TRENTON, Mich. – The all-new Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League for weekend anglers will stage its first-ever tournament April 12 on the Detroit River. The Michigan Division tournament will feature as many as 150 anglers who will compete for as much as $20,530 in cash awards.
The success of the $3.07 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour, featuring the world’s best walleye anglers and most lucrative payouts, resulted in high demand for weekend walleye tournaments designed for working anglers. Thus began the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League, which comprises four divisions – Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin – with three regular-season events each. Two of the events are one-day tournaments followed by a two-day Super Tournament featuring a $25,985 payout.
Anglers will take off from Elizabeth Park in Trenton at 7 a.m. Weigh-in will also be held there beginning at 3 p.m. In RCL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired and fish for a combined boat weight.
The winning boater at the Detroit River event will take home as much as $3,000 cash for the win. If the winner is a registered owner of a Ranger, Crestliner or Lund boat that is used during the tournament, the winner will receive a $500 bonus. If the winner’s boat is equipped with a fixed-mount Garmin Fishfinder or combination GPS/Sounder, the winner will earn an additional $1,000 bonus for a top award of $4,500 cash. The winning co-angler will receive as much as $1,250 cash for the win and is eligible for a $250 bonus if he is a registered owner of a Ranger, Crestliner or Lund boat for a total co-angler award of $1,500.
Boaters and co-anglers who finish in the top 25 in final points standings in each RCL Walleye League division will advance to the $88,000 RCL League Finals Sept. 6-7 on Lake Okoboji in Spirit Lake, Iowa. The winning boater at the finals will receive an Evinrude-or Yamaha-powered Ranger, Crestliner or Lund boat. Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points awarded to the winner, 199 points for second, and so on, except for Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winner, 298 to second, and so on.
The Michigan Division’s second tournament will be held June 7 on Lake St. Clair in Fairhaven followed by the two-day Super Tournament Aug. 2-3 on Saginaw Bay in Linwood.
For more information about the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse this Web site for tournament and registration information.