Davis and Kalkofen win Mille Lacs Lake, Walleye Tournament
Category: npaa
Aug 5th, 2014 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Aug 5th, 2014 at 12:00 AM
Davis and Kalkofen win Mille Lacs Lake, Walleye Tournament using multiple tactics.
7/26/2014 – Isle, MN. Tom Davis was excited to see the new CPRR event for Mille Lacs Lake on the 2014 schedule. In the past years, Mille Lacs has had a tight slot and this year it was 18″-20″ with one over 28″, said Davis. The Catch – Photo – Record – Release format was exactly what this event needed as Davis and partner Jim Kalkofen went to work.
This lake has always been known for big fish on the mud flats in midsummer and it’s exactly where we concentrated our efforts, Davis said. After eliminating a spinner or crank bait bite due to small fish while pre fishing, we started rigging on a break in 32′ of water and, we had our first fish, a 27 incher recorded and released within minutes of getting off plane. As a number of other teams worked on top of the flats, Davis stayed with the game plan targeting those break line fish and gives allot of credit to his Humminbird Electronics and Minn-Kota Terrova w/iPilot Link.
Davis explained, I had a small area that I could see on the Humminbird side imaging that held a little gravel and rock on the break and the fish were relating to this as they moved up onto the flat and back down to the deeper water. On the first pass through, it was very obvious that the fish were in a feeding frenzy as I had big lightning bolts up and down in the water column on my sonar screen. As the fish settled down for the day and, as the wind stopped blowing, I knew we needed to change our approach and that’s where the Minn-Kota “Spot Lock” feature came into the game. The integration between the Humminbird unit and the Minn-Kota Terrova is amazing. I can view those key spots on side imaging or 2D and then “Spot Lock” the Terrova right from the Humminbird unit. As we sat on top of those same fish with slip bobbers, I could see the fish moving on and off that gravel tight to the bottom all morning.
Their final fish of the day came while power bobbering on the same flat to seal the victory for Davis and Kalkofen with 21.08 lbs. Davis said – Humminbird and Minn-Kota make my job much easier to not only control the boat, but to also help me pick out only the active fish.
Full Throttle Fishing combines fishing and faith, along with a professional run event; you have a FREE dinner on Friday night, inspirational speaker, and prizes. The next day is the tournament. All teams working towards a Championship. Go to www.FTfishing.com.
Full Throttle Sponsors include – Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Humminbird, MinnKota, Lakemaster, Talon, Liddle Marketing, Rapid Marine Group, Kistler Rods, Limit Creek Rods, Lindner Angling Edge, studio 503, NPAA, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Optima Batteries, Ranger Cup, Kirt Hedquist Inc., MN Teen Fishing Challenge.