Vande Mark vaults to the top

Przekurat, Gilman virtually deadlocked in AOY race

ESCANABA, Mich. – Periodic rainfall made the fishing even tougher on day two of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event on Bays de Noc. The wind was supposed to die down too, but that never happened. Instead, the heartiest of walleye anglers made their 30, 50 and even 75-mile one-way trips in 5- and 6-foot waves.

Only 175 walleyes were caught by a field of 150 of the best pros in the world. And to think everyone considered yesterday slow when 251 walleyes were caught. To put the tough bite in perspective, pro Paul DeVoss was second after day one with 20 pounds, 1 ounce. DeVoss failed to catch a single fish Thursday yet only fell to 20th place.

The action wasn’t slow in Steve Vande Mark’s boat. The Linwood, Mich., pro caught only three walleyes, but they weighed 17 pounds, 13 ounces, giving him a two-day total of 36 pounds, 8 ounces and nearly a 3-pound lead. He actually caught four walleyes on the day, but anglers are only allowed to keep two walleyes over 23 inches. That fourth fish measured 23 1/2 inches, another heartbreaking “over.” Yesterday, Vande Mark thought he had the perfect slot fish. When he first laid it down, it measured exactly 23 inches. After several more attempts, he decided to throw it back.

“It was maybe 23 inches and a hair,” the pro leader said yesterday.

Had those fish been just a bit shorter, its very possible Vande Mark could be sitting at the halfway point of the tournament with a 10-pound lead.

“Yesterday they were all slots, today they were all pigs,” said Vande Mark, who caught a limit of five walleyes on day one. “Everybody pretty much respected us and left us alone, which I’m really thankful for.

“Obviously, the bite is really tough right now with the bug hatches and alewife spawn. I’m going to go back to the same area again tomorrow and just grind it out. If those slot fish come back in there, I’ll be all set.”

Vande Mark said that all his fish came in two separate 20-minute windows. In between was a patience-testing three-hour dry spell. Vande Mark is running 80 miles roundtrip but said that he’s fishing in Michigan waters. He prefers the Michigan side because he is allowed to cull. Within those waters he has two shallow spots and two deep spots. The two shallow spots are weed beds. Vande Mark said he’s targeting fish on the edge of the weeds and deep structure breaks.

He’s using one specific type and color of blade, but he wasn’t willing to reveal it yet. He said he’s trolling his crawler harnesses very slowly.

Przekurat moves up to second

Just when you thought the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year race couldn’t get any closer, BP pro Jason Przekurat goes out in a tough bite and catches five walleyes weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces. Yesterday the 2003 AOY was in ninth place and Chris Gilman was in first. Today Przekurat demonstrated remarkable consistency and moved up to second place. By doing so he also brought himself into a virtual deadlock with Gilman in the AOY race. Gilman, the day-one leader, had a productive day himself, but still fell to fifth place in the tournament. Gilman entered the Bays de Noc event with a 4-point lead.

“I can only control what happens in my boat,” said Przekurat, the Stevens Point, Wis., pro. “Last year I was in second coming into the final tournament and I worried more about what other people were doing. This year I’m only worried about putting five fish in the boat.”

Although it sounds unbelievable, Przekurat is making a 150-mile run roundtrip to Green Bay. The voyage was so rough today that he lost his 9.9 horsepower kicker en route this morning. Without a kicker engine, he was left to troll with his Minn Kota engine-mounted trolling motor. He presented his spinners at 1.5 to 1.8 mph. That’s significant because typical trolling speeds are around 1 to 1.3 mph. Because he is wetting his lines in Wisconsin, he is not allowed to cull.

“The first five fish we catch go in the box and then we’re out of there. I’ve only fished 3 1/2 hours in the past two days.”

Despite the $100,000 first-place purse, Przekurat said he would rather win AOY than win the tournament – the same sentiment Gilman has publicly stated.

Byle third

Pro Pat Byle caught the heaviest five-walleye limit of the day and moved up from 15th place to third place. His tournament creel weighed 18 pounds, 2 ounces. Although Byle is surrounded on the leaderboard by Przekurat and Troy Morris, he’s not fishing near them. For the last few seasons, Byle has been practicing with Przekurat and Morris among others, but he has joined a different team this season.

Regardless of who he works with, Byle continues to catch fish on the Great Lakes. He finished sixth on Lake Erie in 2003 and third on Green Bay in 2000. Heading into the final day of the opening round, the Colgate, Wis., pro has a combined weight of 33 pounds, 6 ounces.

Morris fourth

Rising to fourth place was Morris, the veteran pro from Bismarck, N.D. After bringing in 15 pounds, 5 ounces on day one, Morris managed five walleyes that weighed 18 pounds on day two, giving him a combined weight of 33 pounds, 5 ounces.

Morris fished the exact same water with the exact same presentation as Przekurat. Specifically, he’s trolling at 1.5 to 1.8 mph in 14 feet of water. His baits are running in the middle of the water column, meaning they’re sitting at approximately 7 feet. Known on tour as one the fastest if not craziest drivers, Morris has no problem running 2 hours each way in 5- and 6-foot waves to get to his fish.

“The top two motor bolts busted off on my main engine and my kicker broke too,” he said. “But it was worth it.”

Morris arrived at his area shortly after 9 a.m. He had his first fish in the boat at 9:15 and was done by 11 a.m.

“We’re there for the slot fish. We’re going down there looking for 15 to 18 pounds a day. I want to make the top 10. That’s my goal. I’ve already made the championship. I’ve made a top 10 every year and I want to make one this year.”

Gilman falls to fifth

Falling four spots to fifth was Gilman, who caught three walleyes on day two that weighed 11 pounds, 6 ounces. Gilman’s three fish gave him a two-day total of 31 pounds, 9 ounces and unofficially put him in a tie for the AOY race.

“The real story is that Jason Przekurat just won’t let up,” said the humble pro from Chisago City, Minn. “The guy is amazing.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros on day two at Bays de Noc:

6th: Thomas Nordyke of Newport, Mich., 29-4

7th: Tom Keenan of Hatley, Wis., 26-1

8th: Jason Kerr of Holly, Mich., 25-5

9th: Ted Takasaki of East Gull Lake, Minn., 24-2

10th: Kelly Klemm of Beardsley, Minn., 24-1

McLaughlin, Fetzik tied up in Co-angler Division

Trent McLaughlin of Hays, Kansas, and Jim Fetzik of Pengilly, Minn., are tied for the lead in the Co-angler Division with a two-day weight of 29 pounds, 1 ounce.

“I’m really happy to be where I am,” said Fetzik, who finished ninth last year on Devils Lake. “We had a few problems this morning but we survived. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. I’d like to have a limit but I will be happy with what I get.”

Watch out for McLaughlin tomorrow as he is partnered with second-place pro Przekurat. In his first Walleye Tour event, McLaughlin will be thrown in the middle of a hotly contested points race.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers on day two at Bays de Noc:

3rd: James Plummer of Fairborn, Ohio, 27-4

4th: John Hammond of New Berlin, Wis., 26-14

5th: Stephen Smithberger of Union, Ill., 26-13

Day three of FLW Walleye Tour competition on Bays de Noc begins as the full field of 150 boats takes off from Escanaba Harbor at 7 a.m. Eastern time Friday for the final day of the opening round.