Bluebird blues
Unfavorable walleye weather greets top 10 on final day
WALKER, Minn. – For those vacationing in northern Minnesota, the weekend forecast looks perfect with abundant sunshine and just a slight breeze. But for the 10 remaining National Guard FLW Walleye Tour pros, the weather is anything but ideal. It’s no secret that Leech Lake is a wind-driven fishery and without it, the final day of competition could be a struggle.
That’s particularly true for third-place pro Mark Courts. The Harris, Minn., native is fishing a shallow flat (5 to 8 feet) where the shiners are spawn between rocks. It’s so shallow and clear that Courts can see the balls of baitfish activity, not with his graph but with his eyes. Sitting just outside these shiners on the edge of dirty water are the walleyes. Because these fish are gorging themselves on protein-rich shiners, they come to the scale fat and healthy.
But without cloud cover or wind, the walleyes might be too shy to come eat. Courts isn’t pleased with 
the conditions but still plans to start in the area and give it at least an hour. If that doesn’t work, he’ll run around to other spots.
Fellow National Guard pro Bill Shimota also fishes shallows, but only for his slot fish. He’s primarily focused on getting overs today, but he definitely thinks the slots will prove tougher.
“I’m planning on fishing for overs for four or five hours today,” said the Lonsdale, Minn., native. “I want to upgrade pounds, not ounces.”
Pro leader Kevin Carstensen is confident in his shallow-water spot.
“This spot is a rock bar-sand transition and it’s produced in conditions like this before,” he explained. “But I’m a little nervous about the big fish. These walleyes come in waves so it becomes a game of how long I want to wait for the bigger wave to show up.”
The final weigh-in will be held at Northern Lights Casino located at 6800 Y Frontage Road NW in Walker 
beginning at 4 p.m. Prior to weigh-in there will be a free family fishing clinic, where free rods and reels will be given away while supplies last.
The winner in both the Pro Division and Co-angler Division is determined by the heaviest three-day weight.
On the Web
For those who can’t catch the weigh-in action in person, FLWOutdoors.com offers FLW Live, an online application that brings fans real-time weigh-in results, streaming video and audio.
Saturday’s conditions:
Sunrise: 5:23 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 52 degrees
Expected high temperature: 71 degrees
Water temperature: 62-65 degrees
Wind: NNE at 7 mph
Maximum humidity: 53 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly sunny