First Walleye tourney results...

[Steve Rizza]

Not very well..... seven fish for 7lb 14oz,first place was 16lb and a few oz's.



Finished 30 out of 86 boats.But considering most were local boys who spend every waking moment fishing for walleyes on that lake,and know every inch of the lake like the backs of their hands,I guess we did OK for our first try.

We knew from a trip down last week that we were not on any big fish,so we were hoping to luck into a nice one of two,and fill out a limit of smaller ones.Our nice ones never came,and neither did our limit of smaller ones.:wacko:

The wind was terrible,and the sky was bright blue with the sun shining bright.Not ideal fishing conditions.Had to run the trolling motor on high just to keep the boat in position,and kick it onto 24v just to move forward.



But we stuck to our plan because we knew there were fish there,instead of running around to try and find fish.(maybe we SHOULD have ran?).Lost three decent ones right at the boat,but still wouldn't have been enough to be of any real help to us.

I did catch a nice Pike right at the end of the day,when the drag started screaming,i thought we were in the money.



All the lunker pool fish were brought in by guys with 2 or 3 fish.They must have been going for the big bite.6 1/2 pounds won the lunker.



All in all I had a blast.Can't wait till the next one in mid may.It's on a lake I fish on a regular basis.



Steve ( I'll never be a pro walleye fisherman ) R

 

[Mad Kayaker]

Hey Steve congratulations. You seemed to have placed very nicely all things considered. The closest I ever got to a walleye is at a VFW Hall in Findlay, Ohio where they were serving them for lunch along with perch and fried baloney sandwichs! Don't ask me what I was doing in Findlay ...



They don't have walleye in Massachusetts - at least I don't think so. What kind of lures were you using? Hope you do even better in your next tournament. Bill, The Mad Kayaker

 

[Steve Rizza]

Bill,

we caught them on a jig/minnow combo.We found a nice rock bluff that dropped steeply off of the side of a main lake point.There was a creek channel that led out of a spawning cove,and it swung in close to the bank for about thirty yards before it went past the point into the main body.Just threw to the top,and hopped it down the steep bluff.Caught some fish at the top,some in the middle and some at the bottom.

Also caught a 4lb largemouth,a hand full of nice smallies,some jumbo perch and a few slab crappies.Also a few of them @#$% Pickerel...

But the lake is best known for its dinner plate size Bluegills.( I believe the record is 3 1/2 lbs)

 

[Greg Meyer]

Not a thing wrong with a 30/86... My best finish last year was 6th... another 10th... but because I almost always finish in the top 1/3 I finished the year 61st even though I did not fish the last two tournaments of a series...



The guys with the 6 1/2 lb fish were targeting the early spawning females... They are tough to get onto... Is your lake an impoundment of a river system? Around here the river impoundments and "flowages" will find the females retreating back up into the current in the rivers looking for "fast food"...

 

[Mini]

Good job. How many for a limit?



I went to a weigh-in today on the lower Detroit River (GNWC) there were some nice fish caught. 11.5 was biggest and 38.5 for 6 fish won it....

 

[Ken Neeley]

Mini,

Did you grab any floaters for the freezer??

 

[Mini]

I told the guy releasing the fish I was interested and he told me to get in l line....lol



So no, I didnt get any walleye.



Mini

 

[Staci Matheis]

I'd say that was a pretty good day, Steve!

 

[Rich D]

Good Job Steve! I would have been tempted to not weigh the fish and grill them instead!



Rich D

 

[fatrap]

Mad Kayaker



Mass. state record walleye 11-0 caught by Robert Methot Quabbin Reservoir 1975. That's a nice eye. Go get em.

fatrap

 

[TrepMan]

Way ahead of me Steve. My first 2 "real Tourney's" were 2 pot tourney's on our local lake. A friend I met at a local Rally called, he fishes 3-4 Pot T's a week, and needed a partner and my wife and kids were at her sisters for a week, so I said HECK YES!!



Long story short, 2 T's (7pm - Midnight) and I got ZERO fish!! My partner got 1 the first night and 2 the next T (Of course I lost 2 of his not netting them) but even if he'd have had all 4 that night we would not have placed in the top half!



Keep it up!

 

[Steve Rizza]

Greg,

yes it's an impounded river.Not too many natural lakes in the area that I know of.(actually I can't think of any.)



Mini,

Ten fish limit.Five per person.



Rich,

we thought about that.It was a tough call.We did go back out after the tourney and threw four in the "dead well" right before dark.

 

[Christopher Laurencio]

Steve, good job, I think 30th out of 86 is better than my 3rd out of 24.

 

[Greg Meyer]

It's possible that in an impounded river system the big females go up river seeking current.