BAY CITY, Mich. – Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit pro John Campbell of Walker, Minn., and his day-two partner Tim Williams of Oregon, Ohio, landed a five-walleye limit weighing 33 pounds, 9 ounces Thursday on Saginaw Bay to give Campbell the lead in his quest to win $50,000 plus a Mercury- or Yamaha-powered Ranger, Crestliner or Lund boat.
Campbell, a 12-year veteran of the sport and second place finisher at the inaugural Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship, will lead the top 60 pros competing in the $390,750 Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit tournament into the semifinal round with a two-day, opening round total of 10 walleyes weighing 70 pounds, 10 ounces. Campbell and his partner, Paul Fallaw of McHenry, Ill., weighed in five walleyes that registered 37 pounds, 1 ounce on opening day.
“It looks like I’ve got a pretty good pattern and a number of spots,” said Campbell, who caught his walleyes at four different locations about 40 miles from the launch site using Lindy X-Change crawler harnesses. “Unless the wind really blows, I should be okay (Friday).”
Tim Vanwieren of Holland, Mich., will lead the top 60 co-anglers into the semifinal round with a two-day total of 10 walleyes weighing 61 pounds, 5 ounces. He and his day-one partner, Paul Dunn of Lapeer, Mich., brought in five walleyes weighing 30 pound, 14 ounces. Vanwieren and his day-two partner, Scott Rhodes of Traverse City, Mich., then caught five walleyes weighing 30 pounds, 7 ounces to give Vanwieren the lead in his quest to win $15,000.
“They say that you get one moment in time. I hope this is it,” said Vanwieren, who has never won a major tournament.
Rounding out the top five pros are Dean Miller of Stevens Point, Wis., with 10 walleyes weighing 61 pounds, 14 ounces; Rick Olson of Mina Lake, S.D., with 10 walleyes weighing 61 pounds, 8 ounces; John Pratt of Roberts, Mont., with nine walleyes weighing 59 pounds, 12 ounces; and Joe Whitten of Toledo, Ohio, with 10 walleyes weighing 59 pounds, 10 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Rodney Hill II of Hillsdale, Mich., with 10 walleyes weighing 57 pounds, 12 ounces; Tim Schomer of Oswego, Ill., with nine walleyes weighing 57 pounds, 5 ounces; Fallaw with eight walleyes weighing 53 pounds, 12 ounces; and John May of Forestville, Wis., with eight walleyes weighing 52 pounds, 14 ounces.
The Saginaw Bay tournament is the second event of the new $2.9 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit-the world’s most lucrative walleye fishing series. It started Wednesday with 96 pros and 96 co-anglers from 15 states and was cut to the top 60 pros and co-anglers Thursday for the semifinal round. The field will be cut again to the top 12 pros and co-anglers Friday for Saturday’s finale. Anglers in both divisions will start the semifinal and final rounds from zero and fish for the heaviest one-day catch.
Competition resumes at 7 a.m. Friday at Hoyles Marina located at 135 South Linwood Beach in Linwood, Mich., followed by a 3 p.m. weigh-in at the marina. The final takeoff starts at 7 a.m. Saturday followed by a 3 p.m. weigh-in 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.
Day-two related links: