BAY CITY, Mich. – Pro Rick Olson of Mina Lake, S.D., and his opening day partner David Crawford of Maybee, Mich., landed a five-walleye limit weighing 38 pounds, 2 ounces Wednesday on Saginaw Bay to lead the second tournament of the new $2.9 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit-the world’s most lucrative walleye fishing series.
If Olson can maintain his lead throughout the four-day tournament, he will collect $50,000 plus a Mercury-powered Crestliner boat. The win would be the biggest of his 10-year career as a fulltime professional walleye angler. Crawford is fishing for a top co-angler award of $15,000. Both men will be challenged by 96 competitors in their respective divisions.
“I feel pretty good right now,” said Olson, the 2000 Professional Walleye Trail Angler of the Year. “I don’t really have to catch anything (Thursday) because the cut is at 6 pounds, so I’m going prefishing in case the weather turns rotten and I can’t make my run.”
Olson and Crawford caught eight walleyes over 7 pounds by 11 a.m. after making a 50 mile run and trolling with wired spinners tipped with live bait.
“It’s pretty incredible to fish for this kind of money,” said Olson, who finished 11th at the first RCL Circuit tournament in Port Clinton, Ohio, earlier this season.
Pro John Campbell of Walker, Minn., and co-angler Paul Fallaw of McHenry, Ill., finished opening day in second place with five walleyes weighing 37 pounds, 1 ounce. Rounding out the top five were pro John Pratt of Roberts, Mont., and co-angler John May of Forestville, Wis., with five walleyes weighing 35 pounds, 6 ounces; pro Jason Przekurat of Stevens Point, Wis., and co-angler Mark Schuitema of Jenison, Mich., with five walleyes weighing 33 pounds, 4 ounces; and pro Jim McGowan of Niles, Ohio, and co-angler Dave Scroppo of Traverse City, Mich., with five walleyes weighing 31 pounds, 7 ounces.
Competition resumes at 7 a.m. Thursday at Hoyles Marina located at 135 South Linwood Beach in Linwood, Mich., when competitors from 15 states and Canada takeoff for the final day of the opening round. Following Thursday’s 3 p.m. weigh-in at the marina, the field will be cut to the top 60 pros and top 60 co-anglers. These anglers will advance to the one-day semifinal round Friday where they will compete for a spot in the final round. Only the top 12 pros and top 12 co-anglers will advance to Saturday’s final round. Catch weights are carried over during the opening round, but anglers will start the semifinal and final rounds from zero. The final weigh-in will start at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 1392 Wilder Road in Bay City.
Run by Operation Walleye and named after retail giant Wal-Mart and boat manufacturers Ranger, Crestliner and Lund, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit features four regular season tournaments each with a $390,750 purse and a championship with a $1.4 million purse. The third tournament will be July 25-28 on the Mississippi River near La Crosse, Wis., followed by a tournament on Devils Lake in Devils Lake, N.D., Sept. 5-8.
After the four regular season tournaments, 200 pros and 200 co-anglers will compete in the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship for top awards of up to $400,000 in the Pro Division and $150,000 in the Co-Angler Division. The championship will be held on the Fox River and Green Bay in Green Bay, Wis., Oct. 2-6. Green Bay hosted the inaugural Wal-Mart RCL Championship last year when Scott Glorvigen of Grand Rapids, Minn., won $300,000 and instantly joined the sport’s top all-time money winners.