Hollywood in Bismarck
Skarlis takes day-three lead at FLW Walleye Tour Championship
BISMARCK, N.D. – Aside from great hunting and fishing, North Dakota may be best known for its relentless winds. After receiving a reprieve the first two days of the Walmart FLW Walleye Tour Championship, the anglers took a beating Friday courtesy of a strong prairie northeasterly.
Just as he said it would, the blustery weather had negative effect on Ted Takasaki’s presentation. While Takasaki struggled with his trolling program, Tommy Skarlis jigged and rigged his way to the day-three lead.
The always jovial Skarlis was pumped after placing his 15-pound, 13-ounce limit on the scale.
“This is what you live for,” said the four-time PWT winner. “This is what dreams are made of.”
Shortly after the day-three weigh-in, Skarlis told the media that he is tired, sunburned and hungry. He is confident in his area, his presentation and his equipment – he just needs to continue to focus mentally in order to take home the $150,000 title.
“I’ve got to go out and have fun. I’ve got to fish tomorrow like nobody is watching and keep pressing.”
As far as his presentation, the former PWT Angler of the Year is jigging and rigging. His jigs are Lindy Techni-glo jigs but he wouldn’t divulge what type of live bait he is using with them. He would allow that he using Trilene XL monofilament line and that he dips his bait in Berkley Gulp juice for added scent.
With one rod he jigs and with his second rod he dead-sticks a Lindy Rig. He presents his baits in anywhere from 5-13 feet of water as he works up and down the break. It’s also no secret that he is sharing a 200-yard stretch of river located 40 miles south of MacLean Bottoms with his friend and teammate Ross Grothe.
“Ross is like a brother to me. I want him to win as much as I want to win. When we came in first and third in Detroit (in 2006) that was special. I think there is enough fish for both of us too. This spot keeps loading up.”
Although Skarlis is a household name in professional walleye fishing, he has never won an FLW Walleye Tour event. With no co-anglers tomorrow, the 10 finalists are on their own and will be allowed only two lines in the water compared to the four they were allowed the first three days.
“This will define a career. I want to win this for my sponsors. I want to win this to reward them for having faith in me.”
Grothe rises to second
While the trolling bite died in the wind, the jigs and rigs were consistent. Not surprisingly, Grothe finished the day in second place with 14 pounds, 3 ounces. He will start the final day of competition 1 pound and 10 ounces behind his roommate.
“Things were a little more challenging today but we got the right fish,” Grothe said. “I’m fired up for tomorrow.”
While Skarlis caught 20 walleyes on the day, Grothe caught only seven from the same area with the same techniques. Both anglers said those numbers were simply a matter of who put their baits in front of active fish first.
“We found this area on the second day of practice. We caught some pretty good fish there and decided to stay off of it until the tournament.”
Blosser third
Fresh off a 14th-place finish at the FLW Walleye League Finals on the Mississippi River in Winona, Minn., Robert Blosser is enjoying his second consecutive successful championship. After finishing the opening round of the Walleye Tour Championship in eighth place, Blosser moved up to third courtesy of a 14-pound, 1-ounce limit.
“In these multi-day tournaments consistency is key,” said the Poynette, Wis., pro. “Consistency is what I’m shooting for. I doubt 14 pounds tomorrow would win it for me but you never know. Some bigger fish are moving up the river and I’m not in the river. I’m trolling down south and I have been for the last five days.”
Frank up to fourth
Climbing three spots into fourth place was Pulaski, N.Y., pro Todd Frank. This is Frank’s first appearance in the championship since the 2003 season. After bringing in 28 pounds, 5 ounces during the opening round, the veteran pro caught five fish that weighed 12 pounds, 15 ounces on day three.
“We got really decent 19-inchers but no kickers,” said Frank who is trolling crankbaits with Berkley Fireline Crystal. “The fish that I’m on I’ve pretty much got to myself. On a good day it will give you 14-15 pounds.”
Gilman fifth
Three-time PWT winner Chris Gilman of Chisago City, Minn., managed five walleyes Friday that weighed 12 pounds, 2 ounces. Gilman is catching his fish by trolling Shad Raps around brush.
“We pretty much put a hurting on them this morning,” he said. “We never got a big one but we spent three or four hours looking for one. In a system like this the big ones aren’t usually with the little ones. We had no problem finding the little ones but the big one eluded us.”
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 pros after day three on the Missouri River:
6th: Ted Takasaki of East Gull Lake, Minn., five walleyes, 12-1
7th: Tom Keenan of Hatley, Wis., five walleyes, 10-14
8th: Joe Okada of Fitchburg, Wis., three walleyes, 8-12
9th: Todd Riley of Amery, Wis., five walleyes, 7-11
10th: Brett King of Claremont, Minn., three walleyes, 7-6
The final day of the FLW Walleye Tour Championship begins as the top 10 pros take off from MacLean Bottoms, located just off Highway 1804, at 7:30 a.m. Central time Saturday. Weights are cleared for the final round, with the winning pro determined by the heaviest two-day total weight from Friday and Saturday.