Dean of Detroit
Weights skyrocket on day two of Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour season opener; tight leaderboard emerges
TRENTON, Mich. – While many FLW Walleye Tour anglers brought 10- and 11- pound walleyes to the scale, the star of the show Thursday was the fishery itself. After a fussy day one, the Detroit River churned out 439 walleyes on day two that weighed over 1,325 pounds. Nearly 33 pounds of that total came from veteran pro Dean Arnoldussen. The Appleton, Wis., native was one of several anglers who took advantage of aggressive females and made a huge leap up the leaderboard.
Despite only catching 7 pounds, 12 ounces on day one, Arnoldussen completed his quick ascension to the top spot with a staggering five-walleye limit that weighed 32 pounds, 9 ounces.
“We pulled into a spot at about 10:30 this morning and had our three biggest fish in 15 minutes,” Arnoldussen said.
Those three fish alone weighed over 24 pounds and consisted of a 7-pounder, an 8-pounder and a 10-pounder. Arnoldussen’s co-angler, Jason Schull, brought in two of their fish, including the 10-pound kicker. The two were working Fireball jigs tipped with minnows. When they first arrived at their magic spot, nobody else was there. Within 20 minutes, Arnoldussen reported seeing at least eight boats.
“We found the spot in practice and really had some nice fish, but then the water dirtied up. Yesterday, you couldn’t see your jig 2 inches below the water. Today, it was clean.”
Arnoldussen added, “I’m worried about people finding me and moving in. Unfortunately, that’s fishing.”
To wrap up an eventful day, Arnoldussen and his partner moved just below the bridge and popped a 25-incher with about a half an hour left.
“You have to be at the right place at the right time. If I can get 10 to 15 pounds tomorrow, I think I’d make the cut.”
Kjelden climbs to second
Dustin Kjelden is one pro who has made a niche for himself by intensely following changing conditions. Despite a very successful day one, Kjelden completely changed both his location and his tactics on day two.
“These fish are constantly moving; you really can’t get too attached to them,” the Brookings, S.D., pro said.
The strange part about Kjelden’s success is that he claims to have his water basically to himself. In a tournament where boats are bunched up by the dozen, Kjelden has pulled a Shinichi Fukae-like maneuver on the rest of the field.
“I didn’t have anything in the boat at 12:30 p.m., but then we started to figure some things out. I’m real optimistic, I want at least 20 pounds tomorrow, but we’ll see.”
Tactically speaking, Kjelden said he was jigging precise locations, or what he termed “a spot on a spot.” After day two, his total weight is 39 pounds, 2 ounces.
Morris remains third
In a day of constant movement, pro Troy Morris was about the only thing that stood still. The Bismarck, N.D., pro improved his catch on day two with four walleyes that weighed 21 pounds, 8 ounces giving him a combined weight of 37 pounds, 10 ounces.
“We jigged in the morning in about 18 feet of water and then went handlining later in the day,” Morris said. “There’s probably more fish being caught jigging, but the bigger fish are coming from handlines. Today, because of the bright conditions, we used darker-colored crankbaits.”
Hollywood shines bright in fourth
Rising to fourth place was Dorchester, Iowa, resident Tommy Skarlis. Playfully nicknamed Hollywood, Skarlis has an impressive track record on this fishery.
“Three of my four wins have come on this system,” Skarlis said. “The tournaments I’ve won, I’ve always come from behind to win.”
After bringing in 14 pounds, 2 ounces on day one, Skarlis improved his catch to five walleyes that weighed 23 pounds, 2 ounces on day two, giving him a combined weight of 37 pounds, 4 ounces.
Steil fifth
Scott Steil of Richmond, Minn., quietly moved up to the fifth spot with a 20-pound, 12-ounce limit that gave him a two-day total of 32 pounds, 9 ounces.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 pros on day two on the Detroit River:
6th: Patrick Byle of Colgate, Wis., 32-9
7th: Dennis Lantzy of Warren, Mich., 31-8
8th: Jason Przekurat of Stevens Point, Wis., 31-6
9th: Nate Provost of Gulliver, Mich., 31-0
10th: Paul Fallaw of McHenry, Ill., 30-8
Towle takes co-angler lead
Co-angler Julie Towle had another successful day on the Detroit River, catching five walleyes that weighed 31 pounds even. Towlie partnered with Nate Provost on day two, and the pair successfully landed fish after fish.
“Nate was great; he’s very organized, and he’s fun to fish with,” said the Glencoe, Minn., native.
Towle, who is fishing in her first FLW Walleye Tour event, caught two of the team’s five walleyes by both jigging and handlining.
“He did a great job of teaching. I would recommend this to anyone out there who likes to fish.”
Coming in second for the co-anglers was Jason Shull of Wonder Lake, Ill. Shull partnered with Arnoldussen on day two and caught five walleyes that weighed 32 pounds, 9 ounces to push his two-day total to 34 pounds, 13 ounces.
Co-angler Tim Cigany of Cleveland caught five walleyes that weighed 31 pounds, 6 ounces and rose to third place with a two-day combined weight of 34 pounds, 1 ounce.
“We tried for big fish all day,” Cigany said. “Jason was very organized, had great boat control, and knew where to go and what to use.”
Dean Kaminski of Columbia Heights, Minn., claimed the fourth spot for the co-anglers with a two-day combined weight of 33 pounds, 6 ounces.
Fifth place went to Jack Adams of Bucyrus, Ohio, for 32 pounds, 6 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers on day two on the Detroit River:
6th: Joe Bencze of Bellriver, Ontario, 32-3
7th: Robert Lidtke of Superior Township, Mich., 30-14
8th: Jim Milewsky of Bondurant, Iowa, 30-6
9th: Darrell Diskey of Mount Zion, Ill., 29-1
10th: Brent Gilmore of Saint Clair, Mich., 28-13
Day three of FLW Walleye Tour competition on the Detroit River begins as the field of 150 boats takes off from Elizabeth Park Marina at 7 a.m. Eastern time Friday for the final day of the opening round.