Indiana
Walleye
The
website for people who love walleye fishing
[ Erie day 2 canceled ] [ RCL Heads to Erie ] [ GIACHETTO, EBI WIN RCL OPENER ] [ Spring Valleye day 3 ] [ Spring Valley day 2 ] [ Spring Valley Day 1 ] [ RCL Tour opens at Spring Valleye ]
Tournament
News
RCL
TOUR
$3.19
MILLION WAL-MART RCL WALLEYE TOUR TO BEGIN SEASON ON ILLINOIS RIVER
SPRING VALLEY, Ill. (March 17, 2004) - The Wal-Mart RCL
Walleye Tour returns in 2004 for its fourth full season, and the Illinois
River near Spring Valley will host the season opener March 31-April 3 for
the second consecutive year. The 2004 RCL Tour is bigger and better than
ever before with a $3.19 million total purse, including the season-ending
$1.4 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship on the Mississippi River
near Moline Sept. 29-Oct. 2. To kick-start the regular season, however, as
many as 320 pros and co-anglers will take on the Illinois River for their
share of a potential $401,750 purse, based on a full field.
According to Ranger pro Tom Keenan, the $300,000 winner
of the 2003 RCL Championship, water level will likely be the determining
factor as to how the Illinois River tournament is played out.
"Ideally, we'll see a normal flow," Keenan said. "That
means we'll have some current and the fish will be bunched up on gravel
bars and other structure in about 7 to 10 feet of water. What I'd hate to
see is the river at low level or flood stage. Either of those scenarios
could add up to some tough fishing." Productive lures for the
Illinois River event will likely include hair jigs, fuzzy grubs and
twister tails jigged vertically, and trolling with Shad Rap crankbaits
should also tempt the prespawn walleyes.
The Spring Valley Boat Club in Spring Valley will host
takeoff each morning at 7. Wednesday and Thursday's weigh-ins will also be
held there beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday's weigh-ins will be
held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1650 38th St. in Peru beginning at 3
p.m. The community is encouraged to attend daily takeoffs and weigh-ins.
The winning pro will earn $50,000 cash plus a fully
rigged Ranger, Crestliner or Lund boat powered by Evinrude or Yamaha for a
top award worth $90,000. The winning co-angler will receive $15,000 cash.
One hundred and sixty boaters and 160 co-anglers comprise a full field.
Pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day and fish for a combined
boat weight. Pros compete against other pros, and co-anglers compete
against other co-anglers.
The full field competes during the two-day opening
round for one of 20 semifinal-round slots based on their two-day
accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and the top 10 pros
and co-anglers following Friday's competition advance to the final round.
Final-round anglers continue, with the winner determined by the heaviest
two-day weight.
Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament
earns points, with 200 points awarded to the winner, 199 to second, 198
for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings. The top 120
pros and 120 co-anglers based on year-end points standings advance to the
2004 Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship, where a pro can earn as much as
$400,000 cash for a win. Another 20 boaters and 20 co-anglers from the
Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League and 60 pros and 60 co-anglers who compete in
RCL-sanctioned events will comprise a championship field of 200 pros and
200 co-anglers.
The Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship is the most
lucrative event in professional walleye angling, with guaranteed cash
awards through 100th place. Including sponsor bonuses, cash awards are
available through 200th place. A guaranteed cash award of $150,000 plus
potential sponsor bonuses totaling $250,000 will go to the RCL
Championship winner for a total pro award of $400,000. The champion
co-angler will win a guaranteed cash award of $75,000 plus potential
sponsor bonuses totaling $75,000 for a co-angler award of $150,000.
The RCL Tour will next visit Lake Erie near Port
Clinton, Ohio, April 28-May 1 for an event presented by Yamaha. Devils
Lake near Spirit Lake, N.D., will host the third regular-season event May
26-29, and the regular season will come to a close June 16-19 on Lake Oahe
near Pierre, S.D.
The Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour is administered by FLW
Outdoors. Other FLW Outdoors-sanctioned tournament trails include the
Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League for weekend anglers; the Wal-Mart FLW Tour,
the world's most lucrative bass-tournament series; the EverStart Series,
designed as a pathway to the FLW Tour; the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League
for weekend anglers; and the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail.
Wal-Mart and many of America's most respected companies
support FLW Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the
title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For more information about the
Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
The Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour and the Wal-Mart RCL
Walleye League are named after boat manufacturers Ranger, Crestliner and
Lund. FLW Outdoors is named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats,
Forrest L. Wood.
[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Erie day 2 canceled ] [ RCL Heads to Erie ] [ GIACHETTO, EBI WIN RCL OPENER ] [ Spring Valleye day 3 ] [ Spring Valley day 2 ] [ Spring Valley Day 1 ] [ RCL Tour opens at Spring Valleye ]
