Takasaki treks to the top

Gilman claims final spot in top 10

BISMARCK, N.D. – The theme on day two of the Walmart FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the Missouri River was revenge. After struggling on day one, big sticks Todd Riley and Tommy “Hollywood” Skarlis staged incredible comebacks on day two. After catching only 9 pounds, 6 ounces Wednesday, Riley sacked a 24-pound stringer to finish the opening round in second place.

While Riley and Skarlis used massive stringers to make the top-10 cutoff, Ted Takasaki used consistency. After catching 17-11 on day one, Takasaki caught 16-11 on day two to lead the Pro Division with 34-6. Takasaki caught his fish in the right order on day one and was done fishing by 11:30 a.m. Today things were slightly slower, but he had achieved his weight by noon.

“I’m excited, I just love coming to Bismarck-Mandan,” said the East Gull Lake, Minn., native. “It’s a great start, but it all goes to zero tomorrow. That and we’re supposed to get some serious wind tomorrow. Where I’m fishing, it’s a real sharp break and a north wind will make it difficult. If I stray, I’m either hung up or I’m too deep.”

Takasaki estimates 65 percent of his fish have come from trolling Bomber 24As and Wally Divers. The other 35 percent are coming while jigging Lindy Techni-glo Max Gap jigs with both minnows and night crawlers.

With high winds in the forecast for tomorrow, Takasaki expects lighter weights across the board.

“My trolling pattern is a spot-on-the-spot deal. On one side is deep water, and the other side is all timber and trees.”

Success in Bismarck is nothing new to the owner of the Lindy Tackle company. In 1998, he won the PWT Championship on the Missouri River. Tomorrow, he heads out as the first of 10 boats, although everyone starts on equal footing.

“I only wanted 13 pounds today, but the big fish jumped on the hook.”

Riley surges to second

After catching three saugers and two walleyes, Riley finished the opening day in 38th place. After sacking 24 pounds today, he moved up 36 places to second.

“I was supposed to have done this yesterday,” said the Amery, Wis., pro. “Believe it or not, I had the bites. Yesterday nothing went right, and today nothing went wrong.”

Riley achieved the heaviest stringer of the tournament thus far on only six bites. He lost one, and the other five went into his Ranger livewell.

“The cold front settled, and they bit bitter.”

When asked how far he was from the North Dakota-South Dakota border, Riley responded with a question of his own: “How far can you spit?”

Although the veteran pro is known as a jigger, he’s adjusted because the bite has left him no choice.

“I had to troll. I love fishing the river because I love to jig, but unfortunately there’s just not good fish elsewhere.”

As for his lures, Riley said he is using crankbaits from four different manufacturers, and all of them are shad-body in style.

Skarlis up to third

Up until Riley dropped his 24-pound bag on the scale, Skarlis was the talk of day two. His 19-pound, 3-ounce limit is currently the second-heaviest of the tournament.

“I did my milk run today just like I did yesterday,” said the Waukon, Iowa, pro, who finished the opening round with 32 pounds, 1 ounce. “My first spot was dry, and the second spot yielded a 19 1/2-incher. I then decided to spend the rest of the day on my third spot, which is my shallow-water spot.”

Skarlis estimates he handled 20 fish on the day, although they came in the wrong order. His 5-pound, 5-ounce kicker bit at 12:30 and was his last fish of the day. As for presentations, Skarlis is both jigging and cranking.

“I am doing both, but I’m catching a ton on the Techni-glo jigs. And I’m just using 8-pound Trilene XL monofilament.”

Skarlis said when the sun is out he fishes in 5 to 8 feet of water, and when the skies are overcast he moves deeper.

“The area I’m fishing – they like it when I drag the bait up and down the break from 5 to 13 feet.”

Like Takasaki, Skarlis has a ton of experience on this fishery. He’s competed in seven PWT Championships and has spent over 100 days navigating the treacherous river.

King falls to fourth

After finishing day one in second place, Claremont, Minn., pro Brett King fell to fourth. Catching a 13-pound, 10-ounce limit Thursday, King finished the opening round with 31 pounds, 9 ounces. Although his weight fell off a bit, King was ecstatic to have made his first Walleye Tour top-10 cut at the championship.

“It was a typical day of tournament fishing,” he said. “It was stressful. We caught a 24-incher at 9:30 a.m., and then we didn’t get another fish until 1:30 p.m. I wanted to lean over and throw up, but you’ve just got to keep moving. When you get on them, they will bite.”

King’s best five consisted of one sauger and four walleyes. He had three saugers among his five weigh fish at one point, but was able to find two better walleyes late in the day.

“We came back up from down south with two nice walleyes and a few saugers. Then we fished 10 miles south of the launch and were able to improve with two nice walleyes.”

All of his King’s fish came on crankbaits. On three of his lines, he uses an unspecified Rapala crankbait, and he experiments with the fourth line.

“We’re trolling in anywhere from 8 to 24 feet. The better fish are coming in a 21- to 24-foot stretch of deeper water.”

Grothe fifth



In fifth place was Ross Grothe of Northfield, Minn., who brought in five walleyes on day two that weighed 15 pounds, 1 ounce and pushed his total weight to 30 pounds, 11 ounces. A teammate of Skarlis’, Grothe is sharing water and is presumably using the same techniques as the third-place pro.

“Each and every tournament day I set goals and standards for myself,” said Grothe, who won the 2006 Walleye Tour qualifier on the Detroit River. “So far, I’ve achieved them.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros after day two on the Missouri River:

6th: Joe Okada of Fitchburg, Wis., 30-0

7th: Todd Frank of Pulaski, N.Y., 28-5

8th: Robert Blosser of Poynette, Wis., 28-1

9th: Tom Keenan of Hatley, Wis., 28-0

10th: Chris Gilman of Chisago City, Minn., 27-15

Wherry takes co-angler lead

Dick Wherry of Milbank, S.D., leads the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 10 walleyes weighing 38 pounds, 5 ounces. He caught five walleyes weighing 14-5 Wednesday while fishing with pro Tom Brunz of Madison Lake, Minn., then added another five walleyes weighing 24 pounds today while fishing with Riley.

“I am in shock right now,” said Wherry, who made his first Walleye Tour top-10 cut today. “I have been very fortunate to fish with really good pros that allowed me to get where I am.”

Tomorrow the co-angler leader will hop in the boat with Takasaki. Because Lake Oahe is his home water, his experience will likely be a valuable asset to the leading pro.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers after day two on the Missouri River:

2nd: Terry Etzkorn of Pierre, S.D., two-day total of 31-0

3rd: David Anderson of Sauk Rapids, Minn., 30-15

4th: Cal Van Cleve of Wilmot, S.D., 28-4

5th: Del Ringling of Valley, Neb., 28-1

6th: Fred Gordon of Willmar, Minn., 27-14

7th: Patrick Bertelsen of Jackson, Minn., 27-2

8th: Nate Brunz of Madison Lake, Minn., 27-0

8th: Boyd Strissel of Billings, Mont., 27-0

10th: Scott Woodward of Glendive, Mont., 26-12

Day three of the FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the Missouri River begins as the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers field take off from MacLean Bottoms at 7:30 a.m. Central time Friday for the first day of the final round. The winning co-angler will be determined tomorrow and the pro winner will be determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.