BAY CITY, Mich. – Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit pro Todd Riley of Amery, Wis., and his day-two partner Ryan Miskovich of Pengilly, Minn., landed a five-walleye limit weighing 36 pounds, 8 ounces Thursday on Saginaw Bay to give Riley the lead in his quest to win more than $90,000 in cash and prizes, including a Ranger, Crestliner or Lund boat powered by Evinrude or Yamaha.
Riley will lead the top 20 pros competing in the $346,000 tournament into the semifinal round with a two-day, opening-round total of 10 walleyes weighing 70 pounds, 2 ounces. Riley and his opening-day partner, Dan Wolfe of Kaukauna, Wis., weighed in five walleyes that registered 33 pounds, 10 ounces Wednesday.
“It’s a little intimidating being in this position,” said Riley, who caught his walleyes trolling with crawler harnesses. “I qualified first in Detroit earlier this year but ended up finishing fifth. We have to start all over [Friday], and its tough to put four good days together. I’m excited to have the chance though.”
Greg Darsow of Billings, Mont., will lead the top 20 co-anglers into the semifinal round with a two-day total of 10 walleyes weighing 66 pounds, 10 ounces. He and his opening-day partner, Todd Frank of Pulaski, N.Y., brought in five walleyes weighing 33 pounds, 11 ounces. Darsow and his day-two partner, Ron Gazvoda of Lakewood, Colo., then caught five walleyes weighing 32 pounds, 15 ounces to give Darsow the lead in his quest to win $15,000 cash.
Rounding out the top five pros are John Gillman of Freeland, Mich., with 10 walleyes weighing 68 pounds, 2 ounces; Gazvoda with 10 walleyes weighing 64 pounds, 10 ounces; Mike Gofron of Antioch, Ill., with 10 walleyes weighing 60 pounds, 15 ounces; and Mark Martin of Twin Lake, Mich., with 10 walleyes weighing 60 pounds, 13 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Rock McGilliuary of Watertown, S.D., with 10 walleyes weighing 62 pounds, 11 ounces; John May of Forestville, Wis., with 10 walleyes weighing 60 pounds, 10 ounces; Tony Jaworski of Chicago, Ill., with 10 walleyes weighing 59 pounds, 11 ounces; and Rodney Nutt of Greenville, Mich., with 10 walleyes weighing 58 pounds, 14 ounces.
The Saginaw Bay tournament is the final regular-season event of the $2.9 million 2002 Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit – the world’s most lucrative walleye-fishing series. It started Wednesday and features 136 pros and 136 co-anglers from the United States and Canada. The remaining field of 20 anglers in each division will be cut to the top 10 in each division after Friday’s semifinal round. Anglers in both divisions 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 in Linwood, Mich., followed by a 3:30 p.m. weigh-in at the Bay City Wal-Mart located at 3921 Wilder Road. The final takeoff starts at 7 a.m. Saturday followed by a 3:30 p.m. weigh-in at Wal-Mart.
Directed by FLW Outdoors and named after Wal-Mart and boat manufacturers Ranger, Crestliner and Lund, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit is the world’s most lucrative walleye-fishing series. The circuit features four regular season tournaments each with a $346,000 cash purse and a championship with a $1.4 million cash purse. Cash payments are presented through 50th place.
Following this tournament, 200 pros and 200 co-anglers from the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit and other sanctioned tournament organizations and events will compete in the $1.4 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship for a top pro award of as much as $400,000 cash and a top co-angler award of as much as $150,000 cash. The championship will be held on the Mississippi River near Red Wing, Minn., Oct. 2-5. Green Bay hosted the Wal-Mart RCL Championship last season when Dean Arnoldussen of Kaukauna, Wis., won $400,000 and instantly joined the sport’s top all-time money winners.
Sponsors of the 2002 Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit are Wal-Mart, Castrol, Conseco, Crestliner, Energizer, EverStart Batteries, Evinrude, Faded Glory, Garmin, Kellogg’s, Lund, Minn Kota, Newell Rubbermaid, Poulan, Ranger Boats, Snickers, Stanley, Weed Eater and Yamaha Outboards. Associate sponsors are Abu Garcia, Berkley, Eagle Claw, Laker, Plano and Solar Bat.