GREEN BAY, Wis. – Pro Mark Brumbaugh of Arcanum, Ohio, and co-angler Gary Morris of Blaine, Minn., pulled five walleye weighing 30 pounds, 15 ounces from the cool waters of Green Bay Wednesday to take an early lead in the inaugural $1.4 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship – the richest walleye tournament in history.
Tournament rules permit each pair of anglers to weigh five walleye per day. State law, however, limits each angler’s contribution to a maximum of three walleye. Wisconsin’s no-culling restriction added to the thrill of fishing for a potential $400,000 payday by prompting anglers to decide, in an instant, which walleye to keep and which ones to release. Once a walleye is placed in an angler’s livewell, it cannot be returned to the lake until after the tournament weigh-in.
“It’s a mind game,” said Brumbaugh, who made a 70-mile run into Green Bay while the majority of competitors opted for the calmer waters of the Fox River. “You’ve got to go out there and decide that you are not going to keep anything under 4 pounds. That’s what we did, and we were fortunate enough to get the quality fish we needed. We figured we could fish in the river with everyone else, or go out into the bay and catch twice what we would get in the river.”
Pro Patrick Byle of Colgate, Wis., and co-angler Gary Darling of Fort Collins, Colo., finished opening day in second place with five walleye weighing 25-13, while pro Mike Gofron of Antioch, Ill., and co-angler Val Labau of Miller, S.D., came in third with five walleye weighing 24-0. Rounding out the top five where pro Bucky Mueller of Brookfield, Wis., and co-angler Mike Bushman of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., with five walleye weighing 23-11, and pro Rod Declark of Kingsford, Mich., and co-angler Alan Frey of Appleton, Wis., with five walleye weighing 22-15.
The winning pro will receive the largest first-place cash prize in the history of walleye fishing – $150,000 – and the opportunity to collect an additional $250,000 in sponsor bonus prize money from Ranger, Crestliner, Lund (RCL) and Evinrude. The winning co-angler will receive $75,000 and the opportunity to collect an additional $75,000 in sponsor bonus cash. Up to $1.4 million will be awarded during the four-day event.
Pro Mark Keenan of Appleton, Wis., and Brumbaugh tied for Wednesday’s big walleye award and received $600 each for an 8-pound, 8-ounce heavyweight.
An approaching cold front could cool off more than just the temperature as schools of walleye react to the changing weather, but Brumbaugh isn’t too concerned. “The fronts don’t seem to effect these fish,” Brumbaugh said. “The change in the weather is not so much about bothering the fish as it is about getting to them.”
Competition resumes Thursday when 200 pros and 200 co-anglers representing 21 states and four Canadian provinces set out in hopes of securing one of 12 slots per division in Friday’s semi-final round. Co-angler competition ends Friday, and only the top six pros will advance to Saturday’s final round. During the two-day opening round, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired and fish for the heaviest combined weight. Catch weights carry over on the first two days, but anglers in both divisions start the semi-final and final rounds from zero and fish for the heaviest one-day catch.
Qualification for the tournament began April 10, 1999, and continued through Aug. 20, 2000. Anglers advancing to the RCL Championship are top competitors from more than 26 tournament organizations in the United States and Canada.
Thursday’s take-off from Green Bay Metro Boat Launch begins at 6 a.m. followed by a 3 p.m. weigh-in at the launch site. Friday’s take-off begins at 8 a.m., and Saturday’s take-off is at 7 a.m. Weigh-ins Friday and Saturday begin at 5 p.m. and 3 p.m. respectively at the Green Bay Wal-Mart located at 2440 West Mason Street. The RCL Family Fun Zone at Wal-Mart opens at 4 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday. The Fun Zone features children’s games, product displays and giveaways.
Wal-Mart has made a major commitment to the 55-million-angler-strong fishing market as title sponsor of the RCL Championship and other premier live-release fishing tournaments. Over 99 percent of the walleye caught Wednesday were returned to their habitat alive.
Additional RCL supporters include presenting sponsor Transamerica and supporting sponsors Energizer, Garmin, Kellogg’s, Poulan/Weed Eater, and Coleman. Locally, the Green Bay Area Visitors and Convention Bureau is a sponsor.