Kolb breezes into final round
Field trimmed to top 10 pros, top 10 co-anglers
CLEVELAND – If round one of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship went to the anglers, then round two went to Mother Nature. Nasty 6- and 7-foot waves made long runs grueling, if not impossible. Day two on Lake Erie was a test of patience, a test of equipment and a test of determination. As bad as the conditions were, they were still no match for Bounty pro David Kolb.
Several anglers began their long runs only to turn back after experiencing the conditions firsthand. Eighteen pros zeroed Friday after the entire field weighed a fish on day one. But the zeroes weren’t indicative of the bite, but rather of the inability to reach the best fishing spots. The bite continues to be strong, as demonstrated by several bags in the 20-pound range.
Kolb caught the heaviest limit on the first day of competition and the heaviest limit on day two. Although he hardly needed most of it because weights are zeroed after the two-day opening round, the Ada, Mich., native caught five walleyes that weighed 31 pounds, 5 ounces.
The veteran pro has a long track record on Lake Erie, including an MWC victory in 2006 and a Walleye Tour win in 2003. Still, Cleveland is new to him.
“I’ve never fished out of Cleveland before, never fished passed Kellys Island before this tournament, but the same principles remain,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to get four really good bites. We had three yesterday and one today.”
While Kolb’s weights are eye popping, he said the 9-pound fish were not common during practice.
“I am catching so many 4-pound fish that 20 pounds really isn’t a problem. I think we had 22 or 23 pounds within 15 minutes today.”
The points champion in the Michigan Division of the Walleye League said it took him an hour and a half to get to his spot today. He says he’s fishing closer than most, which allows him to keep his baits in the water longer.
“I hope it’s rough again tomorrow. This rough water doesn’t bother me a bit.”
Kolb remains unwilling to reveal his bait of choice. Yesterday he said he was trolling with planer boards, not Dipsy Divers, and the area he’s fishing is about 40 feet deep.
“I’ve got some things I do that are more effective than what other guys do.”
Kjelden jumps to second
On the heels of a 25-pound, 11-ounce opening day, BFGoodrich Tires pro Dustin Kjelden caught 29 pounds, 12 ounces on day two to finish the opening round with 55 pounds, 7 ounces.
Although he calls Brookings, S.D., home, Kjelden is becoming quite comfortable with Great Lakes fishing.
“This is my third top-10 of the season and they’ve all been on Great Lakes,” said the 2005 Devils Lake champion.
Not only did Kjelden catch the second-heaviest stringer of the day, he also caught the biggest walleye of the tournament thus far – a 10-pound, 12-ounce hog caught on a spinner rig.
Kjelden caught that fish in 45 feet of water in an area located 42 miles to the west. It took him roughly three hours to get there and three hours to get back, leaving only two precious hours of fishing time.
“It’s a bigger school of fish. There are a lot of 24- and 25-inchers with a few hogs mixed in.”
Kjelden finished second at the season-opening Walleye Tour event held on the Detroit River and Lake Erie. Catching 24 pounds on day four, he thought he had his second Walleye Tour win wrapped up. He ultimately finished second and now he’s out for revenge.
“I’m on the right school of fish. I feel like I have a shot at winning this.”
Gillman third
After running 60 miles east on day one, John Gillman knew he needed to make an adjustment on day two. Choosing caution, he traveled 14 miles to the west to his small-fish backup spot. He had three fish in the boat at 1:30 p.m. and was unsure if it was going to be enough to send him to the final round.
After safely making it back, Gillman had a few extra minutes to try and scratch out a fish or two near the break wall. Literally minutes before check in he caught a 7-pounder and a 3-pounder. Those two fish anchored his 19-pound, 9-ounce limit and pushed his opening-round total to 50 pounds, 14 ounces.
“I like this pond and I like open-water trolling,” said the Freeland, Mich., native. “In practice, we fished close for this reason.”
Gillman caught his fish by pulling spinners. Two of his lines were rigged with planer boards and two were rigged with bouncers.
If the weather calms as predicted, he plans to return to his day-one honeyhole to the east.
“There is no one better than David Kolb out here. But there’s more big fish east than where he is.”
Lantzy fourth
Rising to fourth place was Warren, Mich., native Dennis Lantzy. After bringing in 26 pounds, 11 ounces on day one, Lantzy caught another five-walleye limit weighing 23 pounds, 1 ounce.
The Folgers pro practices with Kolb and the two fished together on day one. Although it sounds crazy, Lantzy left the pro leader on day two, instead choosing a location closer to Voinovich Bicentennial Park.
“We made a 10-mile northeast run,” he said. “We caught six fish and lost four. It’s a lot easier losing fish when you’ve already got five in the box.”
Lantzy said his backup spot is 60-feet deep but he’s presenting his spinners near the top of the water column.
“I think Dave’s going to win it. He’s got to be the best troller bar none, but I’m going to give him a run for his money.”
Grothe fifth
In fifth place was Ross Grothe, who boated an 18-pound, 6-ounce limit, one of only 21 limits weighed, bringing his two-day total to 48 pounds, 12 ounces.
Sharing water with his teammate Tommy Skarlis, Grothe ran an hour to the east. On day one, he went 35 miles to the west.
“I went to the backup plan and it worked,” said the Northfield, Minn., pro. “We took our time and said to ourselves that the fish aren’t biting until we get there.”
Grothe said it took some time to pinpoint where the fish had repositioned, but they caught nine walleyes total and made no mistakes.
“I knew fishing the Great Lakes this time of year we needed a backup plan.”
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 pros who will be fishing on day three on Lake Erie:
6th: Tommy Skarlis of Waukon, Iowa, 48-9
7th: Scott Fairbairn of Hager City, Wis., 44-10
8th: Jim Preissner of Hastings, Minn., 43-11
9th: Jason Kerr of Holly, Mich., 43-1
10th: Robert Crow of Paterson, Wash., 41-9
Nineteen-year-old leads co-anglers
Paired with 2005 Walleye Tour Championship winner Robert Lampman on day two, co-angler Ryan Kelly caught five walleyes that weighed 21 pounds, 7 ounces. After catching 28 pounds, 11 ounces on day one, Kelly now leads his division with a two-day total of 50 pounds, 2 ounces.
“Today was awesome,” said the Ortonville, Minn., native. “This is my first top-10 of my career.”
Kelly prefished for this event with pro Jeff Vereeke. He had difficulty landing fish during practice, so he spent most of his time today calling out bites and netting fish.
When he’s not chasing marble `eyes, Kelly is a marketing student at Ridgewater College in Willmar, Minn. Although he’s missing valuable class time, he’s getting a valuable walleye education from the best fishermen in the world.
“It was pretty cool fishing with a previous champion.”
Tomorrow it gets even cooler as Kelly, the No. 1 co-angler, is paired with Kolb, the No. 1 pro.
Second place for the co-anglers went to Wonder Lake, Ill., angler Mike Zawistowski. Partnering with Gillman on day two, Zawistowski caught a five-walleye limit Friday weighing 19 pounds, 9 ounces. After catching 29-2 yesterday, his two-day combined weight stands at 48 pounds, 11 ounces.
“I caught that 7-pounder with only a few minutes left,” he said. “It seems like I’m a last-second hero. I’ve done that four or five times this year. I popped a 5-pounder at Red Wing at the last second that earned both me and my pro checks.”
Co-angler Jerome Chwierut, the 2006 Walleye Tour Championship winner, is back in the hunt after catching 26 pounds, 9 ounces Friday. The Lake Villa, Ill., native’s opening-round total was 47 pounds, 8 ounces, good enough for third in his division.
Patrick Bertelsen of Jackson, Minn., claimed the fourth spot for the co-anglers with a combined weight of 47 pounds, 5 ounces.
Fifth place went to Chris Pluntz of Maple, Wis., for 46 pounds, 14 ounces. Pluntz caught 31-5 while fishing with Kolb on day two.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers who will fish on day three on Lake Erie:
6th: Darrell Martin of Forest Lake, Minn., 44-2
7th: Adam Adler of Oconto Falls, Wis., 44-1
8th: Nate Brunz of Madison Lake, Minn., 43-11
9th: Sally Blain of Hopkins, Mich., 43-1
10th: Dewey Watson of Twin Falls, Idaho, 42-15
Day three of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship begins as the top 10 pro and top 10 co-anglers take off from Voinovich Bicentennial Park, located at 800 E. Ninth St. in Cleveland, at 7:30 a.m. Eastern time Saturday. Weights are cleared for the final round, with the winning pro determined by the heaviest two-day total weight from tomorrow and Sunday. The co-angler champion will be crowned Saturday based on the day’s heaviest catch.