Blustery Wet Weather Doesn't Dampen Anglers Spirits

The top ten Pros and Co Anglers readied themselves for a cold, windy, and wet day on the Missouri River this morning, as FLW Walleye Tour Tournament Director of Walleye Operations, Sonny Reynolds, shouted above the noise of the wind and rain, "Let's get'um in the water gentlemen"!

It's the morning of day 3 and 44 other competitors have been cut from competition. The river is going to be less conjested with only ten competitors left, and the weather may also keep most of the locals off the water today too, leaving favorable fishing spots less pressured.

Interviews were rushed this morning, because the direction of the wind made it impossible for the Pros to beach their boats, or to stay close to the dock for any period of time.

The weather at take off this morning was a chilly 42 degrees with 20-30 mph NNW winds, and spitting rain. The forecast for today is for a high of 50 degrees, with rain predicted to move out after 1PM.

I asked a few how it felt to be in the top ten, and what their game plan was in the crappy weather. Below are the "teams" as they are listed in order of their finishes from last night's weigh in.

Keep in mind that everyone is going out in first place today. The weights they caught the past two days no longer matter, because everyone is starting from zero today.

Pro Todd Riley(L) and Co Jimmy Cox(R): It's great to have the opportunity to go out, and just have an opportunity to try and win this. There are 44 other individuals that wish they were here today. As miserable as it is, we're just going to go out and see what "Old Man River" has to offer us today. The interesting thing going out here everyday, with the wind and conditions changing everyday, you just never know what to expect and you just have to basically start prefishing a little bit and go check your areas. And, depending on what the current and wind has done to them, in the way of debris coming down stream, and relocating the fish...if you can even fish the areas depending in the wind...it's been challenging, but it's been fun!

Pro Scott Steil(R) and Co Jerry Chweruit(L): (his pic didn't turn out this morning, so I pasted something together lol)... It feels good! We've been prefishing and prefishing in these conditions, so I don't expect much to change. We'll just go out there and do what we've been doing, and hopefully consistancy will pay off. Just make the adjustments, that's what it's all about out here...you've just gotta adjust to the conditions and make changes in presentations when needed.

Pro Ron Seelhoff(R) and Co Patrick Bertelsen(L): It feels good to have made the top ten. I'm fishing right out here in front of the boat dock, so I'll just take my little boat and go out and putz around and hope for the best. Actually, the weather is kind of working in my favor...keeping the guys off the lake and whatever. Of course, I'm geared up for that too... I've got a big boat sitting here, and I've been wanting to, but everything's working out alright. Actually, prefishing right here where...fishing the tournament where I never really prefished. It's pretty well known that there's fish stacked up in this area. I took a chance the first day with the weather the way it was, and so far it's working out good.

Juls: Speaking of boats...the question came up on Walleye Central this week about why your fishing out of your small boat?

Ron: Well, for a little better boat control, and we're not going very far, and I can whip around...turn around, and it's an awesome little tool. You know, it's been a great fishing boat for a lot of years, and still is, so I kind of keep it around for things like this. So, we'll see what happens!

Pro Tony Renner(L) and Co Lowell Joy(R): We're going to stay close and try to get a quick limit, and then see if we can do a little upgrading and see if we can get a few bigger fish...our spots are close, so that's going to help us.

Juls: How does it feel to be in the top ten this morning?

Tony: It feels awesome! To have made the championship and then come in here and make a top ten...it's just an awesome feeling!

Pro David Andersen(R) and Co William Drake(L): Well, it feels great to be in the top ten. The crappy conditions are the same we've had the last two days, so I'm going to go out and do the same thing I have been, and hopefully the fish will cooperate.

Pro Chris Gilman(L) and Co Justin Steinke(R): I'm just really happy to be here, it's going to be a fun event. It looks like it's going to be a challenge today. Everyone's going to have to work for them today. I'm just glad to be here!

Pro Nicholas Schertz(R) and Co Philip Zimpel(L): No Interview :(

Pro Robert Crow(L) and Co Troy Vanecek(R): No Interview :(

Pro Tommy Skarlis(R) and Co Christopher Hanson(L): Well, I kind of like the nasty conditions, because this is going to take a few, hopefully, off of their game. Now, these are some pretty formidable competitors. You take a guy like Chris Gilman, for instance, this is probably going to make him more intense. (laughs) But, I'm hoping it takes two or three guys out of the mix. The way it's blowing, I think it's going to take the trolling bite completely off the map. I think a lot of the guys had their fish early yesterday, and it's honk'n...it's snort'n! So, I just have to keep a good attitude, and just keep grinding. I have a great partner today with Chris Hanson, and I'm really fired up about today.

You know, the biggest thing is, I was very blessed to win the Championship last year. I'm fired up, because two of my sponsors celebrated their anniversaries this year, and I was able to be a part of that. Evinrude celebrated their 100 year anniversary and Ranger celebrated their 40 year anniversary. And, that 's why we try to make it to the big show, or why I try to represent my sponsors well...bring some walleye excitement to the mix and try to get everybody fired up.

It's a pleasure and an honor to be here, and I just hope I make a good showing and don't embarrass myself! (laughs)

Pro Carl Adams Jr(R) and Co Dave Smith(L): My goal was to make the top ten and I'm tied for first place for a day. This is a new tournament starting out, and we're going to play by my gut feeling....the wind is going to blow hard today, so we're going to start a bit closer, and maybe if it calms down a little bit, we might run a little ways.

The community is invited to attend takeoffs and weigh-ins as well as the Family Fun Zone, which opens at 2 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday at the Bismarck Civic Center. Saturday is free fishing rod and reel day at the Fun Zone, where the first 300 children 14 and under receive a free fishing rod and reel, courtesy of Cumulus Bismarck.

The weigh in this afternoon is expected to begin at 4:30PM Central Time in the Civic Center, and if you cannot make it down there, you can watch the weigh in LIVE on Walleye Central's Live Leader Board where we will have a live webstream of the weigh in. To view the video and chat with your friends in the chatroom, just click on the "Missouri River" link in the current FLW event on the homepage of the LLB at www.liveleaderboard.com or copy/paste this link into your browsers search bar: http://www.liveleaderboard.com/LeaderBoard/event_redirect.aspx?t=473&s=Pro&c=FLWC

The winning pro at the FLW Walleye Tour Championship is guaranteed a cash award of $70,000. If the winner is Ranger Cup qualified, he will earn a $17,500 bonus, and could receive another $17,500 bonus if the boat is equipped with a qualifying Evinrude or Yamaha outboard, for a total cash award of $105,000.

The winning co-angler is guaranteed $7,000 cash and is eligible for a $3,500 bonus if Ranger Cup qualified. The winning co-angler will also receive a $3,500 bonus from Evinrude or Yamaha if his boat is equipped with a qualifying Evinrude or Yamaha outboard.

Coverage of the Walleye Tour Championship, hosted by the Bismarck-Mandan Convention & Visitors Bureau, will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS, the network which brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most-trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated “FLW Outdoors,” will air Nov. 15 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide, including internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to such countries as Canada, Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports. Sign up for Player’s Advantage to get your edge and win.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player's Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.