Bill Shimota is starting out in Walker Bay and hoping to never leave there. “I’m going to fish for three hours for big ones, and then try to get a limit before coming back for big ones again.” The lack of wind is great for Shimota because his is fishing deep. “Boat control will be easier for me. I can drive around and mark them on my Lowrance HDS and when I find them I can sit on them. I am live bait rigging with a half- ounce bullet sinker and an eight foot snell with and up to a 2/0 hook, depending on the size of my bait.”
Even though his spot has been best with wind, Mark Courts plans on starting there for at least an hour. “I’m working a shallow reef near Pelican Island in 5-6 feet of water. There are individual rock piles I am targeting, and that is where the fish have been sitting. My co-anglers have been rigging and I have been pitching a sixteenth ounce blue and white Northland Slurpee jig. I can actually see the boulders I’m pitching too and the walleyes are waiting right there to ambush it,” he said.
Rick Olson talked about his bite, “I’m catching my big fish in Walker Bay. My slot fish are coming from the lake. I have a weed bed in a unique spot with a little clear hard spot in the middle. Yesterday we caught 42 fish there. With no wind and clear skies they will still be there, but it might take a little longer to find them. The key though is to get the big ones. There is absolutely no way to win this thing without getting the big ones.”
He is also doing something that he hasn’t noticed the locals doing. “I’m using bottom bouncers like we do back home in the Dakotas. I’m using a 7ft leader and a slow death rig for the slot fish and large minnows for the big fish.”
Tom Kemos is going to stick with the same game plan that earned him a spot in the top ten. “As soon as we get five of anything I’m going to start running around looking for my overs.” He will be fishing main lake reefs for slot fish. He then plans to check a couple main lake humps before moving back into Walker Bay to try to find big fish. While he plans on fishing deep, with the sun being out, the fish may move into the heated shallows and he plans to adjust accordingly.
He has been rigging using a half ounce slip sinker, along with crawlers that have been blown up with air and leeches. He is pulling them with a 7’6” St. Croix Elite Extra Fast. He is using the same rod for chubs and is fishing the biggest chubs he can get. He selected that rod because there is very little resistance when the fish hit, yet he gets good hook sets with the extra fast tip.
The calm day is going to make Paul Meleen adjust his game plan. “We have no wind today so I’m going to fish deep fish, which is unfortunate because I had lots of nice fish in the shallow water, but it is what it is. I’ll be fishing with leeches and chubs.”
Mark Christianson spoke about his plan. “Today I’m going to run out into the main lake since there isn’t any wind. There are some reefs in 15-20 feet I’m thinking might go. I’m going to rig some leeches and minnows and hopefully get some big ones. I’ve been having trouble getting slots down here, so hopefully I’ll pick up some of those at the same time.”
David Bjorkman knows he has to get big fish today and is going to try to do it right away this morning before chasing slots. He will be using a Lindy rig with leeches, crawlers and chubs.
The first two hours of the day will be spent chasing big fish for Scott Larson, before chasing unders. He plans to hit an afternoon bite five minutes from the docks to take advantage of the late day big fish bite in the area. He has been using large creek chubs for the overs and is snap jigging eighth to quarter ounce jigs on reefs with shiners for the unders.
Eric Olson is planning to get his unders quickly and then spend the rest of the time looking for overs. “I have the right size monster chubs for my overs and am confident in my spot for them,” he said. He is rigging crawlers in Sucker and Walker Bay. “For me, blowing up the crawlers, so the whole crawler is floating, not just a portion of it, has kept the crawler above the sand grass and worked best.”
There will be a kids clinic starting at 2:30pm today at Northern Lights Casino, followed by the National Guard Appreciation Tournament Weigh-in at 3:30pm. The final tour weigh-in will be at 4pm.
Join us at Walleye Central for coverage of the final day of the tournament.
