Top walleye anglers invade northern Minnesota
Tune in Sunday, Sept. 14, to “FLW Outdoors” on FSN for complete coverage of the Walmart FLW Walleye Tour event held on Cass Lake in Cass Lake, Minn. The third tournament of the season concludes with the winning pro claiming a cash prize of $100,000. The stories evolve and the suspense grows throughout the one-hour show until the final weigh-in results are announced.
Pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day and fish for a combined boat weight. Pros compete against other pros, and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers. The full field competes during the three-day opening round for one of 10 final-round slots based on their three-day accumulated weight. Weights carry over to day four, with the winners determined by the heaviest four-day weight. For this specific tournament, anglers are allowed to keep only two fish per day over 20 inches. Culling isn’t permitted, but anglers are allowed to keep eight fish in the livewell and weigh their best five.
After three days of competition, local pro Carl Adams Jr. is on top of the leaderboard with a total of 15 walleyes weighing 40 pounds, 5 ounces. Before the tournament began, Adams prayed for wind and nasty weather and he is getting exactly what he asked for. It was so windy on day three that most anglers weren’t using their trolling motors; they weren’t using their small engines; they were using their main engines to stay on specific structure. This is the kind of weather that is perfect for a tiller – the exact type of boat Adams employs. An area guide, Adams is very familiar with how the walleyes on Cass Lake behave. One of the keys to his success thus far has been identifying areas where shiners are about to spawn. To catch those predatory walleyes, the Blackduck, Minn., pro is using a Northland Roach Rig and a combination of shiners and creek chubs. He is fishing the chub, and his co-angler is fishing the shiner. The chubs are working great for big fish and the shiners are effective for slot fish. Adams is presenting these baits in water 7 to 10 feet deep with a 7-foot snell in an area called the West Curve, located along the northeast side of Star Island.
Hot on Adams’ heels is Richmond, Minn., native Scott Steil. The young pro, who is searching for his first tour-level victory, is alternating between two distinct patterns. When the wind is blowing hard, he’ll pull up to 5 feet of water. When it slacks off, he’ll retreat to 20 feet of water. His shallow-water spot, which is full of cabbage, is located on the south side of Star Island and his deep spot is the southeast point of Cedar Island. At both locations, Steil is rigging with a 6-foot snell and a 3/8-ounce weight. He is dragging both creek chubs and redtail chubs at .2 mph. On his snell he is using 8-pound Berkley Vanish and on his main line he is using 10-pound Berkley Vanish. After catching 13 pounds on day three, his total weight now stands at 40 pounds, 1 ounce – just 4 ounces behind the leader.
In third place with 13 walleyes weighing 39 pounds, 10 ounces, is veteran pro Pete Harsh. Like Adams, Harsh runs a Ranger tiller. However, Harsh is the man who made tiller fishing famous. Known in the industry as Mr. Tiller, the Sauk Centre, Minn., pro is an immensely talented live-bait fisherman. On day three, Harsh experienced mechanical problems and was only able to boat three walleyes. Still, Harsh is less than a pound off the lead. If he is able to claim victory in his home state it would be the sixth tour-level win of his illustrious career.
Also in contention is pro Toby Kvalevog. After winning the recent FLW Walleye League event on Cass Lake, Kvalevog is back for more. Catching a 15-pound, 6-ounce limit on day three, the Brainerd, Minn., native has an opening round total of 39 pounds, 5 ounces. In fact, Kvalevog’s 15-6 was the heaviest limit of day three. Not surprisingly, most of it came from the same main-lake area near Cedar Island where Steil is fishing – the same water where Kvalevog won the league tournament.
FSN broadcasts “FLW Outdoors” Sunday mornings. Check local listings for show times and channels in your area. FLWOutdoors.com also provides an online guide listing upcoming episodes on “FLW Outdoors.”
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FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits. FLW Outdoors also took fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million in cash and prizes.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments call (270) 252-1000.
By: Jeff McCoy, PR dir, FLW Outdoors
