Meravy sticks to his guns for win No. 1

Shorewood, Ill., walleye pro tops Kjelden at wild final weigh-in

TRENTON, Mich. – On the final day of the season-opening Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event, the water in the Detroit River unexpectedly cleared up and the wind finally calmed, transforming a scratch-and-claw tournament into an all-out shootout. Pro Mark Meravy stuck to his guns and parlayed his “secret jigs” into a 24-pound, 8-ounce limit en route to his first Walleye Tour win.

Meravy knew Lady Luck was on his side Saturday morning when there was approximately 2 feet of visibility in his primary area.

“I could see the bottom of my trolling motor,” gasped Meravy, as if it was a shocking revelation. “We were very surprised that the water cleared up as fast as it did. Believe me: We were really happy to see that.”

The cleaner water enabled the Shorewood, Ill., native to successfully return to his program from the first three days. That program consisted of jigging both plastics and minnows around the Trenton, Mich., channel in approximately 12 to 16 feet of water.

Typically an angler would be more precise about his location at the conclusion of a tournament, but Meravy has a Master’s Walleye Circuit event on this very same body of water next week.

He would go into detail about his secret jigs, however. The key was a 3 1/2-inch Skinny Bear Shad Eye – a bass bait similar to a drop-shot worm. The plastic creature closely resembled a minnow and was greenish yellow in color. The jig also had a tiny blade attached to it, providing a little extra vibration and shine. Meravy jigged his two rods with solely the plastic Shad Eyes on them. His co-angler would then jig two rods tipped with shiners. He did this so that he could focus on boat control yet still keep a varied offering in the water.

The result was 10 keepers on the day, his five best going nearly 25 pounds. Meravy finished the tournament with a whopping four-day total of 76 pounds, 6 ounces.

“I’ll tell you what, when I saw that 24 pounds flash on the scale, it was a great feeling.”

At that point Meravy knew he had defeated Dustin Kjelden in nail-biting fashion. A veteran of professional walleye fishing for over 10 years, he described the moment as the greatest in his career. Meravy said the wait for a win was a long one, but the feeling made his journey worthwhile.

“It means a lot because I’ve worked so hard over the years. It’s very rewarding. Fishing is a tough game – all of the effort doesn’t pay off all of the time.”

Even with a huge purse hanging in the balance, Meravy demonstrated incredible integrity. After barely getting a giant fish into the boat, the pro winner wasn’t 100-percent sure if he had foul-hooked the fish or landed it in a sporting manner. The jig had popped out of the walleye’s mouth right when his co-angler went to net it. Honest as they come, Meravy refused to put the fish into the box until he reviewed the footage on his camera man’s tape – indeed the fish was hooked on the inside of the mouth. Check out all the action when FSN airs tape-delayed TV coverage of the event May 13.

For sticking to his guns and executing with the tournament on the line, Meravy earned a first-place check for $60,000.

Kjelden settles for second

Kjelden looked like he was well on his way to his second FLW Walleye Tour win. He was the most consistent angler of the tournament, bringing in a double-digit limit each of the four days of competition. Unfortunately, on a trophy fishery such as the Detroit River, consistency isn’t as important as kickers.

The Brookings, S.D., native had a brilliant plan for the final day, and it nearly worked to perfection. After getting a limit early by polelining, he would run to Lake Erie and fish for big bites.

The plan was going well as he boated a small limit near Trenton with ease. He then went to the lake and upgraded each of those five fish. As good as it was, it could have been even better.

“We had numerous fish on that would have won this baby,” he said. “So yeah, I’m a little disappointed.”

Those Lake Erie monsters bit a Rapala Husky Jerk trolled 20 feet back. The best colors were in the orange scheme; firetiger was one in particular that he mentioned as being extremely effective.

At takeoff this morning, Kjelden spoke about what win No. 2 would mean to his career.

“Anyone can stumble on one, but to win two, you’ve proven yourself a little more as a force to be reckoned with.”

Although he didn’t win, everyone in the walleye world recognizes the young BFGoodrich Tires pro as a force to be reckoned with.

Kjelden’s day-four weight was 23 pounds, 13 ounces, which pushed his tournament total to 74 pounds, 11 ounces. His consolation was a second-place check worth $40,000.

“The money will be nice. I promised my daughter I’d take her to Wal-Mart and get her a trampoline when we got home.”

Fairbairn makes a move, finishes third

Scott Fairbairn caught the heaviest sack of the day and moved up from fifth to third place with a weight of 25 pounds, 14 ounces. The Hager City, Wis., pro got on an unbelievable jig bite near downtown Detroit, only a few miles north of Joe Louis arena.

“I had every intention of doing that handlining thing again today, but then I found clearer water up the river – the fish could just see the bait coming, and then they’d slam it,” Fairbairn explained. We used 3/8-ounce Northland jigs tipped with plastic ringworms on braided line. Pink was our best color.”

Yesterday, Fairbairn had to adapt to the changing conditions and go handlining, something he almost never does – and hates to do. Had he switched to handlining on day two, he could have possibly made a run at the title, but he waited too long. Despite registering a final weight of 68 pounds, 6 ounces, Fairbairn only caught two fish Thursday.

“Day two just killed me. I was stubborn on day two. I should have started handlining earlier. When I’m handlining, I really don’t know what I’m doing. It’s difficult to put something down that you have so much confidence in, like jigging.”

His efforts earned him $18,000 and third place among a field of 150 professionals.

Gilman fourth

Finishing in fourth place was Chisago City, Minn., native Chris Gilman. Gilman caught five walleyes Saturday weighing 17-5, bringing his four-day total to 59 pounds, 13 ounces. Today, he targeted channel edges by pulling wire with No. 7 and No. 9 floating Rapalas.

The pro’s fourth-place finish earned him $13,000.

“We really did have a great day,” said Gilman. “The water is really cleaning up, and we got our limit right away.”

McComsey fifth

Fort Pierre, S.D., pro Gerrick McComsey earned $9,000 and finished in fifth place with a four-day total weight of 57 pounds, 2 ounces. On Saturday, McComsey managed a limit that weighed 17 pounds, 9 ounces – which moved him up from ninth to fifth. He credited his success to versatility and being able to adapt to the changing water clarity.

Rest of the best

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

6th: Joshua Vanderweide of Jenison, Mich., four-day total of 56-2, $8,900

7th: Ken Schoenecker of Nabob, Wis., 56-2, $6,000 (Vanderweide owns tiebreaker)

8th: Dean Kaminski of Columbia Heights, Minn., 54-3, $10,000

9th: Erik Furseth of East Lansing, Mich., 53-9, $9,500

10th: Brian Warner of Charlevoix, Mich., 52-5, $7,100

FLW Walleye Tour competition resumes May 2-5 on the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minn.