Adams coasting on Cass

Local pro on top with 40-5 over three days

CASS LAKE, Minn. – Day three of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour qualifier on Cass Lake was a combination of day one and day two weatherwise. Anglers experienced bright sunshine, thick clouds and even sporadic rain. The one constant was wind, and when the wind blows in northern Minnesota, Carl Adams Jr. is usually catching walleyes.

Thursday night, Adams prayed for wind and nasty weather, and he got exactly what he asked for. It was so windy Friday that most anglers weren’t using their trolling motors; they weren’t using their small engines; they were using their main engines to stay on specific structure.

This is the kind of weather that is perfect for a tiller, and Adams runs just that. In fact, he purchased a Ranger-Yamaha with this specific tournament in mind. Although Adams is an area guide, he seldom fishes Cass. But when he does, he almost always does well. In fact, the recent Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League event was his first tournament on Cass where he didn’t cash a check.

“I caught a lot of fish, so it was an OK day as far as that went,” said the pro leader. “I didn’t make all the right decisions though. I promised myself beforehand that I was just going to be consistent every day and put anything over 20 in the well. I got one fairly early in the day – we doubled up on a 16 and a 20, and I said, `You know what? We’re going to pound the fish today,’ and we threw them both back.”

For the next few hours, the bite slowed considerably. Later in the day, Adams threw a couple of 15-inch fish in the box just to make sure he’d have five by the end of the day.

“As the day went on, the fish started biting better again. I didn’t have any place for some of the nicer slots because I had already used some spots. I never did get that other one over 20. I had to weigh a 17-incher.”

Had he kept the first over, the Blackduck, Minn., pro figures he would have had 14 pounds – which was his goal weight.

“When the wind blows like this, the fish on Cass go nuts. We didn’t have a problem finding fish; we caught walleyes on almost every spot.”

Adams estimates he checked over 10 spots, jumping around and looking for big schools. In the early afternoon, he found one spot where he was catching them one after another. In total, he and his partner caught two dozen keepers. His co-angler caught both of the overs, even though the first was not weighed.

“When I threw back that 20 ¼, it wasn’t because I just wanted to be in the top 10. I threw that back with the idea that if I was going to catch Harsh, I was going to need to catch some bigger overs.”

Adams said he dragged Lindy Rigs between 7 and 20 feet of water, and in general the fish moved shallower.

“Today we stayed with minnows the whole time – we didn’t even try leeches or night crawlers.”

Steil second

Richmond, Minn., pro Scott Steil has been jockeying around the top 10 all week. After catching a 13-pound limit on day three, Steil moved up to second place. His total weight now stands at 40 pounds, 1 ounce – just 4 ounces behind Adams.

Like the pro leader, Steil is fishing the main lake.

“I asked for wind and rain; I thought I could have a better weight if I had that, and we got it,” Steil said. “The fish weren’t exactly where I wanted them to be, but they’re getting closer. If we get some wind tomorrow, the bite should be back to where I think I can pull a real big weight. I’d like to see the fish shallow – that’s where the big ones come up and feed. If that happens, I think I have a chance.”

The young pro, who is searching for his first tour-level victory, is alternating between two distinct patterns. When the wind is blowing hard, he’ll pull up to 5 feet of water. When it slacks off, he’ll retreat to 20 feet of water.

“When I said on day one that I was fishing anywhere from 5 to 20 feet, that’s what I’m doing – I mean literally. If it’s blowing and nasty like this, we can go shallow and take advantage of active fish. If not, we grind away in the deep water.

“Tomorrow is a new tournament. I probably won’t be keeping those 21- and 22-inch fish. Today I had a 22 and a 23, and tomorrow I might toss them. It depends what order they come in.”

Harsh slips to third

Veteran pro Pete Harsh experienced boat problems on day three and was only able to boat three walleyes that weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces. Still, his total weight is 39-10 – just a stone’s throw away from a sixth tour-level victory.

“I had serious mechanical issues,” said the Sauk Centre, Minn., pro. “If I make the cutoff, I’ll be looking for a new boat tomorrow.”

In addition to having boat problems, Harsh lost a few fish and threw a few back that he should have kept in hindsight. But that’s Pete Harsh. He always fishes to win, no matter the cost. Sometimes it looks brilliant; sometimes it costs him.

“Coming in at 7 mph sure gives you a lot of time to think about what could have been.”

Kvalevog fourth

After winning the recent Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League event on Cass Lake, pro Toby Kvalevog is back for more. Catching a 15-pound, 6-ounce limit Friday, the Brainerd, Minn., native has a three-day total weight of 39 pounds, 5 ounces. In fact, Kvalevog’s 15-6 was the heaviest limit of day three. Not surprisingly, most of it came from the same main-lake area Steil is fishing.

“Today was good,” he said. “The wind was blowing right into a sand bar we were fishing. We caught some nice fish there yesterday, and we caught the big one there today. It was probably 7 pounds and 27 1/2 inches.”

For inquiring walleye fans, Kvalevog is fishing the same water where he won the league tournament.

“I have about four spots I’m fishing, and they’re the same spots I fished last weekend. Whether we get the big ones or not tomorrow, I don’t know. But there’s definitely fish there.”

In addition to boating a 27 1/2 and a 22, Kvalevog lost two giant fish. In total, he and his co-angler partner Justin Steinke boated 20 walleyes with creek chubs.

“This is a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to fish against this caliber of anglers, people that I read about in the magazines.”

Dejaeghere fifth

In fifth place was Daniel Dejaeghere of Bemidji, Minn., who brought in five walleyes on day three that weighed 14 pounds, 14 ounces and pushed his total weight to 38 pounds, 14 ounces. His day wasn’t nearly that good until his co-angler hooked into a 28-incher with an hour left.

“We have four or five spots, and we just jump between them all day,” Dejaeghere said. “We lost another one that was as big or bigger than the 28-incher.”

Despite living 14 miles away, Dejaeghere claims he doesn’t fish Cass all that often.

“I fish it hard every year for two weeks in the spring, but that’s about it. Coming into the tournament, I was worried about the boat pressure, but this lake has spread them out pretty good.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros on day three at Cass Lake:

6th: David Kolb of Ada, Mich., three-day total of 38-10

7th: James Gordon of Spicer, Minn., 37-9

8th: Todd Riley of Amery, Wis., 36-14

9th: Chris Gilman of Chisago City, Minn., 36-8

10th: Larry Smith of Berlin, Wis., 35-14

Bruer takes co-angler lead

In the Co-angler Division, Kevin Bruer of Robbinsdale, Minn., took the lead with a three-day total of 38 pounds, 11 ounces. Each day Bruer has been remarkably consistent. On day one he caught 12-10, on day two he caught 12-15, and on day three he caught 13-2 while fishing with PWT Championship winner Mark Courts.

“It’s a good feeling to be in the top 10,” said Bruer, who has been fishing the Walleye Tour as a co-angler since 2000. “I have been doing this a long time, and I have never made the cut.

“This week I have had pros that were consistent each day. With that being said, each day was a little different depending on the weather. One day you might catch all your fish in the morning, and the next day not have a fish in the boat until 1 p.m.”

Bruer has previously fished two PWT tournaments on Cass Lake and is using his knowledge of the lake to help assist his pros in locating fish.

“The weights are what I expected, but I was surprised at the number of big fish being caught. During practice we caught a lot of fish, but not as many big ones.”

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers on day three at Cass Lake:

2nd: Nate Brunz of Madison Lake, Minn., three-day total of 35-6

3rd: Greg Oppegard of West St. Paul, Minn., 35-4

4th: David Anderson of Sauk Rapids, Minn., 34-13

5th: Ronald Carson of Omaha, Neb., 33-10

6th: Justin Steinke of Birnamwood, Wis., 33-2

7th: Mike Taylor of Midland, Mich., 33-2

8th: Josh Johnson of Fargo, N.D., 32-14

9th: Michael Tesmer of Eden Prairie, Minn., 32-14

10th: Jeff Holz of Dodge Center, Minn., 32-12

The final day of FLW Walleye Tour competition on Cass Lake begins as the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers take off from Stony Point Resort at 6:30 a.m. Central time Saturday.