The first day of the H2H PWS Detroit River Great 8 did not disappoint as our remaining anglers set out to fish their head-to-head matches!

Before we get into our recap, be sure to head on over to our result’s page and checkout the bracket. You can also print off your own bracket to follow along as we get closer to our championship day on Friday. After watching the first 2 days of fishing it was evident that PWS anglers Nick Schertz and Isaac Lakich had a winning program figured out. Both Nick and Isaac were pitching jigs in shallow water where they caught fish after fish and quickly ran up their weights to easily qualify for the Great 8 bracket.

Nick Schertz fished his same waypoints today and it was the right call as he landed over 50 lbs of walleyes on his jig and plastic! If you have been following along since the start you will notice that the seam Nick has found on the Detroit River is constantly funneling in and out new fish. If it is not broke don’t fix it, right? Schertz by far had the most weight today. One of the other largest weights today was from none other than Justin Schneider, Justin also happens to be competing directly against Schertz.

If you remember back to yesterday, Justin was our last angler to qualify for day 3 on the Detroit River. Almost any other angler Justin would have faced today he would have beat with his 26 lbs and 7 oz effort– this just goes to show you anything can happen in an H2H tournament. Nick Schertz surpassed Justin with 51 lbs 8 oz to Justin’s 26 lbs 7 oz. Justin put on a great show and his main tactic was vertically pumping jigs with his Mag’s Custom Rods.

Isaac Lakich was another angler a lot of eyes were on today. If we remember back to day 1 and 2, Isaac has been on an absolute tear putting up some big numbers. Today Isaac did what he had to do to advance catching over 19 lbs of walleyes and besting his opponent, Joe Okada. Joe fished hard all day, but he didn’t have the same magic as yesterday’s end where he caught some key fish in key moments to advance him to our bracket.

The second half of our Great 8 consists of Max Wilson, Jake LaPine, Josh Wiesner and David Kolb. LaPine surpassed Wilson today landing over 26 lbs of fish, nearly double to Wilson’s 13 lbs 14 oz weight. Josh Wiesner continued to be consistent with his jig and plastic technique catching 10 walleyes today for a total 24 lbs and 7 oz. PWS angler David Kolb was one of the only anglers we saw trolling, which was a strategy that helped him land 3 fish for 9 lbs. David did give us all a scare today when he fell out of his boat in the icy cold waters of the Detroit River. Thankfully, he quickly got back in his boat safely and he is doing fine.

With so much excitement on day 3 it is anyone’s guess what will happen tomorrow. Be sure to give us a like on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel. The H2H Facebook page also had additional coverage every night with our very own Andy Cleveland where he breaks down all the action and has one-on-one interviews with our anglers.