Chad Miller Fishing.com

2010 TOURNAMENT CIRCUIT

Toothy Anglers Starvation Tournament - TBD (May) - Starvation Reservoir - UT Toothy Anglers Utah Fishing Club

Yuba Walleye Roundup - TBD (May) - Yuba Reservoir - Juab County - UT  Yuba Walleye Roundup

Willard Bay RMA Tournament - May 30, 2010 - Willard Bay State Park - UT  Rocky Mountain Anglers

Cabela's National Team Championship - June 5-6, 2010 - Lake Winnebago, WI  Cabela's Masters Walleye Circuit

Catch A Cure For Cancer Bass & Walleye Tournament - June 26, 2010 - Starvation Reservoir - UT  Utah Bass Federation

South Dakota Governor's Cup Walleye Tournament - July 17-18, 2010 - Lake Oahe, SD  South Dakota Governor's Cup

Toothy Anglers Yuba Tournament - TBD (July 29) - Yuba Reservoir - UT  Toothy Anglers Utah Fishing Club

Starvation Walleye Classic - September 11-12, 2010 - Starvation Reservoir - UT Starvation Classic

2009 TOURNAMENT JOURNAL

Starvation Walleye Classic Tournament - Sept 12-13 - Duchesne, UT

Day 1: I fished this tournament with Todd Hall who is somewhat new to walleye fishing. This was only his second tournament. Saturday morning we started fishing above the bridge in the Strawberry arm of the lake and did not have good luck. We pulled cranks and Smile Blades until 11:00 am and caught only one walleye measuring just over 13". (I did catch a 27" brown pulling a gold Smiley which was fun but since it didn't help us we quickly released it and kept fishing for walleye.)

We started working up the lake around noon and hitting additional spots we knew held fish earlier in the season. As we worked these locations, we realized the bite was off and we would have to continue to look for fish to find a few active ones. At 1:30, we still had only one fish in the well so we moved into the Saluratus arm and finally found a few fish that would cooperate. With only a couple of hours left, we chose to sit on these fish and shoot for five good bites which we got. Luckily, as Todd started the engine with only 6 minutes to get back to the weigh in, I hooked into one last fish and was culling as we headed in. Close call, but we managed to get our limit and we weighed in with just over 6.5 lbs. Only 12 teams had limits and we finished the day in 8th place which we thought was pretty good since we managed to get a limit in the nick of time.

Day 2: We chose to go back to the active fish we found on day one hoping to get an early limit. Our decision paid off and we had a limit in the boat by 8:30 am...and we were culling fish by 8:45! Around 10:30 we picked up a 19" fish which was our largest for the day. However, we culled through over 50 fish in the 15.5-16" range. The big fish weren't there.

Wind howled around 1:30 pm so we moved to a windy shoreline to pull cranks in the mudlines but the fish weren't moving in to feed. We finished the day with our 6-fish limit weighing in at 2 lbs which was enough to move us into a fourth place finish for the tournament. Since this was our first Starvation Walleye Classic, and we were fishing against skilled local anglers, we felt great about our standing. Our competitors have fished this lake for decades and finishing 4th amid this group is an honor.

We caught our fish on Bleeder Chains, Smile Blades, and plain hooks with 1/2 crawlers. Other guys who were catching fish near us were wondering what we were using because these three presentations proved to be the key for us in this tournament.

Many thanks to Duchesne city and the Starvation Classic organizers! We met some really great guys and it was a fun, well-organized tournament.

South Dakota Governor's Cup - July 18-19, 2009 - Lake Oahe, SD 

July 9: With the tournament only a week away, I have begun preparations and planning. This week I've studied three maps: Google Earth (updated when the lake was low so the points and structure to 30 feet down are visible), Navonics Contour Maps, and the Lake Oahe map. Comparing the three is a key strategy because one map may show a hump or island while the other two maps may not. Fishing a spot on the spot is the goal! I have a binder filled with satellite and contour maps of each area to focus on. I am guessing the bite will be on flats, points, or gradual drop offs. I will look for the fish to suspend off of key structure and I am guessing the depths to be in the 5- to 25-foot range, keying most of the fish in 8-16 feet.

My teammate, Carl Heller, and I have only 3-days to fish the entire lake prior to the tournament so first we will concentrate on the Cheyenne area and then the Spring Creek area. Carl and I have decided on 47 places to hit prior to Friday afternoon when we willl then hit our identified "key spots" to make sure the fish are still there.

July 13: I spent over 14-hours on the road today driving from Salt Lake City, UT to Lake Oahe, SD. I enjoyed the stretch through Wyoming with the wildlife and beautiful green landscape. I also admired the Black Hills of SD.  My Ford Explorer accommodates well my equipment and provides me a safe, comfortable ride. 

July 14: We began our pre-tournament fishing on the water at 7:00 am and fished around the lower end of Lake Oahe. We live bait rigged all morning (with nothing to show for it) before we put the cranks on and started pulling from Chanty Creek west to Stoney Point. We had a good afternoon pulling cranks with several fish coming in over 19". Carl pulled in a nice 25" walleye on a red deep diving Reef Runner. The pattern seemed to be pulling over main lake points in 14' waters. As the Reef Runner came off of the edge into deeper water, the fish would slam it.

July 15: We pre-tournament fished today around the mouth of the Cheyenne as well as around Little Bend. First thing in the morning, we chose a spot holding a lot of baitfish and fish--it paid off. In this spot, Carl managed a 26.5" walleye on a live bait rig. Since we had several fish within minutes, we decided to move and not pressure them anymore. We worked our way up toward Charlie Creek and through this stretch pulled in a few fish on cranks. We ended the day pulling cranks again by Chanty Creek with little luck so the previous day's pattern wasn't working.

July 16: Carl and I fished only until 12:00 so as not to disturb the walleye to much.  We repeated our Wednesday pattern to see if the fish were still there but only caught a couple. The fish had moved out of the area. 

Saturday, July 17, Day 1: The tournament began at 7:00 am. Our boat was #15 so we launched early and headed up the lake from Spring Creek to the mouth of the Cheyenne--23 miles. As we pulled in, three rods went down and they were all small mouth with the largest being 19". We used live bait in the area and pulled out over 50 walleye in two hours. By 9:30, we had 6 walleye in the livewell, the smallest being 17.5".  Around 10:00, we pulled up and went south to pull cranks for a larger fish. We pulled all afternoon and threw back two 19.5" walleye to keep these slots open. We never did find the big one we were looking for and had to settle for a day one weight of 11.91 lbs. This put us in the middle of the field.

Sunday, July 18, Day 2: Today we launched near the back of the pack and had to make the long run to the Cheyenne in three to four footers so it took almost an hour for us to get up there. We began fishing but soon realized the fish that had been there for the past three days had moved. At 9:30 am, we had no fish in the livewell so we moved across the lake to a point and flat holding some active fish. We put three in the live-well rather quickly but trying to maintain boat control in 3 footers was a challenge. We headed back to our first spot and put another three in the boat to give us our 6 fish to weigh. We then headed down the lake knowing it would take about two hours to get back in rough water. When we arrived at Spring Creek, we pulled Reef Runners to see if we could find a big one but again had no luck. We finished day two with 11.14 lbs.

Overall, it was a good tournament. We caught nice limits and just missed catching one of the larger fish we found pre-tournament fishing. We stuck to our plan which paid off in some regards, but we just weren't able to find the overs. The South Dakota Governor's Cup is the first and longest running walleye tournament in the country and we feel honored to have participated. Many thanks to Sean Brakss and the folks at Spring Creek Resort for an excellent fishing experience. 

Toothy Anglers Club Tournament, May 9, 2009, Starvation Reservoir, UT  

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