Pro vs. Rookie

The weather conditions this morning were absolutely beautiful. It was sunny and 55 degrees at Indian Creek Campground, where the PWT competitors staged one last time for the final day of competition, here on Lake Oahe, in Mobridge, SD.

Only 28 hundredths of a pound separates the seasoned veteran PWT Pro, Mark Martin, and the Rookie who has led for the past two days, Aaron Deal, of Herman, MN.

I teased Aaron, to see what kind of response I could get out of him this morning, because I figured he must be on pins and needles right now:

Juls: Mark Martin said he’s going to take the win away from you, because you don’t have the experience, like he has…what do you say to that?

Aaron: “He can try”, is all he said, then broke out with a huge smile, and laughed.

I talked to Mark Martin this morning too, and he told me a little bit about what he plans to do today. Here is what Mark had to say:

Juls: Mark, you’re only .28 pounds out, what are you going to do today to secure the win?

Mark: “Well, I’m going to go out and hopefully my fish are sitting in the same spot. I’m going to do my jigs and minnows, pitching jigs and minnows, and Northland Glow jigs with a little piece of GULP! on it, and a fathead minnow, and work it across these spawning areas…and see if the fish are still hanging in those areas, and I’m also using a Creek Chub on a dead rod that I  drag along the edges, so if I can get all that done, like I have the last few days,  I’ll be in fine shape.

Juls: Yeah, you’ve been really consistent in your weights, do you think you can do that again today?

Mark: “Ah, possibly, because nobody else is fishing in that area except Mike Gofron, and he has allowed me to take over that area today, so now I’m going to find out  before I just go in there take my couple big fish, and I’d be gone…and, so now, today, I’m going to see if there are even any slot fish in there that fortunately I haven’t made the mistake and been able to hook some bigger fish that I had to be sorry for and had to throw back, so today I’m going to just be somewhat selective, but I’m not going to be overly selective…anything 24-22 inches is going to go into the livewell, and then hopefully I can have some good slots, in that 19 inch range that I’ve been getting the past couple of days. And, then we’ll go to the scales and hopefully I’ll be on top.”

It’s still anyone’s tournament to win. The top ten are all within reach if someone fails to get the job done today. As it was yesterday, we’ll see the field flip flop one more time, because it’s still the luck of the big fish bite here on Lake Oahe.

The PWT will be paying out the top 30 spots at this event.

Come back this afternoon, when Walleye Central will bring you continuing coverage of one of the tightest competitions in the history of the PWT!

The weigh-in festivities will begin at 3PM Central Time