$1.4 million purse at stake
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Pro Tom Keenan of Hatley, Wis., and his opening day partner Jerome Chwierut of Glen View, Ill., landed a five-walleye limit weighing 32 pounds, 1 ounce Wednesday on Green Bay to lead the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit Championship – the world’s richest walleye fishing tournament.
If Keenan can maintain his lead throughout the four-day tournament, he will collect $150,000 cash and up to an additional $250,000 in sponsor bonus money for a total award of $400,000. Chwierut is fishing for a top co-angler award of $75,000 cash plus up to an additional $75,000 in sponsor bonuses for a potential award of $150,000. More than 190 competitors will challenge these men in their respective divisions.
Adding to the excitement is Wisconsin’s no culling restriction, which forces anglers to decide which walleyes to keep and which ones to release before placing them in a livewell. Once a walleye is placed in a livewell, it cannot be released and replaced with another fish.
Rounding out the top five were Keenan’s brother Mark Keenan of Appleton, Wis., and co-angler Brian Garrity of Wausau, Wis., with four walleyes weighing 30 pounds, 11 ounces; Dean Arnoldussen of Kaukauna, Wis., and co-angler Trish Gauthier of Isle, Minn., with five walleyes weighing 29 pounds, 3 ounces; Patrick Neu of Forestville, Wis., and co-angler Leo Schlauch of Suamico, Wis., with four walleyes weighing 26 pounds, 2 ounces; and Tom Zollar of Green Bay, Wis., and co-angler Steven Carpenter of Slave Lake, Alberta, with four walleyes weighing 24 pounds, 14 ounces.
Pro Craig Lemieux of Neenah, Wis., and co-angler Mark Schleis of Denmark, Wis., landed Wednesday’s big walleye award with a 9-pound, 7-ounce fish. Lemieux received $1,200 for the trophy catch and Schleis received $600.
As opening day progressed, sunny skies and calm winds gave way to steadily dropping temperatures and 15 mph winds. The deteriorating weather conditions frustrated walleye fishing efforts on the open water of Green Bay and only six boats brought in catches over 20 pounds Wednesday.
Competition resumes at 7 a.m. Thursday at Metro Park Boat Launch on Bay Beach Road when competitors from more than a dozen states and Canada takeoff for the final day of the opening round. Following Thursday’s 3 p.m. weigh-in at the boat launch, the field will be cut to the top 12 pros and co-anglers. These anglers will advance to the one-day semifinal round Friday where the pros will compete for a spot in the final round and co-angler competition will be decided. Only the top six pros will advance to Saturday’s final round. Catch weights are carried over during the opening round, but anglers will start the semifinal and final rounds from zero. Weigh-ins Friday and Saturday will start at 5 p.m. and 3 p.m. respectively at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 2440 West Mason Street. A Family Fun Zone complete with children’s games, interactive product displays and giveaways will be set up at Wal-Mart starting at 4 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday.
Named after retail giant Wal-Mart and boat manufacturers Ranger, Crestliner and Lund, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit is the world’s most lucrative walleye fishing series. With a purse of up to $1.4 million, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship is the richest walleye tournament in the history of the sport.
Green Bay hosted the inaugural Wal-Mart RCL Championship last year when Scott Glorvigen of Grand Rapids, Minn., won $300,000 and instantly joined the sport’s top all-time money winners.