This win was a testimonial to technology and to the basics of fishing. I anchored and used bobbers with Thumper jigs and leeches. I was pitching jigs with minnows pre-fishing and found the walleyes preferred the Thumper jig so I tried it with a leech and a bobber and my partner got all the bites with the Thumper jig. I converted quickly!

I studied the lake during the winter with my mapping software so I knew the lake structure fairly well before I arrived. This was a new lake for me so it needed more studying time. I used LakeMaster's high definition 3 foot contour map for the deep structure and a map from Warren Parsons Maps for shallow structure and weeds. When I went to the lake I could see the boat position on each map.
LakeMaster did a quality job in mapping the lake and producing a map card for my Lowrance. It was a huge disadvantage if you didn't use their map. It is very important to know the shape of a hump when fishing. I fished a lot of humps during the week but the fish were small so I tried shallow and caught very few but larger walleyes. I will always fish big fish because that is the only way to win, but fishing rare big fish can make you finish at the bottom if they are rarer than you think!

The aerial photo helped with finding shallow structure and weed beds. Each night I would put my trails and waypoints on both maps on my computer to help understand what I was fishing and to find new spots to test. I would also log charts with my Lowrance and use that data to create my special 1/2 foot contour maps for anchoring. I was able to see my boat position on these maps during the tournament.

For all that took my mapping classes you know exactly what I was doing. This will give you a little incentive to practice what I taught you. Time is the main factor in learning mapping and being comfortable with a computer.

It is really nice to be rewarded for all the time I put in learning this technology. I knew it would win one for me someday.

Bruce Samson MD
GO FISHING, THE CLOCK IS TICKING

Doc Bruce Nets 4th PWT Win at Lund Pro-Am in Ottertail

Bruce "Doc" Samson won his fourth PWT tournament, the Lund Pro-Am, part of
the In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail Super Pro series. He was competing against the top 60 walleye pros in the world on Otter Tail Lake in west-central Minnesota. The Super Pro series, presented by MinnKota, is an invitational, based on past tournament successes. Samson, Minnetrista, Minn., won the $55,000 first prize. Second-place pro Daryl Christensen, Montello, Wis., won $15,000. Mark Christianson, Walker, Minn., was third for $10,000. Samson's 34.49 pounds was six better than second and nearly 10 more than third.

He primarily fished slip bobbers, with the key being 1/16th ounce Northland Thumper jigs. "The tiny spinners on the bottom of the jigs made the difference," he said. He also credited a tremendous number of hours studying maps over the winter, then saving his trails and best spots each
evening on his computer, and reviewing his findings. Samson fished rocky reefs mostly in the mid-lake area. He also found some rock piles on Diamond Flat that produced.

Christensen captured second place by casting one-fourth ounce Hopkins spoonswith Mustad round bend red #6 hooks. He added no bait and jigged the spoons back to the boat in short hops in 7 to 14 feet of water. The third place Christiansen rigged his way to success. Anglers trolled crankbaits, ran spinners behind bottom bouncers, plus the tactics described by the top three, and tried everything imaginable to put a
PWT limit of four walleyes in the boat each day. The walleyes were donated to the Ottertail Nursing Home, the Battle Lake Good Sam Home and the Fergus Falls Veterans Home. The Ottertail Country Association and Lund Boats cooperated to bring the PWT to the area and provided the many volunteers necessary for the success of the mission. Both received PWT Superior Achievement Awards. The final day crowd of 2,000 walleye fans enjoyed the stage ceremonies and the PWT Outdoor Festival. Special awards went to amateur/co-angler winner Bruce Boyne, Wadena, Minn. He won the $15,000 Lund boat, which he announced on stage would be traded immediately on the new Lund 2010 model, a 20-foot tiller with a Merc 175. Boyne also won $500 for the Coleman Big Fish he caught with Christianson on day two. Christianson won $1,500.Christianson also won the E-Cell Heavyweight award of $1,000 for the largest catch of the tournament, 14.22 pounds. Coleman Cool Under Pressure awards went to Dan Plautz, Muskego, Wis., for advancing 44 places, and amateur
Chris Roehl, Elizabeth, Minn., for moving up 48 places. Bill Ortiz, Richland Center, Wis., took over the Johnsonville Brats Angler of the Year race. He finished fourth at Ottertail, and was
15th at Chamberlain, SD, the first Super Pro. Standings, photos and bios
are posted on the PWT website: professionalwalleyetrail.com. The Super Pros
next tour stop is in Michigan's Upper Peninsula in Houghton June 28-30

For Results Log onto: http://pwtleaderboard.com/leader.asp