Minnema Takes Control On Day One
by Dave Landahl - 29.May.2002
Oshkosh, Wis.- The weather gods smiled on the RCL anglers today on Lake
Winnebago. The thunderstorms that were predicted to strike were a no show,
but so were the limits of fish many anglers thought they would catch today.
Only 18 limits were weighed this afternoon with Ranger pro Tim Minnema of
Markesan, Wis. and his co-angler partner for today, John Solek of Indianapolis,
Ind. leading the way with a catch of 21 pounds even. Minnema was late for
registration so he was penalized 2 pounds for a first day total of 19 pounds.
Minnema was not fishing with a conventional method among Winnebago walleye
hunters.
"I was using a technique I picked up a while ago," said Minnema. "It can be very
effective on this system. The conditions have to be right like they are now for it
to be effective. I think if the conditions hold it will be productive for the rest of
the tournament."
Minnema is targeting migrating walleye.
"I was very selective with the fish I decided to keep," said Minnema. "I am
fishing migrating walleye heading back into the big lake after spawn. I located
fish in the upper lakes and in the river. We had our final fish by 1:00 PM and
weighed our fish early. I had a great partner today and that really helped in
catching a big limit of walleye."
The angler holding onto the second position after the first day is Ranger pro
Leroy Schroeder of Larsen, Wis. Schroeder had one of the shortest fishing days
out of all of today's contestants.
"We had a really intense hour and a half this morning," said Schroeder. "We had
our limit by 9:30 AM. We floated around and got a tan this afternoon waiting to
come in."
Schroeder's weight today was 18 pounds and 14 ounces.
Families that fish together place well together in tournaments.
"I think I taught my son Tim just about everything I know about walleye fishing,"
said RCL pro Jim Minnema of Randolph, Wis. Minnema weighed-in 15 pounds and
8 ounces taking the fourth spot after the first round. "I guess Tim is just holding
back on me. He must be keeping a few things to himself. I hope my bite
continues to go well tomorrow and the bite doesn't shut down."
Rounding out the top five pros are Mark Keenan of Menasha, Wis. in third place
with 16 pounds 6 ounces and in fifth, Ranger pro Pat Cavins of Green Bay, Wis.
with 15 pounds 5 ounces.
Most of the pros used one of two techniques to find and catch walleye today.
They either pitched lightweight 1/16-1/8 ounce jigs tipped with a leech or a
night crawler into the cane beds found in this system or they trolled with planer
boards and crankbaits along reefs and flats.
RCL pro Chris Gilman of Chisago City, Minn. used a wrestling technique to
capture his walleye today.
"I had to belly hug a fish today," said Gilman. "It is the first time I have ever
wrestled with a walleye. We got the fish in the boat and then it got free and
started flopping around on the deck. I jumped on it and hugged it until it was
under control, it was a lucky kind of a deal."
Leading the way in the co-anglers division is the current leader for the co-angler
of the year John Solek of Indianapolis, Ind with 21 pounds. In second place with
18 pounds 14 ounces is Keith Strauss of Syracuse, Ind. In third is George Hellar
of Webster City, Iowa with 16 pounds 6 ounces, the fourth spot is held by
Steven Schram of Waukesha, Wis. with 15 pounds 8 ounces and in fifth position
is Michael Dutton of Kaukauna, Wis. with 15 pounds 5 ounces.
Co-angler Jackie Perry of Milaca, Minn. had a close encounter with a behemoth
gator.
"I have never fished out on Winnebago before," said Perry. "We caught some
decent walleye today, but we had a huge northern pike on. It took the entire
planer board under the water. The pike came along the side of the boat and it
looked like it weighed almost 30 pounds. It was absolutely huge."
Besides hooking into monstrous northern pike, there are incredible amounts of
sheepshead or freshwater drum and white bass.
"If you fish on the Winnebago system for more than 10 minutes, you will
probably catch a sheepshead," said FLW Director of Walleye Operations Mark
Dorn. "There are so many of them in this system. I don't think anybody who
weighed fish today didn't catch a few of them."
Competition resumes tomorrow at 7:00 AM. Tomorrow's weigh-in will start at
3:00 PM at the Pioneer Resort and Marina, which is located at 1000 Pioneer
Drive in Oshkosh, Wis. Pioneer Resort's phone number is (800) 683-1980.
Quick Stats
Number of boats: 144
Total fish weighed in: 432
Total weight: 907 pounds 10 ounces
Limits caught: 18
