Riley wins battle of Saginaw Bay
Minnema crowned RCL Angler of the Year
Saginaw Bay is home to big walleyes and plenty of them. Ranger pro Todd Riley of Amery, Wis., and his co-angler partner Thomas Nordyke of Newport, Mich., figured out how to catch the biggest fish in the bay today. With a whopping 38 pounds and 1 ounce, they waited until the last day of competition to weigh the biggest bag of fish.
For Riley, this is his first win as a pro. Nordyke has now won a co-angler title for the second time this year, a first for the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit.
“I have taken just about every place, but first in professional walleye tournaments,” said Riley. “This is just great. You work so hard to get here, and finally, when everything goes as planned, it is truly a great experience.”
Motor problems didn’t interfere with Riley’s success.
“I had motor problems yesterday and then again today,” said Riley. “I ended up having a short day out on the water, but in the end it didn’t matter. We just came in early with a big bag of walleyes.”
Basics worked best for Riley
“I didn’t use anything fancy to catch the walleyes all week,” said Riley. “I had just come from a tournament in Wisconsin and still had spinner rigs tied on when I started pre-fishing. I stuck with these same spinners throughout the tournament. Size 5 chartreuse, orange and green Bait Rigs blades are what I used on my rigs to catch the walleye.”
Riley suggests anglers move away from the pack to hook bigger fish.
“We could catch walleyes when we were fishing in an area that was receiving pressure, but the best move was to head away from the pack,” said Riley. “The bigger walleyes seemed to shut down when you had too many people pressuring them.”
For his efforts, Riley will take home a check for $50,000 and a fully rigged Ranger boat.
Coming in second and taking home a check for $25,000 was Lund pro Mark Martin of Twin Lake, Mich.
“I just needed one more big fish, but it is not bad at all finishing in second place at an RCL event,” said Martin. “I stuck with my game plan of trolling Northland holographic blades and crawlers. I would apply some Dr. Juice scent to the crawlers, because I noticed this added attractant would keep the walleyes hitting until they were hooked.”
Receiving a $20,000 check for third place was Ranger pro John Gillman of Freeland, Mich. Gillman pulled boards all day, but didn’t get the big bite.
“My partner and I went through 11 walleyes today,” said Gillman. “We just didn’t catch that big one. We stuck with trolling south of the Charity Islands. We caught enough fish, just not the right fish to win.”
Fourth-place finisher and Crestliner pro Terry Wilson of Powell, Wyo., has been on an emotional roller coaster ride all week.
“On the night of the rules meeting, I found out that my grandfather had died,” said Wilson. “I was very close to him and thought about pulling out of the tournament. I know my grandfather would have wanted me to fish, so this week I dedicated my fishing for him. This is the best finish I have had at an RCL.”
For his effort, Wilson will take home a check for $15,000.
In the fifth position was Ranger pro John Campbell of Walker, Minn.
“This was a major surprise to me to finish so well today,” said Campbell. “I thought the fish were smaller, but these Saginaw Bay fish are just so heavy.”
Campbell worked hard to come up with a five-fish limit.
“On our first pass today, we caught our biggest walleye,” said Campbell. “We then missed some big ones and had to really work hard to catch our limit, but we had a lot of fun.”
Campbell earned a check for $12,500.
All of the top pros were trolling with spinner rigs tipped with either leeches or crawlers.
The best area for hooking both large numbers and size of fish was the Charity Islands, although the walleyes were starting to move towards the bay.
Nordyke takes second co-angler title
Thomas Nordyke of Newport, Mich., was entered in this RCL event as a pro, but decided to switch to the co-angler side after he thought he would not get into the tournament. Thanks to that decision, Nordyke is now the first co-angler to win two titles in the RCL. His first victory came in Detroit in April of this year.
“This is only my second RCL tournament,” said Nordyke. “I have won both of them. I guess I should have entered the other two tournaments this year, too. I was entered as a pro, but then switched over to the co-angler side. It was a good move on my part. It was tough to find the fish during practice.”
Nordyke will take home a check for $15,000 for his first-place finish.
Rounding out the top five finishers on the co-angler side are, in second, Michael Floeter of Linden, Mich.; in third, Kelly Klemm of Wheaton, Minn.; in fourth, Art Madajski of Au Gres, Mich.; and, in fifth, Mark Hull of Youngstown, Ohio.
RCL Angler of the Year decided
Ranger pro Tim Minnema of Markesan, Wis., won a hard-fought battle to take home the coveted RCL Angler of the Year title for the 2002 season.
“I fished very hard all year to win this title,” said Minnema. “It is really hard to describe how I feel right now. I truly feel a great sense of accomplishment.”
Minnema believes versatility was the key to his success this season.
“I think you need to go in with a game plan, but be able to adjust to whatever situation arises,” said Minnema. “For example, this season I used handlining, jigging, trolling, planer-board trolling and even casting plus other techniques to catch fish. I caught fish in every tournament I fished this season.”
Minnema credits his father for leading him into the world of competitive walleye angling.
“My dad taught me how to fish, and I owe him a lot for teaching me such a great thing,” said Minnema. “I started fishing tournaments when I was 14 years old. I am 29 now, so 15 years of competition has paid off with this award. This is truly a great sport that families can share, whether you want to make it your job or just kick back and fish off the river bank.”
Minnema will receive a fully rigged Ranger boat along with a trophy for his Angler-of-the-Year victory.
John Solek of Indianapolis, Ind., won the co-angler-of-the-year tile for 2002. Solek will receive free entry into all of the RCL qualifying events for 2003 for winning the co-angler crown.
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