MOLINE, Ill. – Pro Dan Plautz of Muskego, Wis., caught a two-day total of ten fish – mostly saugers – weighing 18 pounds, 13 ounces to lead the first round of the $1.4 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship on the Mississippi River near Moline. Plautz jumped from 15th place to first with the day’s heaviest weight – 11 pounds, 5 ounces. The top 12 pros and co-anglers advance to fish Friday in the quest to win the largest awards in walleye tournament fishing – a potential $400,000 for the winning pro angler and $150,000 for the victorious co-angler.
The weather has been gorgeous all week, but that has not translated into good fishing conditions. Walleyes and saugers are in a transitional phase, and the bite is tough. Only 29 pros managed to catch a two-day total exceeding 10 pounds. The top 12 pros and co-anglers will be tested further Friday as a stout cold front pushes through the Quad Cities bringing rain, wind and cooler weather.
“I’m very pleased today (with 11 pounds, 15 ounces)” Plautz said. Plautz fished with co-angler Tom Petska of Wonder Lake, who barely missed the cut finishing in 13th place.
“I’m on a real good sauger bite,” Plautz said. “I’ve only caught one walleye in the last four days. I’ve got a place where I feel I can catch a couple 19- to 21-inch saugers each day. There were a lot of boats in the area today, but it didn’t look like they were catching much.”
Plautz is trolling in Pool 16.
Rounding out the top five pros are Jamie Friebel of Roberts, Wis. (seven fish, 16 pounds, 3 ounces); Nick Johnson of Elmwood, Wis. (eight fish, 15 pounds, 12 ounces); John Hertensteiner of Victoria, Minn. (10 fish, 15 pounds, 11 ounces); and Scott Allar of Welch, Minn. (seven fish, 15 pounds, 9 ounces).
Jeff Sather is leading the Co-angler Division thanks to a two-day total of seven fish weighing 17 pounds, 8 ounces. Sather fished with Johnson on day one and Ranger pro Tommy Skarlis of Walker, Minn., on day two.
“I actually did the same thing today as I did yesterday,” Sather said, “and that was using live bait around wing dams.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jim Cheadle of Beloit, Wis. (eight fish, 15 pounds); Eric Fenstermacher of Bayfield, Co. (seven fish, 14 pounds, 15 ounces); Guy Ryan of Salina, Kan. (seven fish, 14 pounds, 7 ounces); and Duane Haviland of Black Creek, Wis. (nine fish, 14 pounds, 6 ounces).
Ranger pro Tom Keenan of Hatley, Wis., and co-angler Stan Ryan of Madison, Wis., earned the Snickers Big Walleye Award of $500 each, which goes to the pair that catches the largest walleye or sauger during the first round. The winning walleye weighed 8 pounds and was caught on Wednesday.
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. Saugers must measure at least 15 inches.
Sunset Park in Rock Island will host takeoffs at 8 a.m. on Friday and 7 a.m. on Saturday. 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 top 12 pros and 12 co-anglers advance to Friday’s semifinal round based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared Friday, and pros compete for one of six final-round slots. Co-angler competition concludes Friday based on their one-day weight.
The winning pro is guaranteed $150,000 cash. Qualified Ranger, Crestliner and Lund owners are eligible for a $150,000 bonus, and if the winner’s boat is equipped with an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard, he will receive another $100,000 for a top pro award of $400,000 cash. The winning co-angler is guaranteed $75,000 cash, and if he is a registered owner of a Ranger, Crestliner or Lund boat, he will receive a $45,000 bonus. If his boat is equipped with an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard, he will receive another $30,000 for a top co-angler award of $150,000.
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.