PIERRE, S.D. – Limits were common and so were stories about releasing keepers because of the slot limit today, as 290 pro and co-anglers battled the elements and the rules at the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit tournament on Lake Sharpe. After all was said and done, Ranger pro Jack Neuman of Naperville, Ill., and his co-angler partner for today, Doug Iverson of Pierre, S.D., captured the lead by weighing in a 6 fish limit of 14 pounds, 15 ounces.
“It was not easy fishing today,” said Neuman. “The fishing was real slow this morning. First off, I had trouble hooking fish, catching fish and overall just not having a good morning. Even after all of that, I ended up doing pretty good. I am pretty excited to be leading this thing right now.”
Holding onto second place after Day One with a limit weighing 13 pounds 7 ounces is Lund pro Perry Good of Eagan, Minn. Good struggled with the slot limit.
“Like so many of the anglers today, I made a few mistakes as far as picking the right fish to keep,” said Good. “We went through a lot of fish today. In the end we released a few slot fish and ended keeping a small sauger. It was tough.”
What Good is referring to is the slot limit that anglers have to follow for this tournament. The daily limit is 6 walleye or sauger. Fish have to be at least 15 inches in length. Only two of the fish can measure 18 inches or longer.
“So many of the anglers who are coming to the scales today with less than a limit actually had the opportunity to weigh-in a limit,” said Director of Walleye Operations Mark Dorn. “They may have made the decision to go for slightly larger fish. You can’t cull a fish here once you put it in the livewell. This is a very exciting tournament, where strategy, kind of like a chess match, really comes into play.”
Rounding out the top 5 are Dan Dolinski of Alberta, Canada in third, and a tie for fourth between Charles Johnson of Merrifield, Minn. and Robert Propst Jr. of Fort Pierre, S.D.
Co-angler leader Doug Iverson had a key role in his fishing success today.
“I have to say that I was very lucky to be paired with such a knowledgeable local angler today,” said Jack Neuman who was Iverson’s partner for Day one. “This guy really knows this river system. He helped figure out some of the subtle things that made a difference in our success.”
The second place co-angler, Duane Hons of Laurel, Mont., expressed the excitement that many co-anglers share about fishing the RCL tournament on Lake Sharpe.
“This is just really exciting,” said Hons. “It is great being in this position and being able to catch so many fish.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers after day one are John Henderson of Pierre, S.D. in third place, Artie Arndt of Ortonville, Minn. in fourth place and in fifth place Greg Darsow from Billings, Mont.
A tough day on the water did not prevent Crestliner pro Gerry Mahowald from giving a top notch performance.
“I had such a tough day I thought I was going to develop an ulcer,” said Mahowald. “First thing this morning I lost the use of my trolling motor. To make matters worse, my big engine was not working at full power. With the wind picking up today, that made things real tough. With all of that I ended up having a good day.”
Mahowald is in the number 7 spot after Day one.
If catfish were walleye, RCL rookie pro Emily Jenniges of Pierre, S.D. would be sitting pretty.
“It was great to catch fish at my first pro tournament,” said Jenniges. “If only I could have weighed in all the catfish I caught I would have had a 20 pound limit today.”
Jenniges said that hooking species other than walleye was common today. Smallmouth bass, sturgeon, catfish and white bass were all visitors to the business end of RCL anglers’ lines today.
Weather conditions for tomorrow’s competition are predicted to be warmer than today with highs ranging from the upper 50’s to the lower 60’s. Long range forecasts predict the weather to be in the upper 60’s into the lower 70’s for Friday and Saturday.
Competition resumes at 7 a.m. Thursday at Downs Marina in Pierre. Following Thursday’s 3 p.m. weigh-in at Steamboat Park near the American Legion in Pierre, the field will be cut to the top 20 pros and top 20 co-anglers. These anglers will advance to the one-day semifinal round Friday where they will compete for a spot in the final round.The top
10 pros and top 10 co-anglers will advance to Saturday’s final round. Catch
weights are carried over during the opening round, but anglers start the
semifinal and final rounds from zero. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins start
at 4 p.m. at the Pierre Wal-Mart located at 1600 North Harrison Ave.
Quick stats
Total number of pro and co-anglers: 290
Limits caught: 98
Total number of fish weighed in: 764
Total number of fish weighed in alive: 764
Total weight: 1296 pounds
Percent released alive: 100
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