PORT CLINTON, Ohio – North winds gusting to 35 mph and waves up to 8 feet may have shortened the fishing time allotted by Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour officials Saturday on Lake Erie, but the weather couldn’t keep pro David Kolb of Riverview, Mich., from landing $90,000 in cash and prizes, including a Ranger boat powered by Yamaha, with a final-round catch of five walleyes weighing 29 pounds, 6 ounces. Kolb’s teammate, co-angler Phil Petersen of Lowell, Mich., reeled in $15,000 cash for the haul.
The decision to shorten the final day came after tournament directors consulted with the U.S. Coast Guard about the looming change in weather conditions, which for the first three days of competition had been near perfect for fishing the massive lake. In fact, the mild weather contributed to a record RCL Tour opening-round catch of 1,540 walleyes weighing in excess of 9,600 pounds. That’s an average of 6 1/4 pounds per walleye – a mark that clearly makes Lake Erie the world’s preeminent walleye fishery. Of the 156 teams competing, 153 landed five-walleye limits on opening day and 152 reeled in limits on day two.
Kolb and Petersen caught their fish on crawler harnesses pulled about 3 feet off of the bottom in 24 feet of water. The pair also used inline weights and planner boards to help position the harnesses. Their primary area was the southwest side of Pelee Island, which sits about 20 miles from the tournament launch point at Catawba State Park in Port Clinton.
“We started fishing the east side of the island, but when the wind picked up and it started getting rough, we moved to the southwest side,” said Kolb, who was fishing in just his second RCL Tour event. “The water there was clear and we started getting fish. We only had a little over two hours of fishing because of the shortened day and our run.”
Kolb qualified for the final round of 10 pros and 10 co-anglers in third place after landing five walleyes weighing 42 pounds Friday with co-angler Mel Reichling of Watertown, S.D. Petersen advanced as the No. 1 co-angler after landing five walleyes weighing 44 pounds, 10 ounces with pro Patrick Byle of Hartford, Wis.
“This feels terrific,” said Petersen, who was fishing his third RCL Tour event. “I was a nervous wreck until the last two guys came across the stage.”
Pro Jim Klick of White Bear Lake, Minn., ($25,000) and co-angler Michael Nascak of Winona, Minn., ($7,500) placed second with five walleyes weighing 24 pounds, 9 ounces. Pro Jamie Friebel of Roberts, Wis., ($20,000) and co-angler Paul Huckno of Union City, Pa., ($6,000) placed third with five walleyes weighing 24 pounds, 8 ounces. Pro Adam Hammons of Westland, Mich., ($15,000) and co-angler Carl Elsner Jr. of Cortland, N.Y., ($5,000) placed fourth with five walleyes weighing 24 pounds. Pro Shannon Kehl of Menoken, N.D., ($12,500) and co-angler Jim Miller of Spring Grove, Ill., ($4,000) placed fifth with five walleyes weighing 20 pounds, 10 ounces.
The $386,000 tournament, which is the third stop on the $3.07 million 2003 Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour, began Wednesday with 156 pros and 156 co-anglers representing 20 states and Canada. The field was cut to the top 20 anglers in each division after Thursday’s weigh-in and trimmed to the top 10 anglers in each division after Friday’s weigh-in. Pros and co-angler were randomly paired each day, and weights were cleared for the semifinal and final rounds.
Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour anglers compete in four regular-season tournaments in their quest to qualify for the $1.4 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship Oct. 1-4 at Treasure Island Casino and Resort on the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minn. The final regular-season stop on the RCL Walleye Tour is Devils Lake in Spirit Lake, N.D., June 18-21.
The tour is administered by FLW Outdoors and named after boat manufacturers Ranger, Crestliner and Lund.