Rodwells Beat the Wind and Rain to take Storm Lake Tournament
By Steve Weisman
I.O.W.A. Publicity Director
With the threat of mid-afternoon high winds and severe thunderstorms, the team of Mike and Doug Rodwell from Oskaloosa, IA made wise use of their limited fishing time to capture the $1790 first place check at the I.O.W.A. Team Walleye Tournament Trail’s Storm Lake qualifier on Sunday, April 22.
Their five-fish limit weight of 6.04 pounds gave them a narrow victory over the team of Jon Coolican from Mason City, IA and Jim Coolican from Commerce Town, MI. The Coolican brothers earned the $1080 second place check with a five-fish limit weight of 5.94 pounds.
The father-son team of Scott and Mike Peterson from Ogden, IA took the third place check of $780 with a five-fish weight of 5.80 pounds.
“With the cold weather in early to mid-April, this was the case of a late-post spawn situation,” said Dean Higgins, I.O.W.A. Executive Director. “Plus, the new 17-22 inch slot regulations really changed the complexion of the numbers and size of the fish brought to the scales.”
With storm warnings out for potentially high winds and hail, Higgins made the decision at noon to call the teams in for an early 1:30 p.m. weigh-in. “I hated to do it, but my first responsibility is for the safety of our teams.”
During interviews, teams repeatedly spoke in support of the decision. Mike Rodwell agreed, “I would much rather be safe on shore rather than fighting high winds on the lake!”
Several other special awards were also awarded at the tournament.
The Berkley Big Fish Award of two IM7 Graphite Berkley Tactix rods and two Mitchell Avocet Gold Series reels went to the team of Eric Aleksich and Jody Pirie from Lehigh, IA for their 1.77-pound walleye.
The winners also captured the Net Your Cash Award of $100 from StowMaster Nets for the highest placing team using a StowMaster net and the $100 gift certificate for taking the Cabela’s Family Team award for the highest placing family team.
The Smooth Moves Seat Mounts Award of two $100 certificates towards a Smooth Move Seat went to the Peterson duo.
The Need Mack’s Lure Award of two $100 Mack’s Lure certificates went to the team of Don and Trapper Griese from Dolliver, IA.
Presentations differed for the top three teams. The winners used their front trolling motor to move slowly along the shoreline near Stony Point, pitching 1/8-ounce chartreuse jigs up to the rocks in 1-3 feet of water. Mike said, “We mainly worked one 200 yard area. We would reel the jigs back just fast enough to keep from getting snagged in the rocks.”
At the same time, the Rodwells put out two dead rods and Lindy rigged with chartreuse Phelps floaters tipped with a minnow. Although they boated their first keeper 10 minutes into the day, the late morning bite was better.
For the Coolican brothers, nothing clicked during pre-fishing until late on Friday. Jim said, “We just didn’t have a pattern going at all. Then on Friday afternoon we started trolling Shad Raps and small Salmos and picked up four fish. By 9 a.m., we had four fish in the boat.”
They targeted speeds from 2.2 to 2.4 mph, trolling in five feet of water along the south shore outside the boat ramp area. They found long-lining to be more effective, as Jim said, “It was probably three to one.”
The third place team also trolled crankbaits, but they found most of their fish came on the rods with planer boards. Scott said, “We had tried pitching jigs during pre-fishing, but we felt that bite was slowly dying. I would guess we caught between 30-40 fish today with three that were over 20 inches that hit in the slot.” They trolled #5 shad colored Shad Raps, targeting 7-8 feet of water. Their best trolling speed was 2.2 mph.
“It has been several years since we have been at Storm Lake. It is a great place to host a tournament,” added Higgins. With two tournaments now in the books, the I.O.W.A. teams begin making plans for the third tournament, which will be at Lake Rathbun on Sunday, May 6. “As for Lake Rathbun, all I can say is the potential is there for big baskets of fish.”
All of the latest news on the I.O.W.A. circuit can be found at the I.O.W.A. website (www.walleyepromotions.com).
Anglers interested in learning more about the I.O.W.A circuit can call (515) 571-1085 or they can email the I.O.W.A. staff at [email protected].
Corporate sponsors for the 2007 I.O.W.A Team Walleye Tournament Trail include Lund, Mercury Outboards, ShoreLand’r Trailers, Algona Marine and Sport, MinnKota, Humminbird, Berkley, Cabela’s, Mack’s Lure, Smooth Move Seat Mounts, StowMaster, Hooters and Farm & City Insurance Services of Forest City.