In search of finals berth

Full field of 51 boats fishing for FLW Walleye Tour Championship top-10 on Oahe

PIERRE, S.D. – Thursday morning’s 7:30 takeoff marked the beginning of the end for most of the 102 anglers competing in the 2006 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Oahe. Only the top 10 competitors in both the Pro Division and the Co-angler Division will survive today’s cut to fish in the final round, which will end Saturday with the crowning of a pro champion, while the co-angler champion will be determined at Friday’s weigh-in.

The best walleye anglers in the world emerged to compete in this championship after a whirlwind tour of the Upper Midwest in 2006. From the urban backdrop of Michigan’s Detroit River to the flow of the Mighty Mississippi in Minnesota to the high waters of North Dakota’s Devils Lake to the expanse of Green Bay in Wisconsin: Ultimately the road led to Lake Oahe – a reservoir along the Missouri River in Pierre, S.D., where the sport’s most skilled anglers are in the hunt for big `eyes and even bigger money. The top pro can win as much as $150,000, the top co-angler can earn $22,000, and everyone will leave with a check of some sort.

You can bet today’s competition to close out the opening round will be even more fierce than that seen on day one, when Brookings, S.D., pro Dustin Kjelden and local co-angling ace Flo Swank set the championship pace by whacking a five-fish limit weighing 19 pounds, 13 ounces. The leaders outdistanced the No. 2 team by more than 2 pounds, and weights fell off to just under 13 pounds to mark the bottom of the top 10. However, competitors and locals have landed autumn lunkers on this big reservoir pushing the 10-pound mark, and 7- to 8-pounders aren’t uncommon, so it’s still anybody’s championship to win.

Stick to your guns

Manitowoc, Wis., pro Jerry Ruffolo zeroed on day one, but he wasn’t letting that dampen his competitive spirit as the final day of the two-day opening round commenced Thursday. In fact, like many anglers crossing the weigh-in stage on day one, he said his pattern and location – the latter an area 57 miles upstream and heavily populated by competing boats – had produced well in practice, but had little to offer Wednesday.

However, many pros agreed that it is the nature of Oahe walleyes to be on the move, so much of the field will likely return to their day-one spots whether they were hot or not. If the wind blows at 15 to 25 mph later in the day as predicted, the 50- to 90-mile runs being made by many could dramatically cut down on fishing time.

“I’m going right back to the same spot I went yesterday,” Ruffolo said. “These fish are highly nomadic. Pinning them down is very difficult.”

The walleyes are currently relating to pods of shad and smelt, he said, so a majority of anglers are pulling crankbaits to attract a bite.

Logistics

Pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day and fish for a combined boat weight. Pros compete against other pros, and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers. The full field competes during the two-day opening round for one of 10 final-round slots based on their two-day accumulated weight.

Weights are cleared for the final round, with the winning pro determined by the heaviest two-day total weight from days three and four. The co-angler winner is determined on day three based on the weight of that day’s catch.

Spring Creek Resort, located off Highway 1804 north of Pierre, will host daily takeoffs at 7:30 a.m. Daily weigh-ins starting at 4:30 p.m. will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1730 N. Garfield Ave. in Pierre. The community is invited to attend takeoffs and weigh-ins as well as the Family Fun Zone, which opens at 3 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday outside the weigh-in tent at Wal-Mart. The Family Fun Zone features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family.

On the Web

For walleye-fishing fans unable to attend the festivities in person, you can catch all the weigh-in action live at FLWOutdoors.com with FLW Live. Show time starts at 4:30 p.m. Central today.

Thursday’s conditions

Sunrise: 7:44 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 44 degrees

Expected high temperature: 70 degrees

Water temperature at the ramp: 59 degrees

Wind: SE at 9 mph

Maximum humidity: 87 percent

Day’s outlook: partly cloudy with SE winds from 15 to 25 mph