Stan Fagerstrom
01-10-2002, 03:42 PM
Professional Angler Reveals Secrets Of His Success At Fishing For Walleye
By Stan Fagerstrom
Many walleye fishing specialists consider the Professional Walleye Trail National Championship Tournament the “World Series of Walleye Fishing.”
For the past couple of years I’ve had the good fortune to attend that event. On both occasions it was held in mid-September. The fishing was done on the Missouri River out of Bismarck, North Dakota.
You have to be a doggoned good fisherman just to quality for the annual Professional Walleye Trail (PWT) National Championship. The 45 anglers who earn their way into the contest don’t make it on luck. They’ll take good fortune when it comes their way, but they know going in that getting there depends on their skill, the tackle they select and the fashion in which they use it.
Walleye fishing has gained a lot more prominence here in the states of Washington and Oregon in recent years. The main reason, of course, is that the Columbia River over the past two decades has consistently produced some of the largest walleye being caught in the United States. What may surprise some is that lures marketed by a Washington State based company are coming for a good bit of attention among the nation’s top walleye anglers.
http://www.ifish.net/sfks1.jpg
Pro angler Keith Segar hands a box
of walleye to be weighed at
the 2001 Professional Walleye
Trail National Championship.
Keith Segar, of Muskegon, Michigan is one of the fishermen I interviewed at last year’s PWT National Championship. I’d heard about this likeable guy who hosts a radio show when he’s not pursuing walleye. I was curious about the way he went about earning his way into the 2001 championship shoot off. Despite his hectic schedule on the day before the fishing started, he took time to provide answers to some of the questions I had for him.
One thing surfaced in a hurry. Segar, though he hails from the other side of the United States, is big on lures marketed by a company tucked away between the mountain peaks way out in the Cascades of Washington State.
“Mack’s Lure products have been everything to me this year,” Segar says. “My intentions early in the year were to fish just one Professional Walleye Trail contest. Then Bob Schmidt began encouraging me. He even came all the way out here and helped me pre-fish for the first tournament. I decided I’d go ahead and fish the rest of the PWT events.”
Bob Schmidt, you see, is the sales manager of the Leavenworth, Washington based company that has made such an impact on the walleye-fishing world the past couple of years. Schmidt, as you might imagine, is really big on what Mack’s Lure products can do for a professional angler. Now Segar is too.
“It was Schmidt who got me to use a Glo Hook when he was on the Detroit River with me in April,” Segar says. “Once I tied it on, I immediately started getting hits. I used it as a stinger hook on my minnow. Later I switched to a Mack’s Glo Jig. I wound up finishing fourth in that tournament.”
Why does a pro like Segar find the Glo Hook so effective? I asked him. “I use them whenever I have a lack of water visibility,” he says. “I use them in concert with a minnow or in combination with the Smile Blade spinner. I’ve already got one tied on my rod right now that I’ll be using here in this 2001 National Championship.”
I found out how Segar came by his obvious confidence in the ability of Mack’s Lure fish-catching hardware to take walleye out of the Missouri River. In one of the practice rounds staged prior to the beginning of the 2002 PWT contest there in the Bismarck area of North Dakota he had boated more than 10-pounds of walleye---all on Mack’s Lure products.
“Mack’s Lure Smile Blades,” Segar says, “have been really important to me. They also helped, whether they’ll admit it or not, some of the other qualifiers get here. They figured prominently in the July PWT tournament staged at Sault St. Marie on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.”
Segar discovered what lots of other walleye anglers have found where Smile Blades are concerned. It’s that these blades spin so easily it’s possible to fish them at extremely slow speeds. That often means more fish in the boat.
“I used a bottom bouncer along with a Smile Blade and blue beads,” Segar says. “The set up allowed me to fish ultra slow. I could maneuver my lure to simulate the smelt walleye were feeding on at the time. A lot of other fishermen at that tournament also began using Smile Blades.”
The 40-year-old Michigan angler has been specializing in walleye angling for the past 20 years. He has served four years in the United States Army and is presently a supervisor for a chemical plant that makes color formers for the paper industry.
Beginning walleye anglers might also be interested in the rods Segar uses in his search for those elusive critters. “For vertical jigging, I prefer the G. Loomis WJR 741S,” he says. “This spinning rod gives me ultimate sensitivity and has a fast tip. I can detect the lightest bites with it.”
Like an increasing number of anglers, Segar also has a high regard for the G. Loomis series of crankbait rods. His favorite in that category is the WJR 843.
What makes a winning angler like this Michigan professional put walleye number one on his piscatorial hit parade? He sums it up this way: “I like the challenge,” he says. “I’ve never fished for any other species where you have to spend as much time, energy and effort just to get a bite.”
http://www.ifish.net/sfks2.jpg
Keith Segar tells the master of ceremonies
how he caught his walleye during
the PWT National Championship on the Missouri River last fall.
Keith Segar gets his share of bites---and then some. Odds are good you’ll be hearing more about him on the down the line in professional fishing circles. If you’re one of the increasing number of anglers in this part of the world who are taking more interest in walleye fishing you’ll be wise to try some of the tactics he employs yourself.
[ 01-10-2002: Message edited by: Stan Fagerstrom ]</p>
By Stan Fagerstrom
Many walleye fishing specialists consider the Professional Walleye Trail National Championship Tournament the “World Series of Walleye Fishing.”
For the past couple of years I’ve had the good fortune to attend that event. On both occasions it was held in mid-September. The fishing was done on the Missouri River out of Bismarck, North Dakota.
You have to be a doggoned good fisherman just to quality for the annual Professional Walleye Trail (PWT) National Championship. The 45 anglers who earn their way into the contest don’t make it on luck. They’ll take good fortune when it comes their way, but they know going in that getting there depends on their skill, the tackle they select and the fashion in which they use it.
Walleye fishing has gained a lot more prominence here in the states of Washington and Oregon in recent years. The main reason, of course, is that the Columbia River over the past two decades has consistently produced some of the largest walleye being caught in the United States. What may surprise some is that lures marketed by a Washington State based company are coming for a good bit of attention among the nation’s top walleye anglers.
http://www.ifish.net/sfks1.jpg
Pro angler Keith Segar hands a box
of walleye to be weighed at
the 2001 Professional Walleye
Trail National Championship.
Keith Segar, of Muskegon, Michigan is one of the fishermen I interviewed at last year’s PWT National Championship. I’d heard about this likeable guy who hosts a radio show when he’s not pursuing walleye. I was curious about the way he went about earning his way into the 2001 championship shoot off. Despite his hectic schedule on the day before the fishing started, he took time to provide answers to some of the questions I had for him.
One thing surfaced in a hurry. Segar, though he hails from the other side of the United States, is big on lures marketed by a company tucked away between the mountain peaks way out in the Cascades of Washington State.
“Mack’s Lure products have been everything to me this year,” Segar says. “My intentions early in the year were to fish just one Professional Walleye Trail contest. Then Bob Schmidt began encouraging me. He even came all the way out here and helped me pre-fish for the first tournament. I decided I’d go ahead and fish the rest of the PWT events.”
Bob Schmidt, you see, is the sales manager of the Leavenworth, Washington based company that has made such an impact on the walleye-fishing world the past couple of years. Schmidt, as you might imagine, is really big on what Mack’s Lure products can do for a professional angler. Now Segar is too.
“It was Schmidt who got me to use a Glo Hook when he was on the Detroit River with me in April,” Segar says. “Once I tied it on, I immediately started getting hits. I used it as a stinger hook on my minnow. Later I switched to a Mack’s Glo Jig. I wound up finishing fourth in that tournament.”
Why does a pro like Segar find the Glo Hook so effective? I asked him. “I use them whenever I have a lack of water visibility,” he says. “I use them in concert with a minnow or in combination with the Smile Blade spinner. I’ve already got one tied on my rod right now that I’ll be using here in this 2001 National Championship.”
I found out how Segar came by his obvious confidence in the ability of Mack’s Lure fish-catching hardware to take walleye out of the Missouri River. In one of the practice rounds staged prior to the beginning of the 2002 PWT contest there in the Bismarck area of North Dakota he had boated more than 10-pounds of walleye---all on Mack’s Lure products.
“Mack’s Lure Smile Blades,” Segar says, “have been really important to me. They also helped, whether they’ll admit it or not, some of the other qualifiers get here. They figured prominently in the July PWT tournament staged at Sault St. Marie on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.”
Segar discovered what lots of other walleye anglers have found where Smile Blades are concerned. It’s that these blades spin so easily it’s possible to fish them at extremely slow speeds. That often means more fish in the boat.
“I used a bottom bouncer along with a Smile Blade and blue beads,” Segar says. “The set up allowed me to fish ultra slow. I could maneuver my lure to simulate the smelt walleye were feeding on at the time. A lot of other fishermen at that tournament also began using Smile Blades.”
The 40-year-old Michigan angler has been specializing in walleye angling for the past 20 years. He has served four years in the United States Army and is presently a supervisor for a chemical plant that makes color formers for the paper industry.
Beginning walleye anglers might also be interested in the rods Segar uses in his search for those elusive critters. “For vertical jigging, I prefer the G. Loomis WJR 741S,” he says. “This spinning rod gives me ultimate sensitivity and has a fast tip. I can detect the lightest bites with it.”
Like an increasing number of anglers, Segar also has a high regard for the G. Loomis series of crankbait rods. His favorite in that category is the WJR 843.
What makes a winning angler like this Michigan professional put walleye number one on his piscatorial hit parade? He sums it up this way: “I like the challenge,” he says. “I’ve never fished for any other species where you have to spend as much time, energy and effort just to get a bite.”
http://www.ifish.net/sfks2.jpg
Keith Segar tells the master of ceremonies
how he caught his walleye during
the PWT National Championship on the Missouri River last fall.
Keith Segar gets his share of bites---and then some. Odds are good you’ll be hearing more about him on the down the line in professional fishing circles. If you’re one of the increasing number of anglers in this part of the world who are taking more interest in walleye fishing you’ll be wise to try some of the tactics he employs yourself.
[ 01-10-2002: Message edited by: Stan Fagerstrom ]</p>