FLW Walleye Tour: Bay de Noc Day One

[Wild4Outdoors]

Take Off on the first day of the 2012 FLW Walleye Tour stop on Bay de Noc out of Escanaba, Michigan got off without a hitch. The fishing on the upper portion of Lake Michigan has been both good and bad at times. There is a certain correlation between a quality bite and the wind, but what would a walleye tournament be without a bite dependent ont he weather?

Ross Grothe, Tommy Skarlis and Jimmy Bell all spend substantial amounts of time pre fishing mighty Lake Michigan and have experienced very mixed results. They went from catching heavy bags to literally one – two fish a day. All agree that the pattern here will be difficult to nail down for three straight days, but that’s the fun in competitive angling.

All three anglers are fishing to qualify for the 2012 Championship, which is taking place in the Quad Cities along the Mighty Mississippi River in late October. Each angler is comfortably within reach of qualification, but the right kind of fish will make a big difference in this event.

Angler and Co-Angler are allowed to weigh five fish with two over 23 and three between 15 and 23 inches. This is a cull tournament and the anglers can upgrade their fish if the opportunity arises. When asked, most pros feel it will take an average of 30 pounds a day to stay in this, but only time will tell as upper Lake Michigan can be a fickle body of water.

At this event, the Wild 4 Outdoors team has a temporary honorary member. Neal Armatti is teaming up with Tommy, Ross and Jimmy for the Escanaba event. Neal is a veteran walleye angler and avid outdoorsman and has been eagerly sharing his passion for this fishery by participating in the scouting process and helping the team be more proficient on the water. While all four are competitors on the water, back at the cabin each evening there are lots of laughs and story sharing.

Weigh-In this afternoon will begin at Escnaba Harbor and there will be pictures and video to follow.

[Wild4Outdoors]

Morning Interviews

Ross Grothe
Jimmy Bell
Tommy Skarlis

[Wild4Outdoors]

The Wild 4 Outdoors crew came in along with the rest of the FLW Walleye Tour field and surprised the weigh masters and the crowed. Practice had been especially difficult, but the wind and more abundant cloud cover the fish really turned on. The anglers who knew this weather condition made the fish eat cashed in pretty big today.

First to the scales for the W4O crew was Yamaha Pro, Ross Grothe. He was one of the last flights out this morning and would then be one of the later anglers to weigh-in, but he had his limit before 10 AM and chose to weigh in early. This was a great decision and he managed to claim 8th place after day one with 24-5.

"In one pass we loaded the boat with most of our keepers and I knew our day would likely end early," explains Grothe. "It's been a long time since I have been in this position and I am going to be sure to do everything possible to repeat or increase tomorrow's weight. I had a great co-angler and I sure hope tomorrow is just like today. This is a lot of fun!"

Jimmy Bell came into this tournament in contention for the Angler of the Year race and needed to produce a few quality fish to lock in a spot at the Championship in the Quad Cities in October.

"I didn't get a limit, if I had one more fish I am certain I would have landed in the top five," Bell says. "I am confident that if the wind continues to blow tomorrow I should be able to find the right fish again. These fish are finicky and the hard part is not getting them to bite, its finding them. Tomorrow should be a lot of fun."

Tommy Skarlis came in with four fish for just over 10 lbs. "This was not the kind of weight I was looking for, but we still had a lot of fun today," he says. "I was catching lots of overs during practice, but the bite I was on just slowed down. I am excited for tomorrow as I really believe the pending conditions are favorable for my fish. I'm right on the cusp of qualifying for the championship and having a good showing tomorrow will solidify that."

Blast off tomorrow is at 7 AM and there will be morning interivews and photos shortly thereafter.

Stay tuned!

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Guys thanks for taking time to write and inform all of us what is happening at the tourney

[Wild4Outdoors]

Evening Interviews

Ross Grothe
Jimmy Bell
Tommy Skarlis