MOLINE, Ill. – Pro Russell McDonald of Dryden, Ontario, and co-angler Chris Froelich of Maple Lake, Minn., caught a five-walleye limit weighing 10 pounds, 5 ounces Friday to make McDonald the No. 1 seed heading into the final round of the $1.4 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship Saturday on the Mississippi River. The catch also gave Froelich the co-angler title and an impressive $150,000 award.
RCL anglers experienced a major change in the weather Friday making tough fishing conditions even tougher. After days of pleasant weather, a strong cold front pushed through the Quad Cities area bringing thundershowers and chilly northwest winds. A combination of factors has prevented anglers from weighing heavier catches. The primary obstacles include scattered fish that are in limbo between a summer and fall pattern and a restrictive 20- to 27-inch slot limit on walleyes. Anglers have reported catching many walleyes in the slot. Had these fish been weighed in, leading weights would have been in the 25- to 30-pound range each day.
“It was quite a day,” McDonald said. “It started out slow, and I lost my first four or five fish. But it all came together in the afternoon. On this water, you never know how you’ll do tomorrow, so I’m not sure if I can do it again.”
Rounding out the top six pros are Nick Johnson of Elmwood, Wis. (four fish, 8 pounds, 9 ounces); Richard LaCourse of Port Clinton, Ohio (five fish, 8 pounds, 7 ounces); Brad Knoll of Menasha, Wis. (three fish, 7 pounds); John Hertensteiner of Victoria, Minn. (three fish, 4 pounds, 7 ounces); and Dan Plautz of Muskego, Wis. (two fish, 4 pounds, 2 ounces).
Froelich, a rookie on the RCL Tour, earned $75,000 for his victory plus a $45,000 bonus for being a registered Lund owner and $30,000 for being a registered Yamaha owner.
“This means I’m having a good steak dinner tonight with my new best friend, Russell (McDonald),” Froelich said. “This is just incredible. It’s been a learning experience the entire tournament. Russell did a great job today, and all my partners did a great job this week.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Eric Fenstermacher of Bayfield, Co. (four fish, 8 pounds, 9 ounces); Kent King of Clintonville, Wis. (five fish, 8 pounds, 7 ounces); Tony Gronski of Freeland, Mich. (three fish, 7 pounds); and Guy Ryan of Salina, Kan. (three fish, 4 pounds, 7 ounces).
Ranger pro Tommy Skarlis of Walker, Minn., who finished the event in 54th place, won the 2004 RCL Walleye Tour Ranger Cup Award and a Ranger 620 VS walleye boat.
Sunset Park in Rock Island will host the final takeoff at 7 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in on Saturday will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 3930 44th Ave. in Moline beginning at 4 p.m. The community is invited to attend the takeoff and weigh-in as well as the Family Fun Zone, which opens at 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 advanced to Friday’s semifinal round based on their two-day, opening round weights. Weights were cleared for the semifinal round, and will be cleared again for the top six pros competing Saturday.
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 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 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.