Crankbaits are king on Lake Winnebago
Every pro in today's top 10 has used cranks to catch some of his fish
OSHKOSH, Wis. — Crankbaits, crawler harnesses and the occasional jig have been the best baits at the 2009 Walmart FLW Walleye Tour tournament on Lake Winnebago.
Every angler in the today’s top 10 has used some variation of that theme to pull between 39 pounds, 10 ounces and 32 pounds, 5 ounces, the weights at the top and bottom of the leader board. It’s been a wild, whacky tournament. The leaders are where they are because they’ve been versatile enough to make changes on the fly and target fish in a variety of depths and cover.
Who will bring the biggest bag to the scales today? That will be determined beginning at 4 p.m. at
Pioneer Point Marina in Oshkosh. Here’s a look at how each of the top 10 pros is approaching day four.
Tom Hoinacki, first with 39 pounds, 10 ounces
The Waupun, Wis. pro, fishing in his second FLW Tour event, is targeting shallow water breaklines and reefs with crawler harnesses. He pulls the harnesses behind split-shot sinkers as slow as the wind lets him go, occasionally correcting the drift with his kicker motor.
“I’ve been moving a lot,” Hoinacki said. “Each of my spots has produced only a fish or two.”
Brad Davis, second with 37 pounds, 15 ounces
The Jackson, Wis. pro has pulled crankbaits 10 feet down over depths ranging from 14-18 feet.
“If that doesn’t work I’ll go to spinner harnesses and work the same areas,” said Davis, who’s making his first appearance in the top 10. “With no wind today it might be a little different, but I’m geared for everything.”
Kevin McQuoid, third with 36 pounds, 10 ounces
McQuoid will cast No. 5 Shad Raps for about three hours on the shorelines, then head for the mid-lake mud flats and troll crankbaits in hopes of catching some bigger fish. Yesterday his starting point for keepers was 17 inches. Today it’s 18 inches.
“I’ve got a shot,” said the Isle, Minn. pro. “I’m on good, consistent fish. But the top guys will have to falter a bit for me to win.”
Jimmy Hughes, fourth with 35 pounds, 1 ounce
Double-jointed Shad Raps have been Hughes’ best baits. He said with in strong winds and dirty water they’re easier to manage than spinners. He said his only goal is to bring five fish to the scales, and since he’s been catching only 6-8 fish per day, he’ll keep 14 inchers if those are the first two fish he catches.
“I don’t feel intimidated,” the Oshkosh, Wis. pro said about making his first tour-level top 10. “It’s me against the fish, not me against these other guys. If I can weigh five fish today I’ll have done what I needed to do.”
Chris Gilman, fifth with 34 pounds, 14 ounces
The reigning FLW Walleye Tour Angler of the Year said that since winning the title Friday all pressure is off.
“That was a big deal for me,” Gilman said. “Today I’m just going fishing. I’m so satisfied right now it really wouldn’t matter if we catch a fish or not.”
Gilman has used a mixed game plan to bag his fish. He’s fished weed beds with jigs, but his biggest fish have come on No. 5 Shad Raps in water less than 12 feet deep.
“I’m not getting enough numbers to gamble really hard,” said the Chisago City, Minn. pro. “We’ll put two in the box right away, even if they’re 15 inchers. But on my second cast yesterday I got a 23 incher, so hopefully it’ll be that kind of day again.”
Rick Olson, sixth with 34 pounds, 10 ounces
The Mina, S.D. pro has won two Angler of the Year titles on major circuits, has 41 career top 10s, including here and at the last FLW Tour stop at Leech Lake, but hasn’t won a tournament in 14 years.
“It’s about time again, isn’t it?” Olson said as he prepared to launch this morning.
Olson has used different tactics every day. On day one he caught his weigh fish in 18 feet and on day two they came from 3 feet. Friday his best fish came from 14-15 feet deep. The one constant has been crankbaits.
“I change ’em up until I figure something out,” he said.
Olson caught a 28-incher on day one, which is among the biggest walleyes caught in this tournament. He knows he will need similar success today.
“I’ll need a load to have a chance to win,” he said. “But the worse I can do is 10th so why not go for it?”
Bill Shimota, seventh with 33 pounds, 12 ounces
The Lonsdale, Minn. pro has probably used more tactics to put fish in the boat than anybody else in the top 10. He’s caught fish by casting crankbaits over structure in the mornings, by trolling with leadcore and hand-lining in the river in the afternoons, and by pitching jigs and leeches on shallow shoreline weeds at various times of day. He said he has 15 rods rigged and ready.
“At times there are 10 of them laying on the deck, so it’s kind of a mess,” Shimota said. “But this has been one of those tournaments where you have to be versatile and fast and go through as many fish as you can.”
He said his plan today is to put as many 18- and 19-inch fish in the box as he can and hopefully get a bigger bite or two.
“It’ll be tough to make up 6 pounds,” Shimota said, “but this bite is so awkward, it’s here one day and gone the next, so anybody could win this.”
Pat Neu, eighth with 33 pounds, 2 ounces
It’s been three years since Neu made the top 10 in an FLW Tour event.
“I’m way too competitive to have that happen,” said the Forestville, Wis. pro. I’ve been in position to make top 10s in other tournaments, but it just didn’t pan out.”
Neu has trolled crankbaits as deep as 14 feet, which is deeper than most of the field is fishing. But when the wind made the water too muddy on his best spots he resorted to fishing memories.
“I went to the east shore to spots where I’d fished in other tournaments,” he said. “I got some nice fish in 5 feet with Mad-eye Shads and Wally Divers. My trolling runs have never been more than a 400 yards at a stretch. I’ll cover six spots today. The locals will be out big time, so I might not be able to troll as much as I’d like.”
Brian Deffner, ninth with 32 pounds, 14 ounces
On day one Deffner caught his best fish pulling spinners behind planer boards over shallow weeds on the south end of lake. He runs his spinners 20 feet behind the boards with splitshot weights to get them at the right depth. But unlike Neu, who saw his bite fizz when the water got too dirty, Deffner had his bite die when the water got too clear.
“They got too spooky,” he explained. “For the last two days I’ve been scrounging. I know enough spots. We’ll start in the weeds this morning and if that fails we’ll go to plans B, C and as far as we have to go.”
Deffner has fished in numerous league events but is making his first appearance in a tour level top 10.
“I feel fortunate to be here,” said the Eland, Wis. pro. “I unfortunately have a full time job so I do the league events when I can. When I heard the tour was coming here I said, `Let’s go play for awhile.’ ”
Bobby Crow, 10th with 32 pounds, 5 ounces
This long-distance pro from Paterson, Wash. said he knows he has a lot of weight to make up, but he’s on good fish and will shoot for a 15 pound box. His best tactic has been to cast No.5 perch-colored Shad Raps on Fireline over shallow weed beds. He said early in the day the fish have been shallow as 3-5 feet and that later in the day they’ve been in 7-8 feet.
Today’s weigh-in begins at 4 p.m. at Pioneer Point Marina. The event will be preceded by a family fishing clinic at 3 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.