Wind blows down weights on Detroit River
Struif makes the rough ride back to extend day-one lead
TRENTON, Mich. – When the wind blows in these parts – namely, the Detroit River, the St. Clair River, and lakes Erie and St. Clair – it creates a few more problems than just having your cap blown in the water or your hair messed up. No, when the wind blows around here, you’re looking at potential 8-foot swells and torn-up equipment.
So it was on day two of EverStart Series Northern Division competition on the Detroit River, as angler after angler crossed the stage bemoaning the rough waters they had to navigate just to make it back on time. Stories were told of boat and motor pieces snapping off and water crashing over the bow, and the numbers suffered – competitors brought in almost 600 pounds less than they did yesterday.
The anglers took off this morning with the sun rising in the sky and storms forecasted for the afternoon. But at least in Trenton, it was raining by 10 a.m. and very windy by noon, with the sun eventually coming back out in time for weigh-in. To say it was rocky out there on the big water today would be an understatement.
Still leading the pack after two days of competition is day-one leader Eric Struif of Lake Villa, Ill., who brought in 19 pounds, 6 ounces today despite claiming he wasn’t getting the big bites. Struif, too, suffered from the rough conditions, saying he felt certain he wouldn’t make it back to the weigh-in site, but he did – with an interesting story to boot.
“Yesterday I caught a 5 1/2-pound fish, and in my excitement I dropped my rod over the edge of the boat,” Struif said. “Today, after two hours of fishing that same spot, I thought I had a fish on, and here comes this rod tip. It was my rod.”
Making the story even more unbelievable is that Struif cleaned the rod off and went on to catch four of his five-bass limit on that rod.
“I had mixed emotions,” he said. “I was glad to see my rod, but I thought it was a fish.”
Struif’s two-day total of 42 pounds put him at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the day, and he will go out in boat No. 1 tomorrow, when weights for the top 10 finalists are cleared to zero. Though he had a terrible day, boat-navigation-wise, Struif says he’ll brave the swells tomorrow to go back to the sweet spot he shared with at least four other competitors, none of whom made the cut.
“The wind was terrible,” he said. “The fish weren’t biting as well, and we weren’t catching the big ones. The ride back was probably the worst experience I’ve ever had, but I’ll go back again tomorrow. They were still catching them when I left.”
Struif says he guesses the swells were 8-footers. “They were whitecaps,” he said. “If (the weather) stays the same, I’ll have a hard time getting out there, but the odds are against it being that bad (twice).”
He’s been catching all his bass on a tube, not an uncommon bait around here for sure, but his method is a little different than what he tends to use.
“Normally I drop-shot, but I haven’t caught a fish on a drop-shot in days,” he said.
Struif was the runner-up at the July Northern Division event held on this same fishery.
Goodman good enough for second
Yesterday’s No. 5 pro Patrick Goodman of White Pigeon moved up a few slots to end the opening round in the No. 2 position with a two-day total of 41 pounds, 2 ounces. He caught 21-4 yesterday and followed that up with 19-14 today to earn his fourth FLW Outdoors Detroit River top-10 finish.
Goodman, whose front pole seat snapped off in the wind, fished the same area he fished yesterday – a spot he wasn’t quite sure could hold up.
“It was really rough,” he said. “I went back to the same rock pile, and thank goodness it still had them. Both my co-anglers got good sacks, so now I’m even more worried if they’re still there.”
If they are, Goodman should be in good shape, as he had his limit by 10 this morning. Goodman says he’s catching his bass on tubes.
Wellman jumps to third
Jenison pro Nate Wellman caught 18 pounds, 2 ounces of bass today to bump his two-day total to 38-14, good for third. This is his first EverStart top-10 appearance, and he too got here the hard way.
“My motor about fell off,” he said. “The only thing holding it on is the trim.”
Wellman says he made it about 2 miles out this morning before the incident occurred, and luckily for him, his co-angler partner, Clayton Reitz, had a boat they could use.
“It was made before I was born,” Wellman joked. “It was an old-school Ranger, but it made it to Pelee Islands.”
Wellman only fished about an hour and a half today before quitting while he was ahead. That was probably a good decision no matter what, though, since he says it took him two hours and 45 minutes to make the return trip.
“It’s a brand-new spot I found in practice,” he said. “I could have had 20 pounds today. I’ve got a good chance to win.”
Wellman, 22, is catching his bass on a goby and says his spot can easily continue to produce as long as he can make it all the way there.
Moleski, Ferguson advance to finals from top five
Finishing the opening round in fourth place is Thomas Moleski of Elkhart, Ind. Moleski caught 20-14 on day one and brought in another 17-9 today – a four-bass total – to bring his two-day weight to 38-7.
Landing in fifth is St. Clair Shores pro Art Ferguson, who started the tournament with a day-one catch of 20-13 and followed that up today with 17 pounds for a two-day total of 37 pounds, 13 ounces.
“I went to St. Clair, and in shallow areas there were 5-footers – that’s unusual for that area,” Ferguson said. “I’m running around because the wind is affecting stuff – it changes the current.”
Best of the rest
Rounding out the top 10 pros who will advance to Friday and Saturday’s competition on the Detroit River:
6th: Mark Dowd of Westland, 10 bass, 37-6
7th: Joe Balog of Harrison Township, 10 bass, 36-5
8th: David Reault of Livonia, 10 bass, 35-3
9th: Kevin Vida of Clare, 10 bass, 35-1
10th: Tony DeFilippo of Lake Ann, 10 bass, 34-15
Eight of the final 10 pros are Michigan residents.
Ameling leads Co-angler Division
Taking first on the co-angler side is Fremont, Ind., angler Dwight Ameling, no stranger to the top 10. Ameling improved his day-one catch by more than 4 pounds for a two-day total of 32 pounds, 13 ounces.
“The first thing we had to do was survive the boat ride out there,” said Ameling, who fished from the back of Goodman’s boat on day two. “We hit one spot, and I caught six keepers.”
Ameling caught his bass today on tubes and Poor Boy gobies.
Neves slides into second
Nick Neves of Jerome is enjoying his first EverStart top-10 thanks to a two-day total catch of 30 pounds, 10 ounces.
“It was different today – we fished the Detroit River, and yesterday I fished Lake St. Clair,” Neves said. “My big fish came on a tube at the mouth of Lake Erie.”
His biggest one weighed in at 4 pounds, 2 ounces.
Best of the rest
Ryan Hopping of Lake St. Louis, Mo., ended the opening round as the No. 3 co-angler with a two-day catch of 29 pounds, 12 ounces. Behind him in fourth is yesterday’s leader James Richardson Sr., who stumbled today with 6 pounds, 3 ounces but was strong enough on day one to bring his two-day total to 27 pounds, 4 ounces. Mike Lawrence of Toledo, Ohio, ended the day in fifth with a two-day catch weighing 26 pounds, 8 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers who will fish tomorrow and Saturday on the Detroit River:
6th: Andrew Bray of Clinton Township, nine bass, 25-9
7th: Jeff Harris of Grand Blanc, seven bass, 25-7
8th: Craig Brannon of Crooksville, Ohio, eight bass, 24-1
9th: Mark Myers of Minneapolis, nine bass, 24-0
10th: Neil Heiden of Blissfield, 10 bass, 24-0
Harris caught the day’s only 20-pound-plus stringer – quite a contrast to yesterday’s tally of 14 – and jumped 72 spots up the leaderboard, from 79th to 7th.
Competition continues tomorrow for the top 10 pros and co-anglers, who will start over at zero and compete for two days, with the winners determined by the heaviest two-day weights. Friday’s takeoff begins at 7:30 a.m. from Elizabeth Park, located at 200 Grosse Ile Parkway in Trenton.