Beware the Teddy bear
East Gull Lake, Minn., pro takes commanding 8-pound lead
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Roughly 2,000 pounds of walleyes were taken out of the Geano Reef area on day one of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event on Green Bay. So it was assumed by all that the five-mile honeyhole couldn’t handle much more angling pressure. Yet, both fans and anglers alike were proven wrong as the bite actually improved slightly on day two.
Pro Teddy Takasaki was the rare angler who was able to put together back-to-back successful days. The leaderboard did quite a bit of flip-flopping, which resulted in an 8-pound, 8-ounce lead for Takasaki.
“Today was a lot tougher,” he gasped. “Today would have been an easy day to go scramble and get some little fish. My goal was to stick it out and wait until the last minute. I fished right until 2:30 p.m.”
Takasaki continued to fish the Geano Reef with crawler harnesses pulled behind planer boards. Wednesday he trolled on a north-to-south line, and today he reversed it going south to north. He did add a slider to his presentation, which resulted in a few extra fish.
“They weren’t where they were yesterday,” added the East Gull Lake, Minn., pro. “You have to keep your head down and continue to chug away. A lot of fishing success has to do with positive mental attitude.”
Takasaki, who is also the president of the Lindy Tackle Company, understands that at some point, the famous reef has to deplete.
“I’m sure the pressure is affecting the fish. With this warmer water temperature, I could run north to a spot where I caught some fish in practice.”
Takasaki has already secured a spot in the 2006 FLW Walleye Tour Championship and seems intent on earning his first FLW Walleye Tour victory.
“I’ve still got a long day ahead of me tomorrow.”
Schneider moves up to second
Much like Takasaki, John Schneider demonstrated remarkable consistency on day two and brought 31 pounds even to the scale, which moved him up to second place on the pro side. Schneider’s two-day total of 56 pounds, 3 ounces places him one good walleye behind the leader.
The Shawano, Wis., resident said he caught six fish in the last half hour, four of which he boated and two that he threw back.
“We were done fishing by noon, so we drove about 5 mph all the way back to the landing,” Schneider said.
Like Takasaki, and many others for that matter, Schneider is wetting his lines over the Geano Reef with crawler harnesses.
“I believe it’s just that we’re using the right colors, and we’re presenting the bait in the right way. We didn’t lose any fish today, and that makes all the difference. That’s what separates the top from the middle.”
Schneider said that he believes the reef, which is located about 12 miles from the launch, holds “thousands upon thousands” of walleyes. He also noted that the fish in the area are gorging on big shad. While he obviously favors the area, he does have a Plan B if needed.
“I’ve got four backup areas where I can catch fish; but I can’t catch fish quite like that.”
Arnoldussen watches others get bit, slips to third
Day-one leader Dean Arnoldussen struggled a bit on day two and fell two places to third. The Appleton, Wis., native still managed five walleyes weighing 18 pounds, 1 ounce, which gave him a combined weight of 55 pounds, 15 ounces after two days of competition.
“Everybody caught fish in front of me,” Arnoldussen moaned. “So I know how they felt yesterday. If I can bring in 75 pounds, I think I’ll make the top 10.”
Butz changing it up
Rising to fourth place was local Oneida, Wis., pro Wayne Butz. After bringing in 29 pounds, 6 ounces on day one, Butz managed five walleyes that weighed 26 pounds, 1 ounce on day two, giving him a combined weight of 55 pounds, 7 ounces.
A rarity among the field, Butz is not fishing the Geano Reef nor is he employing the crawler-harness program in deep water. Instead, he is using an 1/8-ounce jig tipped with a night crawler and presenting the bait vertically in 7 to 10 feet of water.
“At about 1 p.m. we decided to change locations, and it worked brilliantly,” he said. “We caught 20 fish total, with the biggest being right around 6 pounds.”
With other water in play, Butz could be one to watch as the tournament progresses.
“It wouldn’t bother me a bit if that other spot died. I’m looking to win it. I keep telling my daughter that daddy needs a new boat. My target was 25 pounds today. Twenty-five more tomorrow and I’ll be a happy man.”
Ryan fifth
Falling one spot to fifth was Jeff Ryan of Lakeview, Iowa, who caught five walleyes on day two that weighed 23 pounds, 10 ounces. Ryan’s sizable limit Thursday gave him a two-day total of 55 pounds, 4 ounces.
“I’m pleased,” Ryan said. “I got a couple late that really helped us.”
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 pros on day two at Green Bay:
6th: Ken Schoenecker of West Bend, Wis., 53-6
7th: John Mathews of Janesville, Wis., 50-14
8th: Paul DeVoss of Dodgeville, Wis., 50-8
9th: Ted Merdan of Champlin, Minn., 49-2
10th: Gordy Powers of Rockford, Minn., 48-12
Ladies dominate Co-angler Division
On the co-angler side, leave it to the ladies to find the big female walleyes. Flo Swank of Pierre, S.D., caught a two-day total of 10 walleyes weighing 61 pounds, 5 ounces to lead her division.
Fishing with pro John Schneider, Swank boated a 9-pound kicker that helped her attain the top spot.
“I bet Flo a buck that she’d stay in the top three,” said Schneider.
Swank will gladly pay the dollar in exchange for a chance to earn her first victory. Earlier this year at the Red Wing, Minn., event, Kristin Szczech, also fishing as a co-angler, became the first woman to win an FLW Walleye Tour event.
“It’s good to see women getting more and more into the sport,” Swank said. “I’ve been fishing walleye tournaments since 1997. It was a real relaxing day until the big fish came, and then we were shaking.”
Szczech currently sits in second place, roughly 3 pounds behind Swank with a two-day total of nine walleyes weighing 58 pounds, 4 ounces.
“I was really glad to see Kristine win at Red Wing,” Swank said. “I’d gladly take being the second female winner with no complaints.”
Szczech’s total weight is even more impressive considering she only brought four walleyes to the scale today.
“We threw one or two back, but that was so early in the day it seems like it was yesterday,” said Szczech. “Tomorrow I get to fish with Pat Neu, so I’m excited. If I have a good day tomorrow, I’m in the championship. An exceptional day would put me in the top 10.”
Mueller third, Reek fourth
Both Todd Mueller of Appleton, Wis., and Randy Reek of Minocqua, Wis., moved up one spot to third and fourth, respectively, among the co-anglers.
Coincidentally, both did so courtesy of walleye limits weighing 25 pounds, 15 ounces.
Mueller partnered with pro Mark Courts on day two, while Reek fished with pro Doug Hartle. Mueller’s two-day combined weight is 57 pounds, 9 ounces, just 2 ounces ahead of Reek.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers on day two at Green Bay:
5th: James McCartin of Land O’Lakes, Wis., 56-13
6th: Joshua Northagen of Grand Forks, N.D., 55-3
7th: Brad Leonard of Estherville, Iowa, 54-6
8th: Chad Wertepny of Green Bay, Wis., 54-5
9th: Jason Shull of Wonder Lake, Ill., 49-2
10th: Randy Ludwig of Neenah, Wis., 48-13
Day three of FLW Walleye Tour competition on Green Bay begins as the full field of 150 boats takes off from Metro Park Boat Launch at 7 a.m. Central time Friday for the final day of the opening round.