Power outage
Lampman leads after quiet day on the Mississippi
MOLINE, Ill. – Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship anglers saw more of the same from finicky river walleyes as they scratched and clawed for action on day three at the Mississippi River. Not a single angler from the field of 10 boats registered a five-fish limit as blustery winds further diminished an already tough bite.
Pro Robert Lampman of De Soto, Wis., made the most of the new format that clears weights after the opening round, moving up from ninth place to first courtesy of two sizeable walleyes weighing a collective 10 pounds, 8 ounces.
Despite Lampman’s success with the high winds Friday, he hopes for calmer conditions Saturday.
“Tomorrow I’m going to do the same plan,” Lampman said. “We got to our spot today and it had waves that were three feet high. We then found a nice, calm spot, and I’ll be darn if the fish weren’t there, too. Hopefully, the wind will cut down so I can fish my better spots first.”
Like several others finalists, Lampman is working a live-bait presentation, similar to a Lindy Rig, over various wing dams. He’s concentrating nearly all of his fishing in Pool 14 and said the rising water only helps his presentation.
“The water has come up and so has the current,” he said. “The current concentrates the fish over the rocks. It was evident today that the troll bite died.”
Kehl climbs to second
Shannon Kehl had an excellent day by most anglers’ standards, yet the Menoken, N.D., pro seemed slightly disappointed.
“It seemed like they were letting out a lot more water,” he explained. “We pulled three fish in the first hour and I thought it was going to get a lot better.”
Kehl continues to share his water with fellow pro Rick Olson. While Olson struggled, Kehl boated four walleyes that weighed 9 pounds, 4 ounces, leaving him only 1 pound, 4 ounces behind Lampman.
“I’m going back there tomorrow and I’m going to live or die there,” Kehl said. “If I can get five, I’ll have a chance.”
Goligowski third
Pro Kevin Goligowski of Maplewood, Minn., improved his catch on day three and moved up to third place. Goligowski boated three walleyes weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces by employing a run-and-gun strategy.
“I bet I went to over 15 spots today,” he said. “More often than not, when I leave a spot and later come back to it, you can pick up a fish or two.”
Goligowski said he used a combination of presentations thus far, including trolling with leadcore line and pitching crankbaits.
“Tomorrow I need to hook every fish I have on.”
Fluekiger fourth
Falling two spots into fourth place was Alma, Wis., native Jarrad Fluekiger.
After bringing in 17 pounds, 11 ounces during the opening round, Fluekiger only managed two fish that weighed 3 pounds, 1 ounce on day three.
Stier fifth
Dan Stier of Pierre, S.D., also struggled on day three managing a single walleye that weighed 1 pound, 15 ounces. Demonstrating the difficulty of the bite, Stier still finished the day in fifth place.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 pros on day three on the Mississippi River:
6th: Rick Olson of Mina, S.D., one walleye, 1-9
7th: Jeff Ryan of Lake View, Iowa, zero walleyes, 0-0
8th: Carl Grunwaldt of Green Bay, Wis., zero walleyes, 0-0
9th: Ross Grothe of Northfield, Minn., zero walleyes, 0-0
10th: Aaron McQuoid of Isle, Minn., zero walleyes, 0-0
The final day of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship begins as the top 10 pros take off from Sunset Park at 7 a.m. Central time Saturday. Weights are cleared for the final round, with the winning pro determined by the heaviest two-day total weight from Friday and Saturday.