Top RCL finalists used a combination of jigs and crankbaits to finish in the money during the May 1-4 event
With a restrictive set of rules in force on Lake Sharpe, RCL Walleye Circuit pros had a more difficult time culling fish than actually figuring out how to catch them. Anglers were permitted to weigh in six fish at a minimum length of 15 inches, however, only two of them could measure 18 inches or longer. It was the walleye tournament fishing equivalent of a chess match, where every decision affected the outcome of the tournament. However, even with all of the guesswork and limitless decisions on which fish to keep, catching walleye proved to be as easy as pitching jigs and trolling crankbaits.
Jigging lead the way on Lake Sharpe
Two RCL tournaments in a row have been won by anglers using a jigging approach. However, instead of the vertical jigging method employed by anglers in Detroit, RCL pros fishing on Lake Sharpe pitched their jigs toward wood, rocks, sand and mud-lines in the direction of the shore. In fact, eight out of the top 10 pros used a jigging approach during the final round.
Ranger pro Charlie Johnson of Merrifield, Minn., used this jig-pitching approach to land 12 pounds and 8 ounces of walleye to win the tournament and earn $50,000 and a fully rigged Ranger boat with an Evinrude outboard.
Johnson said he used a very basic approach to bag walleye throughout the tournament.
“I stuck with a jig and minnow through the whole tournament,” said Johnson. “I fished the bluff areas and also by the Bad River. Color did not really seem to matter. Jig size varied depending on the current and how hard the wind was blowing. I tipped my jigs with 2 1/2-inch fathead minnows. I would simply pitch the bait and sort of quarter-down with the current. It seemed like the walleye picked it up best at the tail end of the drift.”
Johnson targeted shallow water earlier in the morning and moved slightly deeper as the day progressed.
“It seemed like the fish were more active in the 2- to 8-foot depths in the earlier part of the morning,” said Johnson. “Later in the afternoon, I moved a little deeper into the 6- to 12-foot range and then I would find active walleye again.”
Local favorite and Lund pro Robert Propst, Jr. of Fort Pierre, S.D. jigged, but left the live bait at the tackle shops.
“On the final day I had a tough day of fishing,” said Propst. “But I still did okay. I did not use a jig and minnow. Instead I used a 1/8-ounce jig dressed with a Berkley Power Minnow. It worked really well on the first three days and not as good on the last day.”
Placing second and taking home a check worth $25,000 was Ranger pro Pete Harsh from Sauk Centre, Minn. Harsh abandoned his preferred live-bait techniques in favor of pulling plugs.
“Anyone who knows me knows I am a live bait fisherman,” said Harsh. “In this tournament, I found that live bait was catching smaller fish. I tried trolling with Wally Divers, but they also caught smaller walleye. I switched to trolling with large smelt-colored floating Rapalas and Rattling Rogues. These longer baits hooked bigger fish. I didn’t catch a fish under 16 inches with the bigger stickbaits.”
Another RCL angler who found pulling plugs to be productive was Crestliner pro Gerry Mahowald of Faribault, Minn.
“I used a combination of jigging and pulling plugs throughout the tournament,” said Mahowald. “On the last day, I was doing okay pulling plugs, but abandoned it in favor of jig fishing. I should have stuck with pulling plugs on the last day. I was catching bigger fish. I was so nervous. I think I should approach Rolaids as a sponsor.”
The primary areas the top anglers hit were fairly close to the launch site on the upper end of the lake. Anglers who headed down lake encountered plenty of fish, but many of them were of the cookie-cutter variety which made it hard to fill out limits with fish measuring over 18 inches.
The next stop on the $2.9 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit is Lake Winnebago in Oshkosh, Wis. May 29 through June 1.