Rainy Day 2 on Lake Erie for MWC Championship Teams

A continuous drizzle, this morning, didn't dampen the spirits of this MWC Championship field, made up of 33 Pro Teams. While Mother Nature has calmed the winds down a little, anglers can expect to stay wet the remainder of the day. "This is Walleye weather", said someone as they passed by the coffee/doughnut tent. "This is what Walleye Fishermen hope for", he added as he turned to catch up with his partner.

Teammates, Jeff Koester (L) and Scott Rhodes (R) are headed out this morning sitting in first place on day two of the Cabelas Masters Walleye Circuit. I asked them what their day was like on the water yesterday, and what their game plan is today. I start with Jeff, as Scott runs off to get a cup of coffee first.

Jeff Koester: The game plan yesterday was to make a run. It was a little bouncy...we knew we weren't going to have a lot of time. But, we go out there, hoping to catch at least 5 fish, and we were fortunate enough to get six bites, and we got 5 of them in the boat. Three of those bites were the "right bites", so that made a big difference. Then, we packed her up and had a nice long ride back home.

Juls: How long of a ride was it? How long did it take you?

Jeff: We gave ourselves 2 1/2 hours to get back, just so we wouldn't beat the fish up. We figured with as bouncy as it was going to be...if we could get our five and get back with them alive, we wouldn't have to deal with a penalty. So, that's what we did. We were able to bring all 5 back alive, which was great!

Juls: Ok, so what is your game plan today? Probably the same thing since it's working, eh? (laughs)

Jeff: (laughs) Yeah...the plans pretty much the same. Hopefully, it's going to be a little bit calmer here this morning, and then it's supposed to blow this afternoon, so hopefully we can make the run down there...and, maybe get an extra pass in, and get one more nice big fish, and come on back. Hopefully they're there, and hopefully they'll want to bite this morning.

Juls: Can I ask? Are you running spinners or cranks out there?

Jeff: Ah, we're running spinners. You know me, Juls. (smiles and chuckles) Or, I should say, "You know us". (laughs).

Juls: Yeah...Yeah, I do!  It's a dumb question, I know, but I have to ask, just to see how people will answer it. Most won't tell me anything before the last day, so thanks! :)

Jeff: We tried cranks during practice and caught, you know...some fish on them, but the spinners, for us, has definitely been out producing everything.

Scott comes back from the coffee tent and I ask him if he would like to add his thoughts about how the day went yesterday on the water for them?

Scott: Yesterday, the day went really-really well. We had got up in the morning, and said, "What we need is 25 pounds". Just to get us through the first day, because of the blow the day before, we thought the bite would be slow. And, it was.  Today? Right now? We're keeping an eye on the weather. We're going a long ways, and right now, it's the same thing....I'd be happy with another 25 pounds today. But, I think our biggest objective this morning is to try and get 5 fast ones, because I think this is going to be a bad ride back today.  I'm very concerned.  We left early yesterday, with that South wind, not knowing what it was going to look like around the corner, but it looked ok. But, today, there's just no place to hide, so I want to get back early. It's a long freak'n ways!

The forecast is:

Today: Light rain through 8am...then showers through 5pm...then a chance of showers. Otherwise cloudy. HIghs 52 to 56. Light and variable winds...becoming North 10-15mph. Chance of rain 100%.

Tonight: Cloudy...gradual clearing by daybreak. A chance of rain showers through 2am. Lows 38-42. Light and variable winds. Chance of rain 30%.

Saturday: Mostly Sunny...becoming partly sunny during the afternoon. Highs 56-60. Light and variable winds.

Going out in the number two position is the team of Jason Kopf and Mike Miller. I spoke with Jason early this morning about their day on the water yesterday and what their game plan is today, and here was his reply:

Jason (L): It was pretty lumpy running out there in the morning. We were lucky not to tear the windshield off, and we kept the speed down pretty good, but we ended up making it there...we probably ran 55 miles to get to our spot, and 55 miles back. It took us an hour and a half to get there and an hour and 45 to get back.

We had three hours of fishing. We got three passes in. We got lucky, and pulled our last fish in the last two minutes! We through everything in the bottom of the boat and boogied back home, and ended up pulling 29 and a half pounds, so we were happy.

Juls: Can I ask you what you're pulling yet? Spinners? Cranks?

Jason: Yeah, we were running spinners. Speaking of spinning...I ended up spinning my prop right as we got done running and in the mouth of the harbor. I shut her down and I felt this vibration. I had spun the hub inside my prop. I got fixed up. Jay Anderson, the Mercury Support Tech, helped me out. Seeing how I'm running a Yamaha...he gave me a new hub and a friend gave me a prop to use, so I'm good to go today.

Hopefully, we'll keep it roll'n for today. We're going to keep the same program, and try to get back on the same fish. Try to do the same worm program and hopefully we'll come out on top.

Juls: Was that the cleanest water you had seen on the way out?

Jason: No, it wasn't. The cleanest water was pretty much straight off of Kelly's and Middle Island on the Canadian border. Basically, one of the furthest points you can run to is where the clean water was. Hopefully, we'll get them in the boat today. You know? That's the goal. Get 5 and beat Koester and Rhodes and stay on top, and then we'll be in good shape for going on the river, if that's where we end up tomorrow. It's supposed to blow. (He must not of seen the same forecast as I did, because it appears that the forecast would call for an open lake tomorrow...we will see. It keeps changing!)

To see full results and where your favorite team is standing after one day of competition, please go to the Live Leader Board at www.liveleaderboard.com  and click on the "Lake Erie-Detroit River" link inside the MWC Championship event listed there on the homepage.

Walleye Central will once again try to bring you a live webstream of the MWC weigh in, from the Cabelas Parking Lot, beginning at 4PM Eastern Time. Due to complications with the Cabelas Store Internet line, my feed went down right after the first team weighed in. So, if that happens again today, you'll understand why. :)

Hope to see you all there!