Gunning for Geano’s

Ideal conditions align for 175-mile run

ESCANABA, Mich. – It was the talk of the tournament last year on Green Bay. The revered Geano Reef churned out trophy walleye after trophy walleye. But with this year’s event being held out of Escanaba, it was assumed that Geano’s would be unreachable. The 175-mile trip takes 2 hours each way, effectively cutting an angler’s total fishing time in half.

But today is the first day that conditions favor a long run. Second-place pro Jason Przekurat and fourth-place pro Troy Morris ran all the way to Oconto yesterday. It took them a little over 2 hours in rolling waves that were up to 6 feet in spots. Today, the two hope to get there in about an hour and a half.

“The thing is, we’re pulling both overs and unders and the unders are just about perfect,” said Przekurat, who is locked into an AOY duel with pro Chris Gilman. “We haven’t had to throw a fish back yet.”

Geano’s is roughly 15 miles further south than Oconto. While it probably doesn’t have the quality of slot fish, it is loaded with pigs. If an angler catches three perfect slots early in the morning, it might be wise to run a little further south in hopes of returning with a pair of 9 pounders.

Chevy pro Tom Keenan isn’t going to run quite that far. He’ll venture about 40 miles south to Chamber’s Island. Anymore than that and his co-angler partner, James Plummer, will probably take a swing at him. Plummer, who is in third place, is an ex-Marine.

“My goal is to have two good ones in at 10 a.m.,” said Keenan, who is currently in seventh place. “After that, we’ll run back to Black Bottom in Little Bay de Noc for slot fish. Yesterday, I got two slots in five minutes. Today is definitely the day to make up some ground.”

The day-three weigh-in begins Friday at 3 p.m. Eastern time, when the field returns to Escanaba Harbor. Today’s weigh-in marks the last chance for many anglers to qualify for the no-entry-fee 2007 FLW Walleye Tour Championship.

Friday’s conditions

Sunrise: 6:11 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 54 degrees

Expected high temperature: 68 degrees

Water temperature: 58-65 degrees

Wind: WSW at 14 mph

Maximum humidity: 66 percent

Day’s outlook: partly cloudy