Bluebird day on Erie

Saturday’s finale promises to be pigfest

TRENTON, Mich. – The top of the leaderboard is extremely tight at the season-opening FLW Walleye Tour event on the Detroit River/Lake Erie. Leading the tournament is Richard Fike with 70 pounds, 9 ounces. Eight ounces behind him is David Kolb with 70-1. But truth be told, any of the top 10 pros have a chance to claim victory.

The female walleyes have been in the biting mood all week long. And today the anglers will get a rare reprieve from the wretched conditions – at least for the first half of the day. The forecast is calling for clear skies and calm southwest winds of only 5-10 mph. However, the wind will increase substantially in the afternoon and could hit 25 mph by check-in time. With ideal conditions early, a 40-pound sack is a real possibility.

Fike isn’t looking to hit a home run; instead he’s aiming for consistency. He weighed 36-6 on day one and 34-3 yesterday. Ideally, he’d like to be somewhere within those two amounts today.

“I’d like to stay in the mid-30s,” he said. “I’m looking for 35 pounds as my goal weight. I know more is possible but 35 seems to be a pretty good day on Erie.”

While Fike is trolling spinners with crawlers in the lake, the man chasing him once again plans to jig the river. Kolb said that a local MWT event was also launching this morning and he thinks more of those competitors will opt for the lake.

“I think I’m going to stay (in the river),” he said. “I know there are plenty of big fish here and I’m expecting more boat traffic out on the lake.”

The final weigh-in, which promises to be a big-fish parade, will take place today at 3 p.m. Eastern time at Elizabeth Park Marina located at 200 Grosse Ile Parkway in Trenton. Prior to weigh-in there will be a free family fishing clinic, beginning at 1:30 p.m.

The winner in both the Pro Division and Co-angler Division is determined by the heaviest three-day weight.

Saturday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 7:00 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 31 degrees

Expected high temperature: 63 degrees

Water temperature: 46-52 degrees

Wind: SSW at 16 mph

Maximum humidity: 52 percent

Day’s outlook: sunny