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Achman / Keenan Score Win at
Lake
Minnewaska Qualifier
After a soggy start to the MWT
season at Lac qui Parle a few weeks earlier in May, the weather once
again seemed like it wanted to play a role in the Lake Minnewaska
Qualifier. Saturday’s pre-fishing period was beautiful but anglers
were surprised by the angry skies above as they left the “Judge
Rules” meeting that same night. Flashes
of lightning were all around and some rain did eventually fall that
night but by 5:00am as the boat check in started the skies were
beginning to clear. However
this is Minnesota and that would soon change again.
By around 6:00am fog began to envelop the lake making it
difficult for anglers still making their way to the check-in point at
the Water’s Edge Restaurant. By
the 7:00am ease-off the lake was shrouded in fog making for a slow
ease-off. Shortly
thereafter the sun would win and burn away the fog.
There was no fog however in Lee Achman and Ken Keenan’s plans.
The pair from Morristown and North Mankato, respectively, had a
plan that was clear. They
had located an area of rubble mixed with small emerging coontail along
the north shore while pre-fishing on Saturday which they thought might
hold the walleyes needed for a win.
Achman and Keenan had two other locations but just had a hunch
about this one.
Their hunch paid off to the tune of $2,500.00.
Lee Achman describes their tournament winning tactics. “We were fishing an area
between Lawrence point and Priest point in 17’ of water. The area was
about 40 wide by 100 yards long of rubble mixed in with a little coon
tail weeds between weed beds. We used lindy rigs with around a 7'-8'
leader with a chartreuse bead, a red hook and 1/4 oz. weight hopping it
through the rubble and weeds. Leeches caught the 4 largest fish and
crawlers caught the other 2. We boated 4 fish by 8:00 A.M. and
stuck to that spot the entire day. The 21" fish came in at
around noon and the 24 1/2" fish at about 2:00. The fish bit
extremely light and we fed them a lot of line.”
Achman and Keenan, who were one of seven teams to bring in a
tournament limit six fish basket, weighed in at 15.48 pounds.
They took home the win, first place checks and plaques by just
under one pound.
Landing in second place, also with a six fish limit, were Bill
Antonson of Monticello, and partner Tom Carlson from Princeton.
They were also using a live bait presentation in the same general
area as Achman and Keenan. Using
4’ – 5’ spinner harnesses with crawlers and hammered copper
blades, Antonson and Carlson probed the 14’ – 16’ depths around
the large bulrush point on the north side about halfway between Starbuck
and Glenwood. The pair went three hours into the day without landing a fish
when they decided to modify their presentation slightly by adding a 2
ounce bottom bouncer and rip their spinners right through the weeds in
15 to 16 feet of water at 1.8 to 2.0 mph. That decision paid off
immediately with Bill hooking into a 5 lb. fish that broke off before
they could get a net on it. As
the wind gained strength later in the morning Antonson and Carlson moved
shallower and around 11:15am Tom hooked into their largest fish of the
day, a 5.70 lber. At
2:00pm, and still one fish short of a limit, they decided to target an
small area where they had caught two of their legal fish and around 2:30
slid the net under number six and a second place finish with 14.49 lbs
of walleyes worth $1,500.00.
Third place would go to Wayne Johnson and Tom Johnson from
Miltona and Ottertail. Also
working bottom bouncers with crawlers and green spinners, Team Johnson
concentrated on a 16’ – 18’ deep area out in front of the high
school. Success would find
them early in the day though as they had 4 fish in the box by 8:00am.
The bite slowed considerably for them the rest of the morning but
would pick up again by mid-day. At
11:58 they would boat their sixth fish and around 12:30 they were able
to catch two 17 ½”ers to replace two 15’s caught earlier.
Team Johnson’s six fish tournament limit would tip the scale at 11.46
lbs and earn them $1,250.00.
Big fish honors would go to Mark Daschner and Troy Behsman from
Armstrong, IA and Cleveland, MN, respectively.
After pulling crawlers and spinners to boat two smaller legal
fish during the day it was getting close to weigh-in time when the pair
decided to put on crankbaits and troll their way back to the Water’s
Edge. At 2:45 a 6.62 lb
walleye would hit a #5 rattling suspending Shad Rap which was purchased
that morning at Lake Minnewaska Bait & Tackle with the gift
certificate the guys had won the previous night at the “Judge Rules”
meeting! This big fish
would catapult them into 4th place for $1,000.00 plus the
$500.00 for the big fish pot and a pair of Beckman landing nets.
Second place big fish, a 5.86 lber, and $220.00 cash went to Chad
Holst of Mankato &
Blake Voigt of Kasson. |
