comprised sandy humps in an outside river bend. Hand-lining crankbaits was Shimota’s most productive tactic, but wide open spaces optimized his performance.
“My spot got pretty crowded on day two, but today I had plenty of room, and that allowed me to work my spot better,” he said. “I was able to zigzag my boat across the spots where I knew there were fish. That brings the lures by the fish’s faces sideways versus having the hand-line weight fall right over them and then having the lures right behind it.”
Shimota faced his stiffest challenge from second-place finisher Don Marx of Rockford, Minn., who entered day three in third place. Marx temporarily took over the lead with the day’s heaviest bag and the only limit catch – an 8-pound, 9-ounce effort (his best of the tournament) that yielded a 20-pound, 4-ounce total. Dan Krukow – third place with 17-4 – weighed next, but fell short of the lead and set the stage for Shimota’s grand finish.
With Marx watching nervously, Shimota brought his bag to the scale, as weighmaster Kevin Hunt explained the math to a standing-room-only spectator crowd: “Bill needs 5 pounds, 13 ounces to take the lead.”
Shimota pulled one fish at a time from his bag until three saugers swam in the water-filled weigh box. Hunt checked the scale and announced: “Five pounds, 7 ounces. Bill does the story end here, or do you have one more fish in that bag?”
The 27-year-old angler flashed a telling grin, reached into his bag and hoisted a chunky 2-pound, 8-ounce sauger that yielded a 7-15 day-three score and a winning total of 22-7. For his efforts, Shimota won a Ranger 621 powered by a Yamaha outboard – a package worth $47,500.
This is Shimota’s second tournament victory in his first season in the Walleye League. On July 21 he topped the field at Minnesota’s Lake Bemidji. That win led to a second-place finish in the league’s Minnesota Division points standings.
Victory at the Walleye League Finals may urge him on to the next level of his career. “Winning this boat might make the Walleye Tour possible for me. For now, it just feels great. It’s been a lot of sleepless nights being in the lead, so it’s nice to finally seal the deal.”
Marx finishes second
Marx finished sixth on day one and improved to third on day two. He found his day-three fish the same way he’d done it all week – trolling jointed crankbaits around schools of baitfish in a backwater slough about five miles downriver.
“Basically, I was just (imitating) crippled shad in front of these saugers, and they were taking them,” he said. “I was watching shad flipping all over the water. Every time I’d see a shad school, I’d work them and work them and work them until there wasn’t anything there.”
Marx, who won $5,000, reported an early start to consistent action that lasted through most of the day. “We had five in the box by 10:30. I was thinking, Keep it coming, keep it coming.”
Krukow grabs third
Krukow targeted saugers over sand humps about 10 miles south of the launch site. Using lead-core line, he fished jointed crankbaits close to the bottom contour. “I was pulling them right over the tops of sand humps. I was pulling them upstream and downstream.”
The Rochester, Minn., angler said that competing with abundant natural forage was a tough chore. “There’s so much food in the water – that’s why the bite was so slow. These fish are just gorging. They don’t need to eat.”
Considering that he only caught three fish in as many days of prefishing, Krukow said he was elated at his top-five finish and a $4,500 check. “For what I did in prefishing, I’m very fortunate to be where I’m at. I should have been going home after day two, not even in the money.”
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 boaters at the Walleye League Finals:
4th: Dusty Minke of New Brighton, Minn. (13-4, $2,500)
5th: Jonathan Shoemaker of Elyria, Ohio (13-1, $2,000)
6th: Eric Olson of Red Wing, Minn. (12-11, $1,600)
7th: Tim Fields of Rochester, Minn. (11-0, $1,300)
8th: Chad Wertepny of Green Bay, Wis. (9-0, $1,150)
9th: Lamarr Van Dame of Fargo, N.D. (8-12, $1,050)
10th: Paul Fallaw of McHenry, Ill. (8-7, $900)