Quick Bites: FLW Walleye Tour Championship, Day 1
Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour
Lake Erie, Cleveland
Opening round, Thursday
Fish food … Though the FLW Walleye Tour is strictly a catch-and-release circuit, sometimes local regulations dictate otherwise. Such is the case on Lake Erie in Ohio, where the Department of Natural Resources “uses tournament scenarios to collect and study data” about the walleye population, said Tournament Director Sonny Reynolds. DNR officials have told Reynolds they are able to exponentially speed up their data-collection process by harvesting tournament catches. That didn’t save several anglers from suffering dead-fish penalties today after pulling walleyes from tremendous depths and then hauling them great distances on a bumpy ride – rules are rules. But there’s an upside. “The fish are processed immediately … and then we take that resource and put it back into the community,” Reynolds said of offering the fillets to local charities and organizations like food pantries, the VA Hospital and assisted-living centers, to name just a few.
Happy chef … One co-angler looked to be a perfect candidate to also make the best of the mandatory-harvest situation. Dale Janota of Gillette, Wyo., crossed the weigh-in stage today, fully outfitted in FLW Outdoors-styled chef’s garb. Reynolds said the staff customized the smock and iconic hat for him after they learned he’d sauteed his way to a top-10 in a worldwide cooking competition. His specialty dish? Walleye, of course – Cajun style. If the culinary artist can catch ’em as well as he cooks ’em, Janota can look forward to another gift from FLW Outdoors: a fat check.
O father, where art thou? … Milford, Mich., pro Jeff Seyka looked a little dazed when he first crossed the stage today, but weighmaster Kevin Hunt had a good idea why. Hunt asked if it was difficult being on tour without his traveling companion and Walleye Tour co-angling dad, Kenneth Seyka of Dewitt, Mich. “He’s not here with me right now, so it’s tough getting around,” Seyka said of his prefishing partner and de facto travel agent (the elder Seyka makes all the arrangements for road tripping but just missed qualifying for the championship). “I checked in to the hotel at 3 this morning, and I was on the water before 8, so I’m not getting around very well at all.” Though he felt a little lost in Cleveland on day one, Seyka had no problem finding enough walleyes to finish the day in 19th place.
Leaguer leads … The Walleye Tour Championship has a new twist this year: The boater and co-angler points champs from each of the three Walleye League divisions are, well, competing in the big leagues this week in Cleveland. For touring pro David Kolb of Ada, Mich., there could be no greater serendipity at this moment. Despite $111,300 in earnings over six years on the Walleye Tour (though he only fished a full schedule the last two), Kolb has never qualified for the championship via the tour, including this year, when he was poised to be a shoo-in until stumbling at the final qualifying event on Bays de Noc. But his No. 1 standing in the Michigan Division of the Walleye League landed him a berth this year, and he’s clearly not wasting it. Kolb crushed the competition today with a 37-pound, 5-ounce sack, giving him a 6-pound lead over second place and another No. 1 standing – at least until tomorrow.
Quick numbers
0: Number of pro and co-angler boat teams – 53 total – that failed to weigh a walleye Thursday.
32: Number of five-fish limits to cross the stage.
10 1/2: Pound weight of the monster ‘eye brought in by third-place pro Ross Grothe and co-angler Richard Ness today.
30.4: Approximate percentage of Grothe and Ness’ total weight attributable to the brute.
1,000: Worth of the 10 1/2-pounder, in dollars, if it should remain the heaviest walleye weighed in the opening round and earn the Snickers Big Walleye award.
Sound bites
“We actually have two of the biggest fish I caught all week and two of the smallest I caught all week, so it’s kind of a wash.”
– Seyka, describing the four fish that made up his and co-angler Terry Seidl‘s 19-15 sack.
“We had a sheepshead come up on us and almost give us a heart attack.”
– Pro Scott Steil, echoing the sentiments of more than a few anglers who had to shake off members of the species to keep lines available for walleyes.
“It’s great to be under the bright lights on the third day, because it means you’re making a lot of money.”
– Pro Tom Keenan, the Walleye Tour’s third-greatest moneymaker, when asked on day one about what it feels like to be on the championship stage yet again.