CLEVELAND – For most of the day, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship qualifiers received a rare reprieve from Mother Nature. Atypical for late September, the big pond was relatively calm on day one. Of course, relatively calm on Lake Erie means 4- and 5-foot waves.
As expected, the 3- and 4-pound walleyes were everywhere, but the trademark Erie monsters were mostly absent. Bounty pro David Kolb caught three fish in the 9-pound class, one of which weighed 10 pounds even. His five-walleye total registered 37 pounds, 5 ounces.
Kolb won the 2003 Walleye Tour event on Lake Erie, but qualified for this year’s championship through the Michigan Division of the Walleye League. That tournament was held out of Port Clinton, Ohio, to the west, but Kolb is having no problem adjusting to Cleveland’s offering.
“We ran really hard to get to our spot,” said the pro leader. “We were boat No. 51 this morning, and we almost caught boat No. 2.”
Kolb said his speedy driving and close location enabled him to keep his baits in the water longer than his fellow competitors. It takes him only an hour to get his spot, which is located approximately 30 miles to the west. Kolb said he fished one area all day, catching somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 fish. He had a productive practice, but day one turned out better than expected.
“I was surprised to get them that big. I thought I would get 25 to 30 pounds. They were low in the water column to start, then later in the day they started coming up and became more active.”
Kolb caught seven fish in his first pass this morning. Then the bite slowed significantly for the next few hours. When the fish came up in the water column later in the day, the Ada, Mich., native knew it was feed time.
“I watch the graph. Whatever the graph tells me, that is what I’m going to do.”
Kolb wasn’t willing to reveal what specific bait he’s trolling. All he would allow is that he’s using planer boards, not Dipsy Divers, and the area he’s fishing is about 40 feet deep.
“I think I’ll be able to get 20 pounds tomorrow for sure. I can’t predict the big fish though.”
With a 6-pound lead, 20 pounds on day two would definitely place Kolb in the top 10. Weights are cleared after day two as the top 10 pros start day three from zero.
Gillman second
John Gillman, another renowned open-water troller, sits in second place with five Lake Erie pigs that weighed 31 pounds, 5 ounces. The Freeland, Mich., native is running the opposite direction as Kolb and is fishing in much deeper water.
“It was an awesome start,” he said. “We only lost one fish all day.”
Gillman is sharing a stretch of water 60 miles to the east with his practice partner Tom Keenan and Elyria, Ohio, native Jonathan Shoemaker. The area is clearly producing as Keenan is ninth and Shoemaker is 13th. The water there is about 70 feet deep, however, making it very difficult to keep fish alive. Shoemaker took a 2 1/2-pound penalty as he was unable to keep any of his fish alive.
Gillman admitted that he was pulling spinners with night crawlers. He caught only eight fish total, but they were the right size. Most of his strikes came in the 60-foot range. To get his baits that far down in the water column, he’s using bottom bouncers, in-line weights and snap weights.
“It took us and hour and half to get there and three hours to get back. I think we could have done even better if we would have had more time.”
In third place after opening day was Northfield, Minn., pro Ross Grothe. Fishing 35 miles to the west, Grothe caught five walleyes that weighed 30 pounds, 6 ounces. Included in that catch was a single fish that weighed 10 pounds, 8 ounces.
“I think I’m on the right fish,” Grothe said. “I’m just hoping they don’t move.”
Grothe won the 2006 qualifier on the Detroit River by jigging. In Cleveland, he’s fishing water 55 feet deep with crawler harnesses.
“I lost two big fish that could have really helped me. Hopefully, we’ll have another good day tomorrow and it won’t matter.”
Courts fourth, Vereeke fifth
Harris, Minn., pro Mark Courts ended the day in fifth place with five burly walleyes that weighed 29 pounds, 2 ounces, while Grand Rapids, Mich., native Jeff Vereeke finished out the top five with a stringer weighing 28-11.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 pros on day one on Lake Erie:
6th: Scott Fairbairn of Hager City, Wis., five walleyes, 28-8
7th: Dennis Lantzy of Warren, Mich., five walleyes, 26-11
8th: Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D., five walleyes, 25-11
9th: Tom Keenan of Hatley, Wis., five walleyes, 25-8
10th: Glenn Chenier of Gladstone, Mich., five walleyes, 24-4
Fallaw takes fourth Lake Erie lead
For whatever reason, day one on Lake Erie has always been good to co-angler Joseph Fallaw. In his last four Lake Erie events, Fallaw has led the Co-angler Division after the opening day. In 2005, he won the Walleye Tour qualifier held out of Port Clinton, Ohio.
This time around the Wonder Lake, Ill., native is on top of the food chain at the richest no-entry-fee championship in the history of professional walleye fishing. Fishing with Kolb Thursday, Fallaw caught 37 pounds, 5 ounces.
Kolb said Fallaw was extremely valuable in his boat. For one, Fallaw is a strong young man, which allowed Kolb to drive significantly faster than most pros. Secondly, he’s experienced on open-water bites, which meant Kolb and Fallaw could take turns reeling and netting fish.
His partner for day two is Vereeke, the current fifth-place pro, so things are looking good for the co-angler leader. Even so, Fallaw had the humble look of a veteran prepared for a four-day slugfest.
“You can’t win it on day one, but you sure can lose it,” he said.
Sessions second
Second place on the co-angler side went to Gary Sessions of Rapid City, S.D. Sessions caught five walleyes on day one that weighed 31 pounds, 5 ounces while fishing with Gillman.
“Gary caught the 10-pounder, and I caught the second-biggest fish,” Gillman said.
That 10-pounder was the biggest walleye Sessions has caught in his entire life.
“I think I’m the only co-angler who never cashed a check all year but still made the championship,” said Sessions, who finished 49th in the points race. “I came out here to get that check.”
Rest of the best
Co-angler of the Year Richard Ness of Ruthton, Minn., and Mike Zawistowski of Wonder Lake, Ill., finished Thursday in third and fourth place, respectively, with 30-6 and 29-2. Both fishermen caught five-walleye limits with their pro partners.
Nineteen-year-old Ryan Kelly of Ortonville, Minn., finished day one in fifth with five walleyes that weighed 28 pounds, 11 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers on day one on Lake Erie:
6th: Dennis Gullickson of Fergus Falls, Minn., five walleyes, 28-8
7th: Sally Blain of Hopkins, Mich., five walleyes, 26-11
8th: Sam Christoff of Clarkston, Mich., five walleyes, 25-11
9th: Keith Keivens of Toledo, Ohio, five walleyes, 25-8
10th: Patrick Bertelsen of Jackson, Minn., five walleyes, 24-4
Day two of the FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie begins as the field of 53 boats takes off from Voinovich Bicentennial Park, located at 800 E. Ninth St. in Cleveland, at 7:30 a.m. Eastern time Thursday for the final day of the opening round.