Familiar names, newcomers square off in finale

Final showdown promises big fish

PORT CLINTON, Ohio – A mix of the old and the new hit the water this morning for the final round of the 2009 Walmart FLW Walleye Tour season opener on Lake Erie.

Among the “old” are familiar names such as Ted Takasaki, Perry Good and Ross Grothe. Among the “new” are relative unknowns such as Pat Byle, Scott Schiefelbein and Rick McLaughlin. We have past champions and guys looking for their first win, but all had in common this week an ability to quickly find big Lake Eerie walleyes when the tournament started Thursday after a one-day weather delay.

Leading the pack is Byle of Colgate, Wis., with 64 pounds, 3 ounces; he has a 3-pound, 9-ounce lead over second-place Rick Franklin of Bemidji, Minn. Six other anglers – Takasaki, Schiefelbein, Good, McLaughlin, John Gillman and Steve Vandemark – are within 10 pounds of Byle. On Lake Erie, 10 pounds can be made up with one fish, so Byle’s lead is hardly safe.

Everyone will be pulling crankbaits or spinners. But at least one pro will run both at the same time, which In some angling circles is said to be counterproductive. Not according to McLaughlin, who said the technique has its advantages. He runs crankbaits on his outside planer boards and spinners on the inside boards. He sets all four lines at depths ranging from 10 to 30 feet, and when a fish hits one of the rigs, he switches the others to that depth, swings his boat around and makes another pass through the school.

“Normally I like to troll at about 1.5 to 2.5 miles per hour,” said McLaughlin, who placed fifth at an FLW tournament on Devils Lake two years ago. “But the other day I slowed down to 1.1 and -boom! – fish on. I think they’re lethargic, and that slower wobbling Reef Runner really worked.”

McLaughlin landed a walleye weighing 11 pounds, 9 ounces yesterday. One or two like that today and you might see him hoisting a cardboard check over his head onstage at Walmart in Port Clinton.

Another angler who’s a threat to hoist that check is Gillman, who also plans to work spinners today. He said he knows that most guys are pulling crankbaits, but that he’s always had more confidence in spinners.

“I pulled cranks here in the past and learned a lesson,” said Gillman, who placed fifth at the FLW Walleye Tour Championship on Lake Erie in 2007. “Every cut I’ve ever made has been on a spinner bite.”

Gillman said spinner rigs allow him to target small schools of walleyes more effectively because he can spin his boat around quickly and stay on the fish without fouling his lines.

“I don’t know where cranks are running,” he said. “But I do know where spinners run.”

Gillman and all the other pro expect a good bite today, as the weather has cooperated again with sunny skies and a high temperature expected to reach 72 degrees.

“It’ll be awesome today,” Gillman said. “I have to gain 10 pounds and that will be tough, but if there was ever a day to do it, it’s today.”

Leading the co-anglers is Kenny Henexson of Thornton, Colo., with 65 pounds, 13 ounces. Eleven ounces behind is Kris Klingmann of Novelty, Ohio. Bruce Frevert of Centerville, Iowa, Keith Nagel of Juneau, Wis., Dave Holte of Rapid City, S.D., and Marty Barski of Crystal Lake, Ill., are all within 10 pounds of Henexson.

Weigh-in today begins at 4 p.m. at Walmart in Port Clinton. The event is free and open to the public.

Today’s weather

Temperature at takeoff: 45 degrees

Sky: clear

Barometric pressure: 30.17 inches and steady

Forecast: partly cloudy with a high of 72; west winds at 10-15 mph