Chilling on Cass
Third qualifier commences under wretched conditions
CASS LAKE, Minn. – The calendar may read June 11, but it feels like April in northern Minnesota. A wet, cold spring has gripped the northland for months and refuses to let go. As one local put it, “Summer sure as heck ain’t arrived yet.”
The third qualifier of the $2.49 million Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour season presented by Berkley began with temperatures in the mid-40s. The high temperature for opening day is supposed to reach a whopping 53 degrees. How far is the system behind schedule? Consider that on several local lakes the crappies are in the midst of the spawn, and most of the bass have yet to complete their annual ritual. This typically takes place around Memorial Day weekend, roughly three and a half weeks ago.
Making matters even worse is today’s forecast calling for sporadic showers and winds gusting up to 25 mph. Just as the weather isn’t behaving normally, neither are the walleyes. Typically, by mid-June the fish have moved to their summer haunts. That generally means midlake structure and depths of roughly 
20 feet. But with water temperatures in the upper 50s, most of the walleyes are still shallow in 10 feet or less.
The good news is that there are plenty of fish to go around. For most anglers, catching a five-walleye limit should not be a problem. There are healthy populations of 18- and 19-inch fish as well as healthy populations of 14- and 15-inch fish. Getting two fish over 20 inches will be difficult, but not nearly as difficult as it was on Lake Sharpe.
At the FLW Walleye League event held on Cass last Saturday, it took 15 pounds, 9 ounces for Brainerd angler Toby Kvalevog to take home the title. Look for someone to bust a similar bag at today’s weigh-in. And that bag might not come from Cass itself. Walleye Tour competitors are allowed to fish connecting Lake Andrusia, Big Wolf, Pike Bay and Kitchi Lake. In fact, several pros were seen cruising south under the Highway 2 Bridge toward Pike Bay shortly after takeoff.
Tournament logistics
Stony Point Resort in Cass Lake will host daily takeoffs each morning at 7 a.m. Saturday’s takeoff will start at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the Stony Point 
Resort beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 2025 Paul Bunyan Dr. N.W. in Bemidji, Minn., beginning at 4:30 p.m. The community is invited to attend daily takeoffs and weigh-ins, which are free and open to the public.
Pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day and fish for a combined boat weight. Pros compete against other pros, and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers. The full field competes during the three-day opening round for one of 10 final-round slots based on their three-day accumulated weight. Weights carry over to day four, with the winners determined by the heaviest four-day weight. In the Pro Division, the winner can take home up to $100,000 in cash if he or she is contingency qualified. The top co-angler prize is $20,000.
Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 150 points awarded to the winner, 149 to second, 148 for third, and so on. These points determine Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year standings. The top 50 pros and 50 co-anglers in the standings will advance to the $650,000 FLW Walleye Tour Championship in Bismarck, N.D., Sept. 24-27 for a shot at top awards of $150,000 and $20,000, respectively. The prestigious championship, hosted by the Bismarck-Mandan Convention and Visitors Bureau, will also feature boater and co-angler points champions from each of the four Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League divisions. The no-entry-fee FLW Walleye Tour Championship is the most lucrative event in professional walleye angling, with cash awards for the entire field.
Wednesday’s conditions
Sunrise: 5:22 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 46 degrees
Expected high temperature: 53 degrees
Water temperature: 56-60 degrees
Wind: E at 25 mph
Maximum humidity: 72 percent
Day’s outlook: showers and wind