SPRING VALLEY, Ill. – Fifty, 75, 100 – we’re not talking about the number of hooks, jigs or nightcrawlers found on a boat fishing the FLW Walleye Tour Eastern Division event on the Illinois River. Rather, those figures were the kinds of day-one catches stated by many at yesterday’s weigh-in. Day two will likely deliver more of the same.
Clouds stacking on the horizon bespoke the rain and possible thunderstorms forecast for this afternoon, but a launch-time temperature of 63 degrees was about 10 notches higher than day one. The stiff and often gusty wind that whipped the area yesterday will ease back a little today, but flags were whipping steadily as the southerly blow continues.
Today’s outlook has the wet stuff arriving right about the time weigh-ins open. The barometric pressure
fluctuation associated with approaching storms often triggers intense feeding, so anglers may find their better action later in the day.
Iowa pro Tommy Skarlis, currently in second place, said that his day-one experience indicated that the local walleye action may soon increase. He’s hopeful that the week’s excessive wind does not upset the fishery.
“This bite is ready to fire,” Skarlis said. “As long as this wind doesn’t roil the upper pool and kick a lot of dirty water down here, these fish are ready to snap. They started snapping (yesterday) afternoon. In the last three hours, we caught some of our better fish. It’s just a matter of time before you start to see some 8-, 9- or 10-pound bags coming in.”
National Guard pro Mark Courts leads the field with 8 pounds. He caught his limit by fishing crankbaits on lead lines. Courts said that paying close attention to the river current and adjusting his speed was 
the crucial element of his productive day-one effort.
Michigan pro Dan Hassevoort enters day three in 27th place with 5 pounds. On day one, he weeded through a pile of little walleyes and saugers to find four keepers. Although he’s 3 pounds off the lead, Hassevoort said he anticipates the potential for a big advancement.
“This fishery is pretty amazing – we went through 70 (fish) to get four legals,” Hassevoort said. “Sometimes, we’d come through a spot and we’d have two or three on at a time. The average was about 12 inches. In three years, this fishery is going to be phenomenal.
“Today, if we can get four more and then pull that 2- to 3-pound kicker, we’re right in the (final-round)
cut. When you have (weights) that are this tight, you get one kicker and it makes all the difference in the world.”
Hassevoort will also lead-line crankbaits, but he’ll mix in a couple other depth-control tactics. One is the old, reliable bottom bouncer and the other a Tad Pole Diver – a streamlined weight that guides the bait lower in the water column and “trips” upward on the strike for an easy retrieve.
Jigs are also catching lots of fish. Most anglers are fishing light jigs tipped with live minnows or scented artificials like Berkley Gulp. Paul Meleen of Isle, Minn., will fish jigs today, but he said he’s willing to forego the big numbers of day one in favor of more quality bites. He’s fishing heavier jigs tipped with live minnows, nightcrawlers or Gulp. Moving quickly to find fish concentrations and then hovering over the hot spots is his game plan.
“I only went through 35 fish today, but I had 15 legals, so I’m almost 50-50,” Meleen said. “Over the course of two days, that pans out.”
The Illinois River walleyes will see plenty of night crawlers today. Most fish them on lightly weighted rigs designed to spin in the water. Prior to launch, several anglers were busy rolling backup leaders around pool noodles for neat storage and convenient access.
Tenth-place pro Dan Stier of Mina, S.D., said the walleyes cleaned out his worm supply well before he was through fishing. “We had 10 dozen crawlers, and we ran out of bait by 1 p.m.”
Logistics
Anglers will take off from Spring Valley Boat Club located at 13862 Illinois Highway 89 in Spring Valley at 7 each morning. Weigh-ins will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. On Saturday starting at
1:30 p.m., prior to the final weigh-in, a Family Fishing Clinic will be held where fans can learn from the best the different styles, techniques, and baits for landing that prized walleye.
Pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day and fish for a combined boat weight. Pros compete against other pros, and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers. The full field competes during the two-day opening round for one of 10 final-round slots based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights carry over to day three, with the winners determined by the heaviest three-day weight.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise 5:50 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 63 degrees
Expected high temperature: 75 degrees
Water temperature: 58-59 degrees
Wind: S at 20 mph
Maximum humidity: 65 percent
Day’s outlook: cloudy, windy, afternoon rain