Ryan’s buying

Lake View, Iowa, native hangs on for victory, clears $100,000 check

RED WING, Minn. – Before the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event on the Mississippi River began, veteran pros spoke relentlessly about the importance of consistency. After a four-day slugfest, their predictions rang true as Jeff Ryan’s three-day steadiness was too much for even the best walleye anglers in the world to overcome.

On day four, Ryan was only able to boat one walleye, weighing 6 pounds even, but it didn’t matter. Even though Ryan’s three-day tear ended, his four-day total weight of 87 pounds, 4 ounces earned him his first FLW Walleye Tour victory and a $100,000 payday.

Ryan credited his win, one of the most dominating performances in FLW Outdoors walleye-fishing history, to patience. Despite losing 80 to 100 rigs in a mess of branches and debris, he never gave up on his spot.

“The first day everything came on either night crawlers or leeches,” Ryan said. “On day two, three came on night crawlers and two came on willow cats. Yesterday and today, everything came on willow cats.”

Ryan slowly worked these baits with both three-way rigs and bottom bouncers. He fished a small stretch in the Vermillion River, just downstream from a railroad-track bridge in Pool 4. The Lake View, Iowa, pro said tons of fish gather just upstream to spawn, and he found a deep depression just below the bridge pilings where they rest as they filter downstream.

He trolled over this area meticulously, presenting his live bait with more of a vertical technique. While his weights were extraordinary, Ryan only caught 18 keepers over the course of four days.

“I caught two fish up in the Vermillion during practice that went 19 and 21 inches. I then decided I’d take my chances, hoping there wouldn’t be too many people in there. I didn’t realize there was that quality of fish.”

The second-year pro then reflected on his performance and said, “We put each and every bite we had in the boat. To be in this position is incredible.”

Allar boats five, finishes in second

Although it seemed nearly impossible, Scott Allar was the only pro who had a legitimate shot at catching Ryan. He ultimately came up short, but Allar gave a valiant effort, catching five walleyes that weighed 15 pounds, 14 ounces. Much like Ryan, Allar was a testament to consistency, bringing in five walleyes each day of the tournament.

“We caught five fish, and that’s exactly what we had to do today,” said the content pro.

Allar trolled a rocky shoreline in Pool 3 with No. 5 Shad Raps to trigger his bites. The technique netted him a total of 73 pounds, 6 ounces and a check for $42,000. After two events, the Welch, Minn., river rat leads the FLW Walleye Tour Angler of the Year points race.

McQuoid retains third

Kevin McQuoid held down the third spot among the pros with a weight of 17 pounds, 1 ounce. McQuoid, an Isle, Minn., resident, trolled Shad Raps with Berkley Fireline, posting a four-day total of 66 pounds, 2 ounces.

“We lost a horse, but we got its sister,” McQuoid said. “We didn’t get a lot of numbers, but we were on quality fish.”

His efforts earned him $25,000.

Riley finishes fourth

Finishing in fourth was Amery, Wis., native Todd Riley. Riley brought a combination of walleyes and saugers to the scale Saturday, weighing 19 pounds, 6 ounces, to bring his four-day total to 62 pounds, 4 ounces.

Riley’s fourth-place finish earned him $18,000.

Johnson fifth

Nick Johnson earned $13,000 and finished in fifth place with a four-day total weight of 60 pounds, 9 ounces. Johnson’s day-three catch of 20 pounds, 9 ounces stood as the largest sack of the day.

To trigger his bites, the Elmwood, Wis., pro employed a variety of tactics including casting jigs, pulling live bait and trolling leadcore.

“I got a little revenge on the walleyes for what they did to me yesterday,” said Johnson, who only boated one keeper Friday. “We had a really good day. We only lost one fish.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pro finalists at the FLW Walleye Tour event on the Mississippi River:

6th: Eric Olson of Red Wing, Minn., 59-5

7th: Jason Kerr of Holly, Mich., 56-14

8th: Steve Vande Mark of Linwood, Mich., 50-7

9th: Chuck Dube of Brooklyn Park, Minn., 47-2

10th: James Adsem of Shorewood, Minn., 46-6

With two of the four qualifying events completed, FLW Walleye Tour competition resumes June 7-10 on Devils Lake in Devils Lake, N.D.