2015 Schedule - Here's My Chance

I have been anxiously waiting for the 2015 fishing season since November, 2008. New Years Day 2015 marked the start of the seventh year with my employer. I love my job and I love that I now get four weeks of vacation! This extra week will allow me to fish all four National Walleye Tour Tournaments along with one of my favorites, the MWL IL River. With gas prices at the lowest level since I began fishing tournaments and a schedule that fits my strengths, my opportunity is now.

MWC IL River - March 20-21

The longest running walleye tournament almost ended after last year's decision to have an artificial bait only tournament. The Spring Valley Walleye Club walked away from the MWC and will be holding the IL River Walleye Classic on the last weekend of March. This has always been the MWC weekend. Thankfully, politics aside, the MWC was able to find support in the community and moved up the tournament a week ensuring the streak will continue.

My partner Shooter and I have been in the hunt to win here three times including last year when we finished 3rd. I couldn't be happier with the week earlier start. The last three years I have been on a great bite the week before the tournament only to see those fish disperse when it counted. If conditions are right they will be there again. Unfortunately, that is a big IF as rapidly changing water conditions are the norm. This river will humble you in a hurry!

NWT Mississippi River Pool 4 - May 7-8

If you call your blog On the River with The Viver you better get excited about this one. I learned how to vertical jig plastics on Pool 4 and it is my favorite destination. I have fished 3 major tournaments here and have cashed two checks. I have had two really good tournament days but I haven't been able to put two really good days back to back. Fish will be in transition and will be difficult to catch in the same areas two days in a row. I am hoping to learn from past failures and have two consistent days. This will be the only NWT tournament that I will be sharing information with another angler. This will be a great help as he is a river rat and one of my fishing mentors.

NWT Leech Lake - June 12-13

Even though I have never fished Leech Lake I am really looking forward to this tournament. Fishing a lake for the first time that has 112,000 surface acres can be a bit overwhelming. This task is even more daunting when you are fishing alone. Fortunately there are resources available like Fishidy that allow me to identify areas that I will target long before I wet a line. If you are not a member of Fishidy I highly recommend becoming a member, it is worth every penny! I will also be reaching out to a few of my friends who have knowledge of Leech. I hope that I can also use what I have learned fishing deep structure on Lake Mendota to catch the "overs" along with some shallow water tactics for the "unders". Leech Lake has a slot limit, no fish can be kept between 20"-26" and only one can be kept over 26" per person.

NWT Green Bay - July 24-25

I have had some of the best fishing days of my life on Green Bay and the worst. Unfortunately, a few of the worst came on tournament days. One of my goals in 2014 was to be competitive on the Bay of Green Bay and I accomplished that at the NWT Bays de Noc. In fact I had a shot at the win sitting third after day 1. I wasn't able to make the adjustments on day 2 but did hold on to cash a check. I learned from that experience and I look forward to applying those learnings in July. We are launching out of Green Bay which should help me. I am assuming that the DNR will put a boundary at 45 miles north of the launch. This would take most of Door County out of play. There is so much structure in Door County that it is difficult for me to cover enough water. In the past I have tried to fish everywhere instead of concentrating on a few areas. 

NWT Championship Devils Lake - September 17-19

The 2015 schedule will finish with the Championship on Devils Lake. I have never fished here or the Missouri River system. From everything I have heard and read this is going to be a blast. Just about every tactic will come into play. I will be fishing this one alone as well and don't have any friends that I can go to for information. I will be leaning on tips, forecasts and marked catches from Fishidy. Once there I will be relying on my past experiences to see if I can come up with a plan that will be a little different.

I can't wait to get my Lund and Mercury Verado on the water. I love the schedule now I have to maximize my opportunity. Follow my season here and on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RoyVivianProWalleyeAngler?ref=hl. 

Sturgeon Bay NWT Re-cap

Day 1

My Day 1 Co-angler was Billy Ditto from Leaf River, IL which is only 25 miles from my hometown. He fished one tournament as a Co-angler last year and has been hooked ever since. I was hoping I could give him a tournament that he would remember.

I usually don’t sleep well the night before a tournament and this was no exception. With the fish moving around like they had been along with isolated storms in the area I knew it might be difficult to find them. Knowing that these were the “right fish” made me even more anxious.

I headed to the area I had found the day before. The water temperature was the same as was the wind but the fish were gone. I knew there was a reason I didn’t sleep well. I went to another area that was good earlier in the week and made one pass with no luck.

I went back to where I was the day before and drove around for about a half hour going about 20 MPH looking for fish. Finally I marked a few on the screen and set up for a pass. Almost immediately we caught a 22” when another rod went. I helped get the board off of that rod while Billy fought the fish. Unfortunately, that was a sheepshead. I thought long and hard about throwing that fish back in. 

Once you keep your 6^th fish you cannot cull and you are done for the day. This was not the type of fish I was catching nor was it going to win the tournament but I decided to keep it hoping it would be the smallest of the day.

The pod of fish was much smaller than the day before so it didn’t take long and we were no longer marking fish. We packed up and made another pass. Almost immediately the board on the same rod that caught the 22” walleye went back. Billy fought the fish perfectly and there was not doubt it was a big walleye as the fish came slowly in. Just before I reached for the snap weight the fish came off. I was extremely surprised to see that the fish broke the line above the hooks. The only thing I can think of was I didn’t check the line after catching the 22 incher and it must have nicked the line. I am sure it was the size of fish I had been catching between 27 and 28 inches. We were disappointed but we had plenty of time left in the day.

Unfortunately, a storm moved in and we only were able to catch one more fish. The fish moved down in the water column. All of my adjustments were for not and we headed back to the weigh-in.

Day 2

I drew Bill Ball as a Co-angler on day 2. Bill is an accomplished angler with a couple of MWC wins to his credit. Bill was going into day 2 in ninth place. I fished myself out of the tournament on day 1. My day 2 goal was to keep Bill in the top 10.

I made the long run south again and I spent 20 minutes looking for the school of fish I had been fishing. I couldn't find them so I went to another area that I had caught them earlier in the week. I marked fish so we set up made our first pass. It didn't take long before we boated a 27 incher. We put that rod back out and had another fish take a board back but it was gone by the time we got to the rod. I thought we were going to have a good day but that was the end of the action.

I was marking fish but I just couldn't get them to bite. It turns out day 2 was tougher for all but that was no consolation.

Bill Finishes 14th

Despite only catching one 7 pound fish Bill only dropped 5 places and finished 14th. That helped my spirits a little bit but if we just could have caught one more he would have finished in the top 10. Bill was a blast to fish with and he brought some awesome venison sausage! 

Fools Gold

My plan all along was to fish the northern portion of the boundaries. I even stayed in Fish Creek to be closer to the northern water. I ended up only fishing one full day up north. Once I caught those nice fish over the mud down south I made the decision to go all in down south. I didn't have the confidence that I could find fish up north alone. It turned out that the majority of the top 10 was fishing north. If I would have spent more time up there pre-fishing would I have had a better outcome. I will never know but I am disappointed I didn't follow my initial plan.

The fishing on the mud flats in the south can be so easy it is like fools gold. I feel for it two years ago and I had the same result, BAD! It is not uncommon to catch 30 pounds one day and a fraction of that the next. I noticed many others fishing the same area had a similar fate. However, there were some that were able to make the proper adjustments and did well. 

The lesson I learned is anybody can catch them when the bite is "on". Hopefully I will learn from the experience and have a better outcome next time.

NWT Sturgeon Bay Pre-Fishing Recap

I had high hopes for the NWT Sturgeon Bay tournament. I was fishing alone and with the tournament boundaries stretching from the southern end of Door County all the way to Death's Door on the northern tip. That meant I had to cover a lot of water as efficiently as possible. My plan was to stay north and hope the fish had migrated to their late summer home.

Day 1

The final day of the AIM tournament was underway out of Oconto. Despite the forecast for 3-5 ft. waves with some to 8 ft. I decided to go north and stay out of the way of the AIM anglers. This turned out to be a mistake as I did not get much accomplished. I marked a lot of bait and some fish but did not catch a fish.

Day 2

Because I wasn't on a team it was really important that I had someone with me so I could get more lines out which allowed me to experiment with colors, depths, presentations etc. I had a friend of mine from Madison, Scott, with me on Saturday and Sunday and on Sunday we added the son of a co-worker of Scott's. Richard will be a freshman at UW Superior where he says he is majoring in Walleyes and Whitetails.  We put Richard through Walleyes 101 on the bay.

We went south and found plenty of drum but no walleyes. Part of majoring in Walleyes is dealing with sheepshead so we made Richard reel in everyone! He didn't seem to mind but we need to find walleye's. After a few stops we started marking fish and caught one 18" walleye. We set up a little deeper and then it was on.

We were pulling crawler harnesses and were able to identify colors with the biggest fish coming on a certain depth. The depth we targeted was just above the fish we were marking. Although the other baits did catch fish I felt like I was honing in on a pattern.

Our best 5 were all over 27" with the exception of one 26-1/2. I have fished this area before and fishing can seem so easy and the next day is another story so I hoped to find something up north but at least I had a spot with big fish. I slept pretty good Sunday night.

Day 3

I fished with an old co-worker of mine and we went north. I was surprised to find water temp in the low 70's. Due to changing winds temperatures in the southern bay were all over the place, when we found the warmer water we found the walleyes. 

The wind was perfect as I checked areas I caught fish last Labor Day weekend. There is a ton of structure and I covered as much as I could. I did mark a fair amount of bait and a few fish but nothing like I did down south. We lost 2 fish that I think were nice walleyes but the rest were sheepshead. I decided to spend the afternoon between Sturgeon Bay and Egg Harbor with nothing to show for the effort. In retrospect I wish I would have stayed north of Egg Harbor.

Day 4

A small craft advisory was issued for the bay. Winds were out of the NW at 20-30 MPH with gusts higher. I wasn't going to fish but the thought of sitting around the hotel all day got the best of me. I only fished from 9 to 2 and I was happy I had one fish on. I never felt unsafe, thanks to my Lund but the conditions were not the best. I didn't accomplish anything fishing wise but it beat sitting around the hotel.

Day 5

I wanted to fish north so bad but I chickened out. I wasn't confident that I could put something together up north especially when the fishing was so easy on Sunday. I decided to go all in on the south bite and would spend the next two days trying to hone in the pattern.

One of my favorite things about fishing tournaments is you get to meet some great people. I shared the boat with one of my co-anglers from last year, Sargeant Richard Wright who serves in the National Guard. Rich is character and we have a similar sense of humor. It also helps he brings beef jerky!

We tried a couple of different spots but the water temps were colder than I liked. I headed over to where I was on Sunday and there was nothing there. Just like years past these fish move. There is no structure and the fish roam around chasing bait fish. Once you found the bait you would see the walleyes with them. In some cases you could see where the walleyes were feeding as the bait fish were scattered instead of in a ball. When we found that we usually hooked up.

Just like Sunday, once we found them the bite was awesome. We had a double of 28's and just after taking a picture we had another one on of that size or slightly bigger that got off. I made Sargeant Rich drop and give me 20 for dumping that one. You hate to lose a fish like that but we knew what was there and we were happy!

Sargeant Rich Drops and Gives Me 20

Even better we were catching are fish quite a ways from other boats. I don't like fishing in big groups and it is always my goal is to find fish away from the crowds. Normally I don't net fish during pre-fishing if I can help it but because we were fishing away from everyone I was able to put the Frabill to use! 

Day 6

I fished the last day of pre-fishing with Rich and Mark Michael, the owner of EZEE Steps. We only had until 2 O'clock so my goal was to hone the pattern and get ready for Friday. We went where the fish were on Sunday, nothing. Next we went where Rich and I got into them, we marked fish but not like the day before. We caught a 28" and a 25" when we moved shallower but I was getting nervous. 

I decided to move to another area. About two miles later I was going about 30 MPH when I noticed a couple of blips on my locator. I slowed down and noticed there were quite a few marks and some bait fish. We set up and made a pass. We caught one big catfish and a drum but I knew there were walleyes in there. We made another pass and we caught two good walleyes. That made me feel better for the tournament. It was clear that fish were moving and all I had to do was spend the time to find them on the electronics and go from there.

I will post the tournament re-cap later in the week. Thanks for reading!

NWT Red Wing Re-cap

Pre-Fishing

I arrived in Red Wing on Saturday, April 20 to begin pre-fishing for the first ever National Walleye Tour tournament. I had this tournament circled on the calendar and was looking forward to catching post-spawn walleyes. In a normal year the majority of the spawn would be finished and water temps would be in the lower 50's. Not this year, water temperatures were in the upper 30's and most fish had not spawned. That meant a total change in plans.

With mother nature being a few weeks behind schedule I was confident that most fish would be caught from Red Wing to the dam. The Minnesota Tournament Trail was having two one day tournaments on Saturday and Sunday. I did my best to stay out of their way as I concentrated on spots where I have caught fish over the years. I did pick up two fish over 26 inches along with a couple just over 21 inches but overall fishing was slow. The MTT results showed the same with the exception of some big limits being caught pitching jigs. I didn't want to take any of the tournament anglers spots so I waited until later in the week to try my luck.

Secret Spots

There really aren't any secret spots in Red Wing as tournaments have exposed winning patterns and locations over the years. However, I always try to find a spot that is away from the other anglers. This strategy has served me well in my last two FLW tournaments in Red Wing. The biggest problem with these out of the way spots is they often do not hold as many fish. There is a reason that you will see 50-100 boats in a small area, it is because there are a lot of fish there. 

I spent Monday in Pool 3 knowing that not a lot of anglers would lock through the dam during the tournament. Despite 37 degree water temperatures I did manage to find a couple of nice fish. One was a 27" spawned out female and the other was a good male that was milting. I was betting on the water warming up and filling up with post spawn walleyes. Well, it was a good thought but rain and snow raised the water and kept the water temperature low which killed those spots. I did check them again on Wednesday but it was obvious that they were not going to come into play.

Snow?

Community Spots

I woke up Tuesday to 3-4" of wet snow. I am used to fishing in nasty conditions but snow on April 23? This is getting ridicules!

I, and I think everyone fishing the NWT, knew there was a good bite going on up by the dam pitching jigs. With 126 boats in the field I would have to get a low number in order to get one of these spots. I started at the bottom end of the rocks which are about 1/4 mile long. On my fourth cast I caught one over 8 pounds. I started working my way up river and caught a 25 inch male and lost a nice fish. To make a long story short I caught 6 walleyes in about 1 -1/2 hours with the smallest being 21 inches and my best 5 weighing close to 25 lbs. This does not count several that got off including two that I thought were monsters. Wow, no wonder everyone in the MTT tournaments was fishing there.

I left that area and spent half of the day pitching jigs in areas that have been good in the past with no luck. I was able to catch a few 21" plus males in a community spot which had me feeling pretty good. I was amazed at the fish I was catching as I did not catch a walleye smaller than 20" pre-fishing.

Open the Flood Gates

On Wednesday I checked one of the community spots and promptly caught a 21" male right on a way point. I did my best to hide it from other boats and headed to the next spot. As I checked my spots I noticed the current was a little different and also noticed I wasn't catching any fish. I knew the water was supposed to come up a little but I didn't think enough to change the bite. I was also noticing a lot more grass, leaves and wood floating in the water. I headed up river and sure enough all of the DAM gates were open. Uh Oh!

I have fished Red Wing a lot in March and April. Any time they open the gates it takes a few days before fishing improves. The bite generally gets better once the river crests and starts to recede. This was not going to happen this week so I had better find something and soon as the tournament starts on Friday!

Hope is not a Strategy

I began checking every spot I could think of hoping that fish would either be there or they would be filtering into those spots in the next few days. With the high water there were current seams everywhere and I tried as many of them as I could find. I ended up finding this 27" pre-spawn female at the end of the day on Wednesday.

That beauty gave me hope but I did not catch a fish on Thursday and I could only hope that fish would filter into spots where I have traditionally caught them. As I went to the rules meeting on Thursday I couldn't help but wonder if I was missing something. I guess I would find out soon enough!

Day 1

I ended up with boat #22 and headed up to pitch jigs to the rocks. I wasn't the only one with this strategy as there were boats lined up from top to bottom. I drew a great Co-Angler who actually guides so I felt confident if there were fish in shallow we would catch them. I ended up with a spot near the down river side of the rocks. We fished them hard for about 2 hours. No walleyes but several smallmouth bass, up to 3 pounds, got our heart rates going. We also did not see any fish caught so we went to plan B. I finally caught a fish on, I think, plan F and that would be the only fish we caught. We did lose a nice fish where I caught the 27 incher on Wednesday but he was only on for a short time.

Misery Loves Company

I wasn't the only one that struggled as a third of the field did not catch a fish and there were a lot of ones and two's. The leader was pitching jigs too but on the upper end of the rocks. I at least felt better that I had not missed the bite.

Day 2

Winning was no longer an option, however, cashing a check was certainly attainable as I was only 2-1/2 pounds out of the money. Normally I would say there was no pressure except my co-angler was in 3rd place after day 1. For those that are not familiar with the format co-anglers are randomly selected to be with a pro. The pro and the co-angler team to weigh there best 5 fish. On day 2 the pro fishes with a different randomly selected co-angler for day 2. The co-angler adds up the weights from the two days with two different pros. This meant my co-angler, Larry Oleson, was in the hunt to win the Co-angler side of the tournament and the pressure was on me to put him on some fish!

We tried the rocks again with the same results. We headed down river to the spot I lost a fish the day before and immediately caught a 17 inch male walleye. Not a monster but in this tournament five of those would be great. We fished that spot for the next 2-1/2 hours with nothing to show for it so it was scramble time. I hit all of my spots with nothing to show for the efforts until 12:45 when I boated a 17" sauger. We wore that spot out and had one really nice fish on. It was so nice I am not sure if it was a walleye. I had him on for about thirty seconds then he was gone. With the water being so cold I had to fish slow. When you are fishing crank baits slow sometimes it is hard to keep them buttoned up.

With only an hour to go and only 4 pounds in the boat I decided to go back to the rocks. I knew if we caught one fish I would have a chance to get into the money and that would ensure a good finish for Ole. With about 1/2 hour to go I felt one swimming with my plastic or at least I thought I did. I reeled in my ringer worm and something ate the tail. Are you kidding me? In most cases shallow river walleye's clobber that jig. I may have been taking the jig away from the fish and he just grabbed the tail or he might have been just a little finicky. I see that a lot when I vertical jig with plastics, in that case I usually change the color or the style of the bait but I rarely see it when I am pitching jigs shallow. Whatever it was it never was on the hook so I will never know what it was. I am satisfied that I got a fish to bite in a big fish spot, I just wasn't able to execute.

Day 2 turned out to be another tough day for the field and my two day weight of 5.94 pounds was good enough for 63rd out of 126. Just over 10 pounds was all that was needed to get into the money. Normally I am frustrated after a mediocre finish. I can't say that I am with this one. It was a very tough bite and I gave myself a chance. I didn't cash a check but I learned a ton. What I am most proud of his the measly 4.0 pounds we caught on Saturday was good enough for my co-angler, Ole, to finish 3rd! The disappointing part is if we would have caught one more two pound fish he would have one the Co-angler side. With the bite as tough as it was he was very happy with third!

I will not be fishing Lake Erie but I will be fishing the NWT Sturgeon Bay in July. Thanks for reading!

FLW Red Wing - Days 1 & 2

I went to bed Wednesday night knowing that I had good fish going and if everything went right, I was going to have a chance! Knowing that also made for a sleepless night!

Conditions were good at our 6:30 takeoff with rain in the forecast for the afternoon. I was boat 92 out of 109. I made it up to Lock and Dam #3 as the third boat with one more boat behind me. Any doubts of being able to fish my spots went away and I could not wait to get through this lock and up to my number 1 spot!

I made it to my first spot a little after 7 AM. Within minutes we had a fat 22 inch walleye in the boat casting a crank bait and I was feeling good! It didn't take long for fish number 2 and 3 to be in the boat, unfortunately they were only 16" and 17-1/2 inches. The rules allowed for 5 fish to be weighed. Once you put your 7th fish in the live well you are done as no culling is allowed. I was surprised to catch two fish in this area under 20 inches as I had not caught one while pre-fishing. I was conservative and decided to put them both in the live well. It was about 8:30 and I decided to stick with my plan and hop to another spot.

I went down river about one half of a mile and on my first pass I had what I wanted, a beautiful, fat, 27 inch walleye. When that thing hit the net I was hopping around the boat like Daffy Duck. I gained my composure and made another pass which resulted in an 18-1/2 inch walleye. It was again decision time but I decided to put this one in the live well hoping that it would be my smallest fish of the day. I had my limit by 9 AM and I guessed I had about 15 pounds. This was Ok but to have a chance to be in the top 10 I knew I needed to be in the 20 pound range.

I continued to fish my second spot with no luck and started hopping spots. We continued to catch fish but they were 16-18 inches so we let them go. Finally around noon my co-angler, Jesse, says "I think I got one". I turned around and looked at his rod and knew it was a good one. Jesse played the fish perfectly and I slid the Frabill net under a 23 inch walleye. Oh did that feel good! With this fish we had 27, 23, 22, 18-1/2 and a 17-1/2. Our estimate was 19-20 pounds.

One more good fish and we are really dealing! Unfortunately, we could not get an upgrade. When we went through the locks this morning the lock master informed us that a barge was due to be at the lock around noon. It was 1:30 and that barge had not gone by us. Knowing that a barge can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours (worst case) I made the decision to lock through to pool 4. With a 19 pound plus basked I did not want to risk being late.

We still had a couple hours of fishing which we spent checking out big fish spots. Unfortunately, we did not get another fish so we headed to the weigh our fish. Rain had moved in around 2 PM and was coming down harder as we waited in the harbor. I did not care as I had my new Frabill Stormsuit and 19 pounds in the live well!

The five walleyes weighed in at 19.12 pounds and we ended the day in 12th place. Of the 109 boats 5 total locked up to pool 3, three of us were in the top 12. I love those odds!

DAY 2

I didn't think it was possible but I actually slept worse than I did the night before! I knew conditions were changing. The water was coming up which was increasing the current. The temperature dropped and the wind was forecasted to come out of the Northeast. Someone who has a lot more experience than I told me this was the worst wind for the style of fishing I was doing. I still felt confident as you can see in the interview I gave for Steve at WalleyeFirst WalleyeFirst Roy Vivian.

The order of boats went in reverse order and I was the 19th boat to takeoff. As I turned the corner I saw one of my worst nightmares, a boat tower in the lock! Uh Oh! In my interview with Walleye First I did not mention a barge in the lock as being a threat. Unfortunately, the barge had just arrived and we were not going up river anytime soon! Any time you use a lock in a tournament risk is involved. Plan B was in action and I started fishing areas that were close to the lock.

We jigged the West side of the river below the dam and then went to the east side, nothing! We then tried casting jigs and crank baits to the rocks along the Minnesota side. We caught a ton of fish but they were white and smallmouth bass. I spoke with someone later who caught a 7 pounder in an area that was also invested with white and smallmouth bass. He said you had to catch all of those fish first before you could the bait down to the walleyes. We tried but we had no walleyes to show for our efforts.

Finally, what seemed forever, the barge was through the lock and we entered. It was 8:05 and I was anxious to say the least. Once through I made a mad dash to my spot. I arrived at my spot about 8:30. Even though I had 3 fish by this time the day before I was still confident. 

Just like the day before, almost immediately, we had a nice walleye in the boat. The 23 incher came in the same spot on the same crank bait. Now that made me feel better but catching another fish became a struggle. It was evident early that the water had risen and the current had increased. The north wind didn't help as it also increased the flow.

Finally, around 10:30 I caught a 17-1/2" walleye. Not exactly what I was looking for but it helped. It was becoming obvious that I was not able to control my boat like I did the day before. I lost close to 10 rigs. I don't think I lost one in the previous 5 days of fishing! After breaking off for the third time I knew I was in trouble!

I tried everything I could think of including anchoring but to no avail. I was extremely frustrated and did my best to keep my composure. I decided to head to the lock around 1:30 and began jigging the main channel in Pool 4. I was hoping to fill out my limit with 2-3 pounders in the middle of the channel. I didn't think this would get me in the top 10 but at least it would salvage a check. 

I caught a walleye that barely measured 15 inches and I put that in the live well as quick as I could. That fish would end up being worth $2000. I did not catch another fish and went to the weigh-in with my tail between my legs.

My weight ended up at 7-1/2 pounds and somehow I finished 26th which was good enough to cash a check as they paid out the top 30 boats. I wasn't the only one who struggled as a number of anglers who had a big weight on day 1 couldn't follow it up with a good day 2. That is not unusual in a river tournament especially when conditions are changing and fish are in transition. The old saying "here today and gone tomorrow" certainly was the case for many. 

I finished about 5 pounds out of the top 10 which was really disappointing! I knew I was on the right fish, I just could not adapt to the changing conditions. I certainly learned from my failure and I am confident that I will be a better fisherman because of my experience. That doesn't mean I was happy! Opportunities to be in the top 10 with a chance to win do not come around often and I feel like I let one slip away. 

One of the reasons I love tournament fishing is because I feel the same emotions that I did when I played baseball. I hated losing then and I hate losing now. If I had a bad day on the diamond I could not wait for the next game. I feel the same now and can't wait for the next tournament!

FLW Red Wing - Pre-Fishing Summary

The FLW Mississippi River in Red Wing is in the books. I had a good first day, 12th after day one but a disappointing day 2 dropped me to 26th. I did cash a check which is always nice but you will see why I am disappointed. I know this is old news and I wish I could post a pre-fishing report during pre-fishing but it is hard enough for me to find fish, I don't need to help out anybody else! Here is how pre-fishing went:

I arrived in Red Wing late Friday night, April 20 and was anxious to hit the water. On Saturday morning I was joined by Chad Setterholm who lives in the Minneapolis area. The first day is a relaxed day as I am just trying to get a feel for the river conditions. Chad, pictured above, was the first to strike with this scrapper he caught jigging, the skunk was out of the boat!

Shortly after I caught this 16 inch female that was still full of eggs. We were in a spawning area that generally holds big fish. I lost what seemed to be a nice walleye shortly after this fish but we decided to move on with the thought that these fish would be spawned out by the first day of the tournament on Thursday.

We spent the rest of the day fishing areas that we hoped would hold large, post spawn, walleyes. I checked out numerous areas in the back channels and at the head of Lake Pepin. I have had success in these areas in the past, however the low water and flow made finding fish difficult. We did catch several more throughout the day including one nice one. It was clear the low flow had fish spread out. Covering water was going to be key to finding the right fish.

SUNDAY

When I fish major tournaments I am always trying to find spots that are off of the beaten path. The tournament was out of Red Wing and Pool 4. However, pool 3 (up to Prescott) and pool 5 were both in play. I have never fished pool 3 but I thought having to go through the lock would discourage most from fishing the pool. 

There were about 10 other boats that had the same thoughts as I did which still leaves plenty of elbow room. Chad and I spent most of the morning looking for big fish in Buffalo Slough. We didn't have a keeper until around 11 AM when we caught several males that were around 15 inches, not exactly what we were looking for! I did lose one really nice fish on a jig and plastic. We stuck around to see if we could get one in the boat with no luck.

Around 1 PM we decided to concentrate on the main river channel. We were really struggling and by 3:30 we had not caught another keeper. I decided to try a different method and started my pass. I must say I was not expecting anything when the 22 inch walleye pictured below absolutely slammed my bait.

Now that got my attention. This fish was a tournament walleye, fat and aggressive, exactly what I would need on tournament days. After a quick photo and measurement I put her back in the water and made another pass. I recreated my last pass and before I could even hope for another fish another one crushed Chad's bait in the exact same spot! In the picture below Chad is holding this fat 25-1/2 incher.

Holy crap, I was really excited. This fish was close to 6 pounds with the other one weighing 4 pounds. There was a boat nearby so we left as covertly as we could. I knew I was on to something but it was almost 4:30 and I had to get Chad back to his truck. I would have to come back up later in the week to see if what I found was a reliable pattern.

Monday

The weather forecast for Monday was nasty and they were right on! If I had indeed found the fish I was looking for on Sunday, I was going to have to find some spots between the takeoff and the lock so I decided to fish the upper section of Pool 4. I got to the ramp at 7 AM. It was raining/sleeting and 40 degrees with a horrible wind out of the North. Normally there would be 25 plus boats at the landing, I was the second one. I guess I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer!

I headed up to the dam and fished the sand on the Wisconsin side of the channel. I barely got my jig and plastic down and caught a 16 incher. About 5 minutes later I had this 25 plus incher slam my jig and plastic!

I guess I shouldn't be shocked, river walleyes aren't as moody as their lake cousins. I ended up catching an 18 inch pre-spawn sauger on the next pass. Fishing was pretty easy but I was worried that a lot of the fish near the dam would begin to migrate down river by tournament day so I went exploring.

The rain stopped and the boats began to show up, most of which were trolling lead core on the flats and in the main channel. I caught several fish the rest of the day but nothing like I had caught on Sunday. I am sure there was an occasional nice fish being caught but I knew there would be a ton of boats fishing fighting over the same fish. This gave me more confidence, the rest of the week I was going to be in Pool 3.

Tuesday and Wednesday

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday refining my pattern. I looked for similar spots with the hope of putting together a milk run of spots. Much of both days were unproductive fishing wise, but extremely valuable as I was able to eliminate areas. If I went into an area that had fish I knew it right away. These fish were aggressive and the right size. I am not sure how many fish I caught on Tuesday but I caught quite a few with my best five weighing around 20 pounds. I found 7-8 similar spots that were holding the "right" fish and my confidence was riding high going into the tournament.

I went to the rules meeting and there was a lot of discussion on what it would take to make the cut. I knew some were struggling when they thought that 12-1/2 pounds a day would make the cut. I was hoping they were right but I thought that it was going to take 20 pounds on day one with something similar on day two. If they were right I was confident that I was going to be really happy after Thursday!

Next: Tournament Days

MWC 2012 IL River - Recap

The first tournament of the year is in the books. Overall pre-fishing went well and the weather was unbelievable. Now it was time to see if we could we could execute our plan!

Day 1

Our hopes were high as we waited for takeoff in the fog. The temperature was in the upper 40's at takeoff which was cooler than it had been but still well above normal for this time of year. The water was up slightly with increased current. Isolated storms had hit up river on Friday which added debris and muddied the water. By Illinois River standards in the spring the river was still in great shape.

We were boat 66 and headed down river which is where most boats headed. We set up on the downstream side of a flat that is about a mile long. This area was no secret with almost half of the field fishing this area. We were prepared for company and hoped that we could fish inside the majority of the boats. We immediately caught fish as we trolled lead core in and out of boats. By the end of our first pass we had 3 keepers but nothing of any significance.

On our second pass we caught our biggest fish of the day, an 18-1/2" sauger that had spawned out. This was still a good fish but it really would have helped us if she was still carrying her eggs. We motored on weaving in and out of boats and caught a nice 17-1/2" sauger that was full of eggs. We were feeling pretty good at this point knowing that it was 8:30 and we had our limit. We were confident that we would be able to upgrade fish all day.

It was becoming apparent that the most productive spot was the last 200 yards of our mile run. Almost every time through this spot the story was the same, we would catch one or two and the inside rod would get hung up. Early on this was not an issue as most boats were fishing below this area. This soon would change as other boats in the area noticed we and other boats would catch one.

On our next pass everything was the same except there were more boats in this 200 yard stretch, most were jigging or using 3 ways. We were trolling in the opposite direction and going significantly faster. Like clockwork the back inside rod goes off and Mark reels in 1 16-1/2" sauger. I netted the fish when I looked up and noticed the back outside rod had a fish. Mark grabs the rod and says "good fish"! As I am working on the fish in the net the hook gets caught in the net. Mark is confirming it is a good fish and I look at the inside rod and it is in the, you know you are in the right spot, snag. Add in me trying to drive through 15 some boats and you have quite the fire drill. I get the fish and the lure out of the net, point the boat so we don't ram anyone and Mark cuts the motor. There must have been slack in the line for just a moment and the fish got off.

We had been slowing up for big fish but not stopping the motor. Mark did everything he could but with me panicking and both of trying to stay out of the way of others the fish took advantage and was gone. We will never know how big but Mark was sure it would have significantly helped us.

We continued on and the fishing slowed. We were still catching fish but not as fast or as big. It was 1:30 and we had to be back by 3. We decided to make one more pass. As usual we caught a fish in the last 200 yards but we also had two lines tangled. While Mark untangled the lines I decided to jig through the spot that was holding fish. I was fishing for maybe 2 minutes when one crushed my plastic. It wasn't huge but it was an upgrade. Unfortunately, this fish sealed our fate. Mark and I jigged through the area several times with nothing to show for our work. We were going to head to our secondary spot after our last pass but the time we spent jigging made that run impossible. This would turn out to be a big mistake.

We ended up weighing 8.73 pounds which was good for 39th place. Disappointing but, as expected, it was a crap shoot and only one team had over 12 pounds.

Day 2

Day 2 was a little slower for us to start. We caught 3 keepers within 15 minutes but before and after we were struggling. It was 11 o'clock and we decided to make the run that we were going to yesterday. We setup and instantly caught a fish and ended up with 3 more keepers on the first run. The bite up river probably slowed down due to the pressure. The fish in this spot had little pressure with only a couple of boats occasionally coming through and they were on a feeding frenzy.

We ended up catching 17-20 keepers on the day, I am not for sure as it was hard to keep track. The fish were all around 17 inch females with eggs and looked like clones. If we would have come down on Saturday we would have upgraded two fish as we weighed a 16-1/4" and 16-1/2" sauger. In most tournaments that is not a big deal, in this tournament it is a really big deal. When we were waiting to weigh in I used a culling board and scale to determine our best five fish. We had two that were slightly bigger but the other seven fish in the live well were identical in weight. Oh if we could have had those two yesterday!

We ended up with almost an identical weight with 8.63 pounds and moved up to 36th which was 6 spots and less that one half of a pound out of the money. We were only a pound and a half out of the top 10. Mark is convinced and I agree that if we would have spent more time at the power plant we would have cashed a check. The fish that got off on Saturday would have probably done the same! In this tournament there are a lot of teams that have similar stories which is probably why we can't wait to do it again!


Mark and I had a blast even though we didn't do as well as we had hoped. There are a lot of characters that fish these tournaments and it is fun giving each other a hard time. We did that for sure and laughed along the way. It was great to see the sportsmanship too as there were a lot of boats fishing close to each other. All of the boats were courteous which is always great to see. I was also impressed with my new Lund 1875 Pro V. If you have ever fished lead core in a group of boats using different tactics you know how tough it can be to control the boat. I was able to slide in and out of boats using my wireless remote on the front trolling motor without a single incident. One of the great things about the Lund 1875 Pro V is it is small enough to maneuver in tight traffic yet big enough to handle big water!

Another MWC Illinois River is in the books and I can't wait for next years!

Up next, the FLW opener on the Mississippi River in Red Wing!

Back In the Saddle

It is hard to say that it has been a long winter as mother nature has blessed us with a surprisingly mild Southern Wisconsin winter. However, it has been a long winter for me. In years past I would fish into January on the Mississippi and then sit on a bucket catching fish through the ice into March. This year that did not happen.

I also would spend a lot of time in the field chasing pheasants with my trusted Brittany, Bailey. Unfortunately, that did not happen either as Bailey's health forced her into retirement. I tried to sneak the gun case and game vest out of the house but her nose still works too good. I just couldn't do that to my little buddy, besides without her it is not as fun. Instead I have spent the last couple of months taking her for walks and getting my fishing gear ready and am I ever ready!

2012 is setting up to be a great year. In addition to my 2011 sponsors of Lund, Mercury, Shimano, EZEE Step and Do-It Molds, I have added a new one, Frabill. Frabill is synonymous with nets but they are so much more. They continue to innovate with new products and clothing. Their new FXE Storm Suit is amazing and was recognized as best in apparel at the 2010 ICast show. I have fished some pretty nasty days and this suit will allow me to fish as comfortably as possible in the most extreme of conditions. Frabill is also the leader in Ice Fishing with shelters, ice suits, rods and reels, etc. If you want to catch fish through the ice Frabill products will help you do it better! They also have the best live bait management systems on the market. I will be at retail locations showing the benefits of these products and my other sponsors throughout the year!

My first tournament is the MWC Illinois River which is less than 3 weeks away. I will be giving a tournament preview and will do my best to update this blog weekly throughout the season. I look forward to sharing the good and the bad, hopefully there will be more good than bad!

See you later on down the river!

FLW Green Bay Recap – SOFA Not So Comfortable

After the rules meeting was completed I headed back to the hotel to finish my preparation for the opening day of the tournament. To say I was I little anxious would be an understatement. After five days of being on the water I knew it was going to be boom or bust. I did not sleep well as I was wondering if the fish I was catching were going to be waiting for me in the morning.

Day 1

I was in the first flight, which meant I was one of the first to go out and would be one of the first to weigh-in. I ran about 15 miles south of the takeoff and set up on a mudflat outside of Geano’s an area that reminds of the S.O.F.A. (Strategic Offshore Feeding Area) from Shark Week on National Geographic Channel. Early in the morning there were a fair amount of boats fishing the flat but not near as many as there were two days prior during pre-fishing. By 10 AM most of the field fishing the area moved in much shallower. I had been fishing out further than most and basically had the area I wanted to fish by myself.

I caught a 21” walleye around 8:30. This was a disappointment as I had not caught a walleye under 23 inches in this area but I decided to put it in the live well anyway.  I continued to work my waypoints but it was becoming obvious that the fish I was catching have moved.

I could have moved into the large group of boats that were working from Little Long Tail Point up to Geano’s but I don’t like fishing in big groups. I knew they were catching fish in there but I think the fish they were catching had been there. I did pre-fish some of the area but I don’t believe the fish I was catching would have moved in. The problem was it is a big, big area so I had to cover a lot of water to find them.

I kept looking with only drum to show for my efforts. Finally I went through one of my primary areas but a little further out and I caught a 4-1/2 pounder. Too little and too late, I headed back to the weigh-in with my tail between my legs.

The leaders were around 30 pounds and many in the top 10 were fishing down by Geano’s. Even though I only caught two fish I thought I could turn it around on day 2.

Day 2

I spent the morning as I left off Day 1, fishing the area where I had caught my last fish. I was marking fish but I just could not get them to bite. I tried everywhere in the water column and fished new spots, nothing was working.

What happened next summed up my tournament fishing season. I moved in a little closer to the pack of boats and fished the inside edge of my primary area. There was a dead drum that was floating in the water close to my planer boards. If you are not familiar with a planer board it is a plastic board that is used to move the line to the side of the boat.  This allows an angler to fish with several rods with out tangles. The more line let out the further the board is from the boat. The line from the 9ft rod angles down to the board, which was about 75 feet from the boat. A seagull flies right over the boat and swings in to pick up this dead drum. Much to the surprise of the seagull, and myself, the seagull gets caught in the line between the rod and the board.

I had my co-angler reel in the seagull. I cut the line behind the seagull and tied the line to a rod holder. My co-angler had me hold one wing of the bird as he held the other. He then worked on unraveling the line. In the process the not so happy seagull was biting him. How this bird got so tangled I will never know but, after about 5 minutes, he was able to remove the line and the seagull flew off unharmed.

Are you kidding me? I am on Green Bay, it’s 11 AM and I have caught more seagulls than walleyes? I could do nothing but laugh. What else can you do?

Believe it or not I did not have a walleye at 3:30. I thought the fish would follow a break line and move north so that is where I spent most of the two days fishing. I finally moved east and immediately caught a 4-1/2 pounder and it was time to leave. Shortly before I caught that fish I saw a really nice fish caught. I think I finally found them and they were less than a mile away. I should have known that as I was given a clue with the second fish I caught on day one. That fish was about a ½ mile east of my main spots. I fished that area again with no luck, I think they slipped out another ½ mile.

As disappointing as my finish was, and I was very disappointed, I feel I gave myself a great chance. When fishing at this level the margin of error is so small. Fishing by myself, and a changing pattern makes it even more difficult. However, I am not making excuses. I pre-fished this tournament almost perfect. The only thing I would change is spending Wednesday in my primary area.

Knowing how long to fish your primary spot prior to a tournament is something that I have always struggled with. In an area as big as the area I was fishing fish will roam depending on the movement of baitfish. If I would have been fishing structure that would have been a different story as those fish are more likely to be on the same spot with subtle movements relating to wind.

This tournament concluded my worst year ever. To use a baseball reference I felt like I was hitting line drives right at the opposition (Atom Balls we use to call them), knowing if the ball was a foot one way or the other it would be a hit. I am getting close and am hoping to “break out” next year!