Shootout looms on Leech Lake

With Bro’ breathing down his neck, Keenan’s lead is far from safe

WALKER – The vagaries of walleye fishing were very much evident on day two of the Walmart FLW Walleye Tour tournament on Leech Lake.

With weather featuring a bright sky and light wind Thursday, many anglers struggled, as you’re supposed to do in those conditions, right?

So how do you explain Big Dan Stier bringing to the scales 18 pounds, 8 ounces, the second-heaviest weight of the tournament? It launched the Pierre, S.D., pro from 16th to third place. And does Brian Brosdahl of Max, Minn., really ever struggle on Leech? He didn’t today, grabbing second place with a bag weighing 16 pounds, 8 ounces. Pro leader Tom Keenan certainly held his own, following up a whopping 19-15 sack on day one with 14-11 today.

More success stories came further down the ranks, such as Andy Renner’s 15-1 bag that moved him from 24th to sixth place, Tony Renner’s 15 pounds, 2 ounces and Brian Bjorkman’s 15 pounds, 11 ounces, which has them 18th and 19th, respectively.

Others didn’t fare as well. Dennis Jeffrey fell from second to 16th with three fish that weighed 3-9. Rick Olson tumbled from fourth to 12th with five fish that weighed just 6-12. Joe Whitten was in seventh place after day one when he weighed five fish at 14-2. Today he’s 37th after weighing two fish at 1-3.

What all this leaves us with is the makings of a real shootout, with any of the second through sixth pros having a very good chance to catch Keenan, while seventh through ninth places are still within 10 pounds.

And with names like Steil, Takasaki and Gilman all in the top 10, well, it’s anybody’s guess who’ll be hoisting the big cardboard check over his head come Saturday afternoon.

Keenan believes it will be him. He’s blown leads in the past, but knows how to close the deal, too, having won a tournament six years ago. Does the drought end Saturday?

“I have a ton of confidence in what I’m doing,” said the Hatley, Wis., pro. “I have a great spot for slots that nobody else is on. I’ve got four over 26 (inches) so far, and I think I can get two more tomorrow.”

But there’s this local who goes by the name of Bro’ who’s breathing down his neck, just 2 pounds, 14 ounces off the pace.

“He’s great competition and keeps me on my A game,” Keenan said. “He’s the odds-on favorite to win this thing. That makes me fish even harder, and that’s cool.”

While others are praying for the wind to pick up, Keenan says he would rather see it stay calm.

“Yeah, glass calm,” he said. “That allows me to back off my presentation and ease up a bit.”

Bro’ knows what goes on Leech

“We just pounded fish today,” said Brian Brosdahl, who weighed 16-8 today, moving him from third to second place. “We were hoisting ’em in the boat because we had doubles and couldn’t get the net. That’s pretty hard to do sometimes with a 23-incher.”

Brosdahl said he caught fish on all his spots today, including five measuring more than 26 inches, the best one-day performance of any angler at this tournament.

Glad you could make it, Dan

If anybody will be playing the “what if” game after this tournament, it’s likely to be Dan Stier, who’s in third place with 29-10. He brought just two fish to the scales on day one, but they totaled 11 pounds, 2 ounces, which had him 16th.

Imagine where he’d be now had he also weighed three decent under-18s?

But this seasoned veteran of the walleye wars doesn’t look back. What’s that old saying about what to do if Plan A fails?

“I changed my strategy today and got the slots right away,” Stier said. “They came pretty quick, and we had the whole day to play. We went through a ton of fish. There were times we couldn’t even get our baits to the bottom.

“I just love this lake. Any time it’s a rigging bite, that’s my favorite by far.”

Larkins looks to make his move

There aren’t a whole lot of pros carrying the banner for Nebraska on the Walleye Tour these days. But there is an up-and-comer who bears close watching as this tournament unfolds. His name is Kevin Larkins, he’s from Greenwood, Neb., and he’s currently in fourth place with 26 pounds, 3 ounces.

Larkins finished seventh in a tour event on Lake Sharpe last year. He stands to do better here. He was in 12th place after day one with 11-8, but leaped to fourth today with a box weighing 14-11.

Larkins said he got his inspiration to improve from reigning FLW Tour Angler of the Year Pete Harsh, who was ahead of him one day in the weigh-in line, looked back at his paltry bag of fish and said, “I need to take you fishing.”

Gilman again, of course

Let’s see, haul out the typical Chris Gilman tournament story, dust it off, change the dates and weights, insert here, and there you have him, your fifth-place pro, the walleye wizard of Chisago City, Minn., whose two-day weight now totals 25-12.

Gilman had 14-6 after day one and couldn’t quite match that today, pulling 11-6, but he did move from sixth into fifth and stands to be reckoned with before this tournament is through.

Gilman said he caught today’s kicker fish, a 28 1/2-incher, at 8:30 a.m., which took the pressure off.

“I bailed on big fish pretty early, ’cause it looked like the bite dried up,” Gilman said. “Tomorrow, I don’t know. I’ll need about 8 pounds to make the cut, so I’ll probably be conservative.”

Gilman said the morning bite was good until about 9:30. He reasoned that pressure played a role.

“If a lot of people are fishing in shallow water, it stops the bite,” he said. “You gotta leave and come back, keep rotating your spots. That’s what I do, anyway.”

Tomorrow the field will be cut to the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers, who will move on to compete on Saturday.

Rest of the best pros

6. Andy Renner, Spicer, Minn., 25 pounds, 3 ounces

7. Ted Takasaki, East Gull Lake, Minn., 24 pounds, 7 ounces

8. Brad Davis, Jackson, Wis., 24 pounds, 6 ounces

9. Toby Kvalevog, Brainerd, Minn., 24 pounds, 2 ounces

10. Scott Steil, Richmond, Minn., 23 pounds, 9 ounces

Top 10 co-anglers

1. Tim Renner, Spicer, Minn., 28 pounds, 13 ounces

2. Justin Steinke, Birnamwood, Wis., 27 pounds, 5 ounces

3. Jerome Meyer, Hutchinson, Minn., 25 pounds, 8 ounces

4. Gerud Hetland, Maple Grove, Minn., 24 pounds, 11 ounces

5. William Drake, Horance, N.D., 23 pounds, 14 ounces

6. Dan Soehren, New Ulm, Minn., 23 pounds, 8 ounces

7. Terry Reishus, Buffalo, Minn., 22 pounds, 11 ounces

8. Scott Perz, Crystal Lake, Ill., 22 pounds, 11 ounces

9. Del Ringling, Valley, Neb., 21 pounds, 11 ounces

10. Francis Gleason, Nicollet, Minn., 21 pounds, 8 ounces

Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. at Walker City Park. Weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.