MOLINE, Ill. – Ranger pro Tom Keenan of Hatley, Wis. and Stan Ryan of Madison, Wis., caught four walleyes weighing 13 pounds, 6 ounces to lead day one of the $1.4 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship on the Mississippi River near Moline. Keenan – the defending RCL Walleye champion – and Ryan did not catch a limit but caught the biggest walleye of the day, an 8-pounder. Two hundred and nineteen pros are competing for as much as $400,000 cash, the richest first-place award in walleye-fishing history. An equal number of co-anglers are in the hunt for a top award of $150,000 cash.
The weather has been clear and mild in the Quad Cities for several days, and despite an approaching cold front, should remain pleasant throughout a majority of the four-day event. Mild weather, however, is not exactly what walleye anglers prefer in late September. Water temperatures are unseasonably warm and the walleye bite was tough during practice. In addition to the warm weather, heavy rains fell upstream last week causing high, murky water conditions. As a result, many pros caught very few fish in practice, and while the river is back to its normal level, they were not overly confident in their patterns and locations. Sixty-nine boats zeroed, and only nine boats caught weights over 8 pounds on a tough opening day.
“I was kind of prefishing today,” Keenan said. “I caught my fish in one place. I had been looking for a place like that for three days. There is no (debris) in the water. There are no weeds. It’s a current break with an eddy, and I was pretty much by myself. I think I can catch enough to make the cut tomorrow. I will probably only need a couple of fish.”
Keenan, although not specific on his location or lures, said he was trolling in Pool 16.
Keenan followed up his 2003 RCL Walleye Championship victory with a third place finish in the 2004 RCL Tour points standings – only 13 points behind 2004 angler of the year Dennis Jeffrey of Garrison, N.D.
Rounding out the top five teams after day one are pro Nick Johnson of Elmwood, Wis., and co-angler Jeff Sather of Montevideo, Minn. (five fish, 11 pounds, 13 ounces); pro Scott Allar of Welch, Minn., and co-angler Richard Ness of Ruthon, Minn. (five fish, 11 pounds, 15 ounces); pro Dennis Lantzy of Warren, Mich., and co-angler Dale Hein of Spring Lake Park, Minn. (five fish, 10 pounds, 11 ounces); and pro Pat Cavins of Green Bay, Wis., and co-angler Doug Hartle of Calgary, Alberta (five fish, 10 pounds, 6 ounces).
According to state regulations, walleye must fall between 15 inches and 20 inches long to be kept. Walleye measuring 20 to 27 inches must be returned immediately to the water. Only two walleyes longer than 27 inches may be kept. On day one of the event, only two walleyes measuring longer than 27 inches were weighed. Saugers must measure at least 15 inches.
Sunset Park in Rock Island will host daily 7 a.m. takeoffs throughout the event except for Friday, when takeoff is at 8 a.m. Thursday’s weigh-in will be held at the park beginning at 3 p.m. Weigh-ins Friday and Saturday will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 3930 44th Ave. in Moline beginning at 5 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday. The community is invited to attend takeoffs and weigh-ins as well as the Family Fun Zone, which opens at 3 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family.
The Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship field is comprised of anglers who qualified for the event via the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League and other sanctioned tournament organizations. Pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day and fish for a combined boat weight. Pros supply the boat and tackle and control boat movement.
The full field will compete again Thursday, after which the top 12 pros and 12 co-anglers advance to Friday’s semifinal round based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for the semifinal round, and pros compete for one of six final-round slots. Co-angler competition concludes Friday based on their one-day weight.
The Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship is administered by FLW Outdoors and named after boat manufacturers Ranger, Crestliner and Lund. FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing, is named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, please explore FLWOutdoors.com.