PartsVu Sponsors Walleye Tournament Trio

Fishing enthusiast Andy Smolen, discusses his love for walleye tournament competition with PartsVu Xchange editor Tonia Becker.

Andy Smolen, Keith Dewald, and Jason Caruth, from the Saginaw Bay region of Michigan, love to fish. PartsVu is proud to sponsor them in their Michigan Walleye Tour tournament series endeavors this season. The trio will compete in the four-tournament series that kicked off the weekend of April 10, 2021, on the Detroit River and hope to qualify for the championship tournament on September 11 and 12 on Burt/Mullet Lake. They will also participate in at least a couple of the Saginaw Bay Walleye Club tournaments.

There is a great deal of tournament fishing experience among the trifecta, but they are a relatively newly formed team. Given the work there is to do on the boat—driving, navigating, monitoring the lines, keeping the lines untangled, and reeling in fish—a three-member team is a pretty optimal number, and they enjoy fishing together.

Michigan Walleye Tour tournaments allow up to six lines in the water at any given time, and six lines is a lot to deal with for a two-member team. Additionally, for all of the tournaments within this series, teams weigh in their five largest fish. Obviously, keeping six lines fully operational for as much time as absolutely possible increases the odds of the team's success.

I had a chance to catch up with Andy to chat with him about this upcoming season and fishing in general.

PartsVu: So why do you love fishing and, specifically, what do you love about walleye tournament fishing?

Andy: I have been fishing since I was very young, and I guess it is just the thrill of the hunt—the challenge of catching them. Walleye fishing is great because you bring fish home for your family to enjoy. But catch and release fishing is fun too. It is a lot of fun catching them; then you can catch them again another day.

I started tournament fishing to challenge myself further because you're not only trying to beat the fish but beat other anglers as well.

Tournament fishing requires a lot more strategy than non-structured recreational fishing. You have to develop plans and strategies, then execute. It’s a lot more stressful than a relaxing weekend on the water, but it’s a ton of fun. Plus, and perhaps most importantly, you might win a prize—the prizes at many of these tournaments become significant.

PartsVu: A lot of people like bass fishing because bass are feisty and fun to catch. What do you like about walleye fishing?

I love bass fishing as well, but walleye fishing does have its similarities and differences. With walleye fishing, I like that I can bring them home for the family to eat because when bass fishing, we catch and release all fish. Walleye are much better-tasting fish anyway.

Another difference is that walleye fishing allows for more bait and bait presentation options—you can use either live or artificial baits, and you can either cast or troll. You always use artificial baits bass fishing, and you’re constantly casting. Actually, we’re trying to apply more bass fishing skills to our walleye fishing this season, hoping that casting skills will give us a leg up.

Walleye don’t jump around as dramatically as bass, but they put up a good fight and are fun to catch. Also, as I said, I enjoy the different techniques you can employ fishing for walleye. You also use other methods depending on the body of water you are fishing. For instance, fishing the Detroit River with deep water and heavy current, we use vertical jigging techniques. Boat positioning also becomes important to keep your lines straight.

PartsVu: Do you see any signs of there being too much fishing pressure on the walleye population in the region?

Andy: I believe the walleye population is in pretty good shape. In the Saginaw Bay area, the Department of Natural Resources increased the catch limit for walleye and reduced the required length to reduce the number of fish and help restore the perch population. The perch population has increased, and the walleye population is still staying strong.

PartsVu: How do you prepare for a walleye tournament?

This I where the practice comes in—you have to assemble a plan. For instance, what are the weather conditions, water temperature, water clarity, how has the wind been blowing—have those wind patterns moved a lot of the baitfish over to one side of the lake? Of course, walleye will follow the baitfish.

Which depth are the fish likely to be based on these factors, and how can you best target them? Are you better off holding the boat in position and casting to them? Or, might it work better to troll over top of them?

We look for the transition areas between a few different types of bottom content—sand, rock, clay, weeds—or depth structures to best determine how to fish them. We also look at maps to study the lake's contours looking for drop-offs, weed edges, and other structures that walleye typically like.

On practice days before tournaments begin, we often drive around looking at areas we believe are likely to contain fish, and sometimes we'll get out the rods and try to catch a few as well. Until you find the fish and put together a bit of a pattern, you have to try all the depth ranges. Once you find fish, you can put together a pattern and find other areas with similar conditions.

Both the art and the science behind tournament fishing are fascinating and fun to follow. PartsVu wishes Andy, Keith, and Jason the best of luck this tournament season!