Is the first time a charm?
Tour rookie hopes to hang in top 10 at Leech Lake
WALKER, Minn. – The top 10 on the leaderboard heading into day two of the Walmart FLW Walleye Tour tournament on Leech Lake reads like a who’s who of professional walleye fishing. Among others you’ll find Tom Keenan, Rick Olson, Ted Takasaki, Chris Gilman and Michael Kirkland.
Wait a minute. Michael Kirkland?
Yes, there’s a rookie knocking on the door in his first major walleye tournament. You might not recognize Kirkland’s name if you don’t follow the FLW Walleye League, but pros in the know definitely do. Count among them Eric Olson, Jason Przekurat and Joe Whitten, tour veterans who convinced Kirkland, a six-year league angler, to give the tour a try.
“They told me I should come up and play with them this weekend,” said Kirkland, who’s in eighth place starting day two with 13 pounds, 5 ounces, which is 6 pounds, 10 ounces off Tom Keenan’s leading weight of 19 pounds, 15 ounces.
Kirkland hails from Welch, Minn., an hour’s drive south of the Twin Cities and 14 miles west of Red Wing. In that part of the state, the Mississippi River is where walleye pros learn their trade, and Kirkland is no exception. Though the river is home water, Leech isn’t strange water to the tour rookie. Twenty years ago Kirkland fished here with his parents, not to mention last weekend in a league event, and he’s found a key similarity between southern Minnesota walleyes and northern Minnesota walleyes.
“Fish are fish,” he said.
A simple philosophy that has served him well so far. He said it feels great to be in the top 10 to begin day two.
“I really didn’t expect to be in the top 10,” said Kirkland, who placed 15th at the Walleye League event here last weekend. “I just wanted to make a good showing. I’m going out there today and work my program and hopefully stay up there.”
Kirkland started prefishing two weeks ago and has discovered three go-to patterns. He said his favorite technique is live-bait rigging, so that’s a good indication of what he’s doing right now. Originally a backtroller, Kirkland made the switch to a wheel boat several years ago and found that his live-bait rigging didn’t suffer the transition.
On day one Kirkland and his partner, Rory Jensen of Madison Lake, Minn., weighed three fish under 18 inches and two over 26 inches. Those two fish measured 26 1/2 and 27 1/2 inches, and the fact that he weighed two overs and is in eighth place gives you some indication of what it will take to win this tournament.
Kirkland’s spots aren’t getting pounded by others. He said he saw just a few other tournament boats yesterday.
“Being the new kid on the block, I hope they don’t recognize me until Saturday night,” he said.
Clearing skies and a wind switch Wednesday sent several pros for a loop. Today it could be even more challenging, as takeoff took place under cloudless skies and with the barometer on the rise. But Kirkland isn’t concerned.
“We went through 40 to 50 fish yesterday,” he said. “I don’t worry about the weather. I’m just going fishing. I’ll let them tell me where they’re at and what they want.”
And when they do, Kirkland will be there to deliver.
Day two’s weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. at Walker City Park.
Thursday’s weather
Temperature at takeoff: 45 degrees
Sky: sunny
Wind: W at 2 mph
Barometric pressure: 29.99 inches and rising
Forecast: sunny with a high temperature of 66 degrees
Sunrise: 5:22 a.m.