Pro Tommy Skarlis of Waukon, Iowa, reacts to his day-three partner Todd Dankert of Anoka, Minn., winning the co-angler title at the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the Missouri River. Photo by Patrick Baker. Angler: Tommy Skarlis.

September 24, 2011 • Curt Niedermier • Angler Columns

As a good championship should, this one continues to change. The Missouri River’s water level continues to drop, the temperature continues to climb and the fish continue to move. Virtually all the pros have changed tactics several times, at least slightly, since day one. Some are running 20 or more miles in each direction – in the same day – from the takeoff ramp. Those are the scramblers looking to reignite their bite. Some are staying put and refining their techniques in hopes of enticing a few more bites. Call them the grinders. Both groups are catching fish.

Today I got a good tour of the river while running down pros for Internet updates. You can follow these updates tomorrow at the Twitter tag name @otwcoverage. I even got an up-close look at a Missouri River sandbar. Don’t worry, we managed to get the boat loose without having to get wet.

I saw several fish that topped 26 inches, including two absolute tanks. Limits are common, but it’s going to take some heavy weights to catch Tommy Skarlis. Skarlis had a strong outing today. He went back to the deep community hole that has produced each day’s leader (Keith Kavajecz on day one and Skarlis on day two) and caught an early limit, then went fishing upstream to try and pick up a few more ounces or pounds. Chris Gilman, Dean Arnoldussen and Tom Keenan are applying some pressure. I didn’t catch up with a couple of other pros within reach of Skarlis, but weigh-in will tell their tale. Skarlis definitely needs to keep his foot on the gas if he wants to hold off the who’s who collection of pros in this event’s final rounds.

If you’ve never been to Bismarck and the Missouri River, you owe yourself the chance to see this wonderful countryside. Flooding has changed this river tremendously, purging it of many of its old contours, eating away some of the shoreline and dragging piles of timber into its flows. Those are the elements that make navigation tricky. The attractions are the views and the wildlife. Ducks, geese, hawks and pheasants call the area home, as do a variety of big game and, obviously, monster walleyes. It’s an outdoorsman’s paradise, and some of the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour’s biggest outdoorsmen are putting on a show.