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Wisconsin man wins walleye tourney
September 15, 2003
BY ERIC SHARP
FREE PRESS OUTDOORS WRITER
HOUGHTON -- Sitting in his boat at the darkened end of a hockey arena Sunday, Dan Plautz wore an ear-to-ear grin that shone through the gloom like a miniature sun as he realized that he was about to get a check for $108,000 and the title of America's top walleye angler.
Fifty-one of the nation's best walleye fishermen had spent three days scouring Portage Lake and its associated waterways in the In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail national championship, and most found that catching a walleye under the conditions was like pulling teeth.
But Plautz, of Muskego, Wis., figured out that slow-trolling crankbaits 20 feet behind planer boards in Chassell Bay would draw just enough bites to give him a maximum limit of four fish a day and a total weight of 49.86 pounds, more than 15 pounds better than the second-place total of 34.5 posted by Kevin Schweder of Janesville, Wis.
Portage Lake is part of the Keweenaw Waterway that splits the Keweenaw Peninsula into northern and southern halves, and for several years it has been a legendary hot spot for anglers seeking giant walleyes. It gets far less pressure than other big-fish locations like Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay and even Little Bay de Noc, because it is so far from major population centers.
A powerful cold front that swept over Lake Superior a week before the event nearly shut fishing down, and the average daily weight for four fish during the tournament was less than half the 20-pounds-and-up many anglers had expected after testing the waters earlier this summer.
"We were here a month ago (scouting), so we know what this place should be like," said Rick Olson of Mina Lake, S.D., who finished 11th. "We just couldn't catch the big ones."
Most frustrating to anglers was that the electronic fish finders and underwater cameras showed that they were constantly over huge numbers of big walleyes, "but they just didn't want to bite," said Ted Takasaki of East Gull Lake, Minn., president of Lindy-Little Joe Tackle Co.
The biggest fish of the tournament was an 11.2-pounder landed by Andy Kuffer of Fair Haven, who finished 12th (the top Michigan entrant). Plautz's only real competition after the second day was Keith Kavajecz of Kaukauna, Wis., who bombed out when he was skunked on Day 3 and finished fifth with 31.56 pounds.
The weigh-in ceremonies were held each day in the MacInnes Student Ice Arena on the Michigan Tech campus. The building was filled to its 5,500-seat capacity for Sunday's final weigh-in.
Following Plautz and Schweder on the leader board were: Rich Boggs, Nisswa, Minn., 32.79; Daryl Christensen, Montello, Wis., 32.49; and Kavajecz.
Contact ERIC SHARP at 313-222-2511 or esharp@freepress.com. Order his book "Fishing Michigan" for $15.95 at www.freep.com/bookstore or by calling 800-245-5082.
September 15, 2003
BY ERIC SHARP
FREE PRESS OUTDOORS WRITER
HOUGHTON -- Sitting in his boat at the darkened end of a hockey arena Sunday, Dan Plautz wore an ear-to-ear grin that shone through the gloom like a miniature sun as he realized that he was about to get a check for $108,000 and the title of America's top walleye angler.
Fifty-one of the nation's best walleye fishermen had spent three days scouring Portage Lake and its associated waterways in the In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail national championship, and most found that catching a walleye under the conditions was like pulling teeth.
But Plautz, of Muskego, Wis., figured out that slow-trolling crankbaits 20 feet behind planer boards in Chassell Bay would draw just enough bites to give him a maximum limit of four fish a day and a total weight of 49.86 pounds, more than 15 pounds better than the second-place total of 34.5 posted by Kevin Schweder of Janesville, Wis.
Portage Lake is part of the Keweenaw Waterway that splits the Keweenaw Peninsula into northern and southern halves, and for several years it has been a legendary hot spot for anglers seeking giant walleyes. It gets far less pressure than other big-fish locations like Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay and even Little Bay de Noc, because it is so far from major population centers.
A powerful cold front that swept over Lake Superior a week before the event nearly shut fishing down, and the average daily weight for four fish during the tournament was less than half the 20-pounds-and-up many anglers had expected after testing the waters earlier this summer.
"We were here a month ago (scouting), so we know what this place should be like," said Rick Olson of Mina Lake, S.D., who finished 11th. "We just couldn't catch the big ones."
Most frustrating to anglers was that the electronic fish finders and underwater cameras showed that they were constantly over huge numbers of big walleyes, "but they just didn't want to bite," said Ted Takasaki of East Gull Lake, Minn., president of Lindy-Little Joe Tackle Co.
The biggest fish of the tournament was an 11.2-pounder landed by Andy Kuffer of Fair Haven, who finished 12th (the top Michigan entrant). Plautz's only real competition after the second day was Keith Kavajecz of Kaukauna, Wis., who bombed out when he was skunked on Day 3 and finished fifth with 31.56 pounds.
The weigh-in ceremonies were held each day in the MacInnes Student Ice Arena on the Michigan Tech campus. The building was filled to its 5,500-seat capacity for Sunday's final weigh-in.
Following Plautz and Schweder on the leader board were: Rich Boggs, Nisswa, Minn., 32.79; Daryl Christensen, Montello, Wis., 32.49; and Kavajecz.
Contact ERIC SHARP at 313-222-2511 or esharp@freepress.com. Order his book "Fishing Michigan" for $15.95 at www.freep.com/bookstore or by calling 800-245-5082.
