FLW Walleye Tour-Cass Lake
June 11th-14th, 2008
Day 4AM
Story and Photos by: Julia "Juls" Davis

The top ten FLW Walleye Tour competitors readied themselves this morning under cloudy/wet conditions. The rain started, but then stopped, giving Tournament Director Sonny Reynolds time to send them on their way with lifted spirits.

Today: Isolated showers, then a chance of thunderstorms after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. West wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

I spoke to each competitor briefly this morning, and asked how each of them were feeling being in the top ten today. Here is what they had to say:

IN BOAT NUMBER ONE is Yamaha Pro, Carl Adams Jr., of Blackduck, MN and his Co Angler, Kevin Bruer, of Robbinsdale, MN.

Juls: Is this your first FLW event?

Carl: "It's not my first. I've fished quite a few of the League events, and I fished a couple other tournaments."

Juls: How are you feeling going out in the first place position today?

Carl: "I'm feeling pretty good! I guess there can't be a better place after day 3, so I'm doing ok right now."

Juls: Are you going to change anything you've been doing? How have you been fishing?

Carl: "I'm going to fish the same way. I'm not exactly sure whether I'm going to change my style.
My style for three days was to try to make sure I was consistent and box more fish...not worry about looking for big fish.
Today, I may change that a little bit and go for big fish.
I think I might need it to win this.
There's nine good fishermen, besides me, so we're going to have to make sure we have a good weight today, if I'm going to take first.
Part way through the day I may end up changing my mind and say, "I'm just going to try to get a consistent weight, and make sure that we're close, and hope that everybody else struggles a little bit.
We've got to see what the bite does today, so we'll play it by ear."

IN BOAT NUMBER 2 is Ranger/Evinrude Pro Scott Steil, of Richmond, MN and his Co Angler, Nate Brunz of Madison Lake, MN.

Juls: No stranger to the top ten, how are you feeling going out in another top ten today?

Scott: "Well, ah, I'm feeling good. I put myself in a good position to make a run at it. Second place...4 ounces out...I think I have a good chance. My spots have been good, and I haven't had to beat them up. I've been fortunate to really only fish one spot each day, and they've been different. So, I've got three good spots and hopefully one of those spots will hold up today."

IN BOAT NUMBER 3 is Ranger/Mercury Pro, Pete Harsh, of Sauk Centre, MN. and his Co Angler, Gregg Oppegard of W. St. Paul, MN.

Juls: You're Minnesota born and bred...how often have you fished Cass Lake in the past? Is this your first time here?

Pete: "No, I've done a couple other tournaments over the last four years, but that's about it for my adult life.
When I was a kid my Mom and Dad...we'd come up and stay at the campground on Pike Bay. We would basically fish Pike Bay the old way with no depth finder...go out in front of the campground and troll.
We caught a lot of walleye and had a lot of fun, but ah, it was not any high tech type fishing.
But, it's a fabulous fishery. There's good fish in every lake...and a little bit of a secret to unlocking...you know...what they want and where they are, but it's a place where you can come and catch walleye and perch and have a good time."

Juls: Is your game plan today the same as what you've been doing? Will you change anything?

Pete: "Yes! I'm not going to break down like I did yesterday. (Laughs) That’s what I'm going to change.
They (Service Teams) had my rig and now the gremlins are out of it, so I'll fish 8 hours today and hopefully we can have a first place check.
Ah, we basically quit fishing yesterday at 12:30, due to a few minor issues...er, major issues at the time, but they're taken care of now."

IN BOAT NUMBER 4 is Crestliner Pro, Toby Kvalevog, of Brainerd, MN and his Co Angler, David Anderson of Sauk Rapids, MN.

Juls: Is this your first FLW event, Toby?

Toby: (He corrects me) "First FLW "Tour" event. I fish the FLW Walleye League-MN Division. "

Juls: Is this your first top ten?

Toby: "For the League or for anything?"

Juls: For anything.

Toby: "I actually won the Cass Lake League event held here last Saturday.
But this is my first top ten in a tour event, so yeah..."

Juls: How are you feeling going out this morning? Are you confident you could win it again today?

Toby: "Yeah! (He says with a confident smile). "We're only a pound behind, and ah... we had over 15 pounds yesterday. If we do that again today... well maybe...we could do better than that.
We had a big fish yesterday, and we lost two more, so that's fishing and that happens, but if you get them all in the boat...yeah...(he drifts off in thought)

Juls: Wouldn't that be cool to win the League event on one Saturday and then on the following Saturday, win the Tour event?

Toby: "It would be very cool! I don't know how you could...you couldn't do any better than that! And, yeah, it would take a while for me to come down off of cloud nine, I think."

IN BOAT NUMBER 5 Ranger/Yamaha Pro, Daniel Dejaeghere, of Bemidji, MN and his Co Angler, Ronald Carson, of Omaha, NE.

Juls: Dan, Is this your first FLW event?

Dan: "Ah...no. I've done several. This is the first top ten I've cracked though.

Juls: How are you feeling, going out this morning?

Dan: "Ah, pretty decent. I'm a little more relaxed.
Actually, the way they set this up...you know... the worst that is going to happen today is tenth place.
So, it does take a little bit of pressure off you obviously.
I like the format, because you don't have to be so conservative...you can swing for the home run, and if you don't get it, you know what your worst outcome is.
Where as, other days in the tournament you've got to be a little bit conservative, and play the game a little bit. So, I like the format.
And, for a guy that's pretty hyper and nervous...I'm about as relaxed as I'm going to be today, I guess."

IN BOAT NUMBER 6 is Ranger/Yamaha Pro David Kolb, of Ada, MI and his Co Angler, Justine Steinke, of Birnamwood, WI.

Juls: David, you made the top ten...again...which is no surprise to me...how does it feel, and what is your game plan today?

David: "It's awesome! I didn't expect it coming in. My game plan today is to go out and get a couple of good "overs"... in Pike Bay... and then I'm going to leave and go look for better slots out in Cass. So, that's my game plan right now. I talked to some of the boys last night, and hopefully figured a few things out."

Juls: Did you have a morning bite or an afternoon bite over in Pike Bay this week? I had heard it was an afternoon bite all week.

David: "It goes right away in the morning. So, I'm glad they moved it up a half hour earlier (he's talking about the take off time)...half hour, thirty minutes...whatever, you know, I'll be up there probably be over there 40 minutes before I've ever been there before. Also, I'm at the back side of my flight, so that takes another eight minutes.

Juls: So you might be back at the docks for breakfast, eh?

David: (He laughs) "I hope...that would be awesome, but I don't think so.
I'd love to."

IN BOAT NUMBER 7 is Ranger/Mercury Pro, James E. Gordon, of Spicer, MN and his Co Angler, Mike Taylor, of Midland, MI.

Juls: Is this your first top ten in the FLW?

James: "Yes".

Juls: How are you feeling going out today?

James: "Feels good! Pressure's off. Now I can just go out and fish and have a good time.

Juls: The fish that you're on...will the weather play a factor today? Will it be better or...?

James: "No. It's not really wind related, like in the past, so I think if it's calm and we have boat control it'll be the most important factor."

IN BOAT NUMBER 8 is Ranger/Evinrude Pro, Todd Riley, of Amery, WI and his
Co Angler, Josh Johnson, of Fargo, ND.

Juls: Todd, you're a veteran at this game...how are you feeling going out this morning?

Todd: "Oh, we're feeling lucky! (Laughs)
I hope they're going and I'm doing what I've done the last three days."

Juls: What are you doing?

Todd: "Well...I'm just running around and fishing a couple of spots...like I've got one spot that giving up some really nice slot fish...roll the dice where I got some decent "overs"... I haven't gotten any big ones there yet, but maybe today I'll get my 28 incher."

Juls: How are you fishing for them?

Todd: " Rigging...rigging, rigging, rigging."

Juls: Leeches? Crawlers? Shiners? Or the hard to get Red Tail Chubs?

Todd: All of the above. I've caught fish on everything...it hasn't made a whole lot of difference. I find some fish...if I don't get them with one thing, I try something else...you know...either I give up on them, or we catch one." (He smiles and shrugs)

IN BOAT NUMBER 9 is Ranger/Evinrude Pro Chris Gilman, of Chisago City, MN and his
Co Angler, Michael Tesmer of Eden Prairie, MN

Juls: Chris, you're no stranger in the top ten...how are you feeling going out this morning?

Chris: "I'm feeling really good, Juls...just glad to be here. You know, there's a lot of weight between me and the guys in the top three, so I don't know how far I can move. So, it's just great to be here."

Juls: How are you fishing today?

Chris: "I'm just rigging Red Tails on a points and some sand stretches...ah, you know...nothing fancy...I think the same thing everyone else is doing...dragging a sinker around with a big minnow on it."

IN BOAT NUMBER 10 is Triton/Mercury Pro Larry Smith of Berlin, WI and his Co Angler, Jeff Holz, of Dodge Center, MN.

Juls: You made a top ten at Erie earlier in the year, and now you've made another top ten here at Cass...you're having a good year...how are you feeling this morning?

Larry: "I feel real good. You know, I kind of changed my strategy over the last couple of years.
I'm usually a runner and gunner, because I'm guiding everyday, and that's usually just the nature of the business.
Ah, so this year, I just slowed it down.
I've been on good fish. I'm just going to keep working them, and I think I've got a heck of a shot at taking this thing.
I caught the right fish two days ago, and they just came off on me, so If I catch those fish again today, I think I can definitely have a shot at it...that's why I'm here."

Please join us this afternoon here on Walleye Central to find out who will win the third stop in the FLW Walleye Tour schedule.

The weigh in will be held at the Wal*Mart in Bemidji, MN and will start at 4PM Central Time.

For more walleye fishing coverage, check in with Walleye Central's coverage of the
Cabela's National Team Championship, being held in Mobridge, SD on Lake Oahe.
I hear the weather has been just as goofy as it's been here in Northern Minnesota lately.
Find out how the teams are handling the tough conditions and how they are still managing to catch some fish!