CLEVELAND – Heavy rains washed the streets of Cleveland on the eve of the 2007 Walleye Tour Championship, as the world’s best marble-eye mavens prepared to get their hands dirty on day one. The rain let up in time for Thursday morning’s kickoff, allowing 53 boatfuls of championship contenders to take off from downtown onto the expanse of Lake Erie.
FLW Walleye Tour Tournament Director Sonny Reynolds said the prefishing has been good and that championship anglers will likely make use of as much water as possible on the southernmost of the Great Lakes.
“They’re fishing all over,” Reynolds said. “There are guys sticking close, guys running east, guys running west.”
With Cleveland serving as a transitional location between the western and central basins of Lake Erie – and some of the world’s best walleye fishing to the west – many were predicting long runs for the 53 pros and as many co-anglers competing in this season-ending event. But that may not necessarily be the case based on prefishing reports. Though some will undoubtedly still go far in search of championship-size bags of walleyes, there are fish to be hooked not terribly far from downtown, which will be of considerable benefit should the wind kick up treacherous waves at any point this week.
Mark Dorn, director of operations for the Walleye Tour, confirmed the existence of a relatively close bite: “There are some schools nearby. I know some of the guys have found them within 20 to 30 miles, which they can get to in about any weather.”
Despite a brisk breeze at this morning’s 7:30 takeoff, forecasts call for westerly winds of only about 5 mph for most of the day, which should allow the voyagers to make their runs – regardless of distance – and set the stage for a fish-filled weigh-in this afternoon. Before the anglers take the stage, however, they will likely see rain again and possibly thunderstorms.
Richmond, Minn., pro Scott Steil has been here for a week and said the prefishing has been good, though the fish he’s on have started to move from the bottom to different points higher up in the water column.
“The bite, I think, is fading a little – over the last couple of days,” he said. “I’m still just trying to cover the whole water column (to find them).”
Steil is fishing about 30 to 40 miles west of the takeoff site in water about 45 feet deep, though he has caught them as high up as 10 feet from the surface recently. He is one of the pros determined to make his run, even come high water.
“I’m going to have to … no matter what. This is the championship.”
Steil confirmed that the Walleye Tour Championship will primarily be a trollfest, and he is pulling crankbaits including Reef Runners and Berkley stickbaits. He said he believes anybody who can weigh in 25 pounds a day over the two-day opening round will have a good shot of fishing past the top-10 cut Friday into the weekend finals.
With a potential $150,000 top prize for the pro winner and as much as $22,000 going to the co-angler champion, there’s little doubt that the full field of 106 anglers will be gunning hard for a winning weight this week in Cleveland.
What’s happening
Voinovich Bicentennial Park, located at 800 E. Ninth St. in Cleveland, will host daily takeoffs at 7:30 a.m. Daily weigh-ins will be held at the Cleveland Convention Center, located at 500 Lakeside Ave. E., beginning at 4 p.m. The community is invited to attend takeoffs and weigh-ins as well as the Family Fun Zone, which opens at 2 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday and Sunday. Friday is Solar Bat Sunglasses day, where the first 100 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone receive a free pair of Solar Bat Sunglasses similar to those that many of the pros wear. Saturday is free fishing rod day at the Fun Zone, where the first 200 children 14 and under receive a free fishing rod, and Sunday is free fishing reel day, where the first 200 children 14 and under receive a free fishing reel.
The winning pro at the FLW Walleye Tour Championship is guaranteed a cash award of $100,000. If the winner is a qualifying Ranger or G3 boat owner, he will earn a $25,000 bonus, and if the boat is equipped with a qualifying Evinrude or Yamaha outboard, he will receive another $25,000 bonus for a total cash award of $150,000.
The winning co-angler is guaranteed $11,000 cash and is eligible for a $6,000 bonus from Ranger or G3 if he is a registered owner. The winning co-angler will also receive a $5,000 bonus from Evinrude or Yamaha if his boat is equipped with a qualifying Evinrude or Yamaha outboard.
The Greater Cleveland Sport Fishing Commission is hosting the 2007 FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie. For more information, call (216) 780-1424.
Tournament rules
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 for two days and then is cut to the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers for day three. Anglers in both divisions start from zero on day three, and co-angler competition concludes with the winner determined by the day’s heaviest catch. Pros carry their weights over to day four, and the winner is determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
On TV
Coverage of the FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Dec. 2 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern.
On the Web
For walleye-fishing fans unable to attend the festivities in person, you can catch all the weigh-in action live at FLWOutdoors.com with FLW Live. Show time starts at 4 p.m. Eastern today.
Thursday’s conditions
Sunrise: 7:18 a.m. EDT
Temperature at takeoff: 68 degrees
Expected high temperature: lower 70s
Water temperature at the ramp: 74 degrees
Wind: SW at 14 mph
Maximum humidity: 83 percent
Day’s outlook: cloudy with scattered showers and a chance of thunderstorms; west winds around 5 mph; chance of rain 50 percent