Grothe guts out Detroit victory

Northfield, Minn., pro earns first Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour win

TRENTON, Mich. – With a heavy easterly wind pushing loads of sediment throughout the Detroit River, many of the final 10 boats scrambled to produce walleyes Saturday in what was a slugfest just a day earlier. On day four of the season-opening Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event, most of the field fished an upriver spawning area known as the salt mines. While this area churned out trophy after trophy throughout the tournament, day four was an exception.

The most productive angler to focus his efforts elsewhere was Ross Grothe, a move that led to his first Walleye Tour win.

“My first spot was the salt mines, but once I got up there, I knew that wasn’t going to happen,” Grothe said.

At that point, the veteran pro from Northfield, Minn., gambled and left the area for a spot near downtown Detroit. More specifically, it was just in front of the General Motors plant. When Grothe and his partner, Boyd Stressel, arrived, they discovered the clean water they had been coveting.

“I knew I only needed 5 or 6 pounds to catch the leader, and we had that with the first two fish,” Grothe said. “We had the right bites today; we only culled one fish.”

The five that he kept weighed 21 pounds, 2 ounces, which gave him a four-day total weight of 82 pounds 2 ounces.

Grothe said he caught his fish with a vertical presentation on chartreuse and orange 5/8-ounce Northland jigs tipped with Berkley Power Bait. He jigged all four days, not once opting to pull wire.

Grothe, visually emotional after his victory on tour, elaborated further.

“I’ve been at this for 10 years. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s really too exciting for words. It’s meant to be. The feeling is something I couldn’t imagine.”

Grothe was fishing in his first event since the passing of his dad, Roger, who was both his fishing partner and business manager. Roger died in January at the age of 61.

“He was not only my father, he was my best friend. This was by far my toughest tournament. Thankfully, I had a good friend in Tommy Skarlis who was helping me along.”

For his gutsy victory, Grothe earned a first-place check for $100,000.

Arnoldussen settles for second

Dean Arnoldussen was the man to beat for much of the season-opening event on the Detroit River. Unfortunately for him, his primary spot went muddy at the wrong time.

“I fished my butt off today,” he said. “It was an awesome tournament; I had a blast.”

Arnoldussen knew he was in trouble early in the day, when he made five passes on his best water without a bite. At that moment, he said to himself, “I’ve got to get out of here.”

Right then, his best fish, a 7-pounder, bit his jig. After his co-angler boated another smaller keeper, the two decided to spend the rest of the day there.

Despite a disappointing finish to an amazing tournament, the Appleton, Wis., pro managed to keep it all in perspective.

“If you finish in the top 20 in a tournament like this, you’ve done awesome. There are a lot of good anglers out there.”

Arnoldussen’s day-four weight was 9 pounds, 14 ounces, which pushed his tournament total to 75 pounds, 9 ounces. His consolation was a second-place check worth $42,000.

Mr. April makes a move, finishes third

Tommy Skarlis caught the second-heaviest sack of the day and moved up from seventh to third place with a weight of 17 pounds, 5 ounces. Skarlis, a resident of Dorchester, Iowa, was one of only a handful of anglers to catch a five-walleye limit each day, posting a four-day total of 73 pounds, 3 ounces. After watching Hollywood perform both on stage and on the water, one can only guess as to which he prefers.

“I’ve been blessed this week,” Skarlis said. “I’ve fished this body of water about 90 days of my life. I’m a jig fisherman, so I knew I had to find clear water. I moved around a lot and then finally found the clear water.”

Skarlis worked plain leadhead jigs tipped with Berkley Power Bait. He also experimented with some new Berkley prototype plastics that were craw-colored. His efforts earned him $25,000 and plenty of stage time.

Ortiz fourth

Finishing in fourth place was Richland Center, Wis., native Bill Ortiz. Ortiz caught five walleyes Saturday, bringing his four-day total to 69 pounds even.

The pro’s fourth-place finish earned him $13,000.

Fallaw fifth

Paul Fallaw earned $11,000 and finished in fifth place with a four-day total weight of 68 pounds, 5 ounces. On Saturday, Fallaw managed two walleyes that weighed 9 pounds, 1 ounce.

“I’m tired; I’ve been up for three days straight,” Fallaw said. “We got these two fish in the last seven minutes.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pro finalists at the FLW Walleye Tour event on the Detroit River:

6th: Patrick Byle of Colgate, Wis., 66-9

7th: Nate Provost of Gulliver, Mich., 60-6

8th: Scott Steil of Richmond, Minn., 59-9

9th: Troy Morris of Bismarck, N.D., 59-6

10th: Aaron Hogland of Sycamore, Ill., 52-8

FLW Walleye Tour competition resumes May 3-6 on the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minn.