MOLINE, Ill. – Ranger pro Nick Johnson of Elmwood, Wis., caught four walleyes weighing 6 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win the $1.4 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship on the Mississippi River near Moline. Johnson, who qualified for the championship as the 10th ranked angler on the 2004 Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour, took home $300,000 – the largest first-place award in walleye tournament fishing.
RCL anglers experienced tough fishing conditions throughout the week. Fluctuating weather and water conditions resulted in scattered walleyes and saugers. Along with the tough bite, local regulations prevented anglers from weighing heavier catches. Legal walleyes must be a minimum of 15 inches but cannot fall within a 20- to 27-inch slot. Only two walleyes over the slot were weighed during the event. Some pros reported catching a dozen or more fish in the slot each day and could have potentially weighed 25-30 pounds without the restriction. There is no slot limit on saugers.
“This is really overwhelming,” said Johnson, whose previous best finish on the RCL Walleye Tour in 2004 was a 10th-place finish on Devils Lake.
“I was fishing about two miles above Lock 14,” Johnson said. “I was using a really simple three-way rig with a floater and 6-foot lead. Fire tiger was the best color.
“I learned how to fish back home on Pool 4, and the river basically fishes the same here.”
Johnson has been the most consistent pro throughout the event. He opened the tournament in second place on day one and never dropped below third place.
Rounding out the top six pros were Russell McDonald of Dryden, Ontario (three fish, 5 pounds, 6 ounces); John Hertensteiner of Victoria, Minn. (three fish, 4 pounds, 12 ounces); Richard LaCourse of Port Clinton, Ohio (three fish, 4 pounds, 1 ounce); Brad Knoll of Menasha, Wis. (one fish, 1 pounds, 9 ounces); and Dan Plautz of Muskego, Wis. (one fish, 1 pounds, 4 ounces).
Plautz also won the Shop-Vac Clean Sweep Award, which goes to the pro angler that had the heaviest first-round weight. Plautz caught 10 fish in the first round weighing 18 pounds, 13 ounces and takes home four Shop-Vac products. McDonald won the Energizer Keeps on Going Award, which goes to the pro angler that comes from the farthest behind on day one to qualify for the final round. McDonald, who caught two fish that weighed 4 pounds, 1 ounce on day one, won a $500 Wal-Mart gift card.
Chris Froelich of Maple Lake, Minn., a rookie on the RCL Tour, won the Co-angler Division Friday and earned $75,000 plus a $45,000 bonus for being a registered Lund owner and $30,000 for being a registered Yamaha owner.
The Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship field was 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 were randomly paired each day and fished for a combined boat weight. Pros supplied the boat and tackle and controlled boat movement.
The top 12 pros and 12 co-anglers advanced to Friday’s semifinal round based on their two-day, opening round weight. Weights were cleared for the semifinal round, and were cleared again for the top six pros that competed Saturday.
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.