Six pro anglers chase after $400,000
Final day takes off at 2001 Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Summer came to a crashing halt as temperatures plunged below freezing on the frozen tundra of Green Bay Saturday morning, but, not surprisingly, few of the pro finalists in the 2001 Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship seemed to notice. Their attentions were focused squarely on the task at hand: to catch three of the biggest walleyes they could and cash in on $400,000.
“I think 18 to 20 pounds will win the tournament with three fish,” said a bundled-up Tom Keenan of Hatley, Wis. Tom Keenan and his brother Mark, of Appleton, Wis., have both led this tournament during the week. They and two other finalists, Dean Arnoldussen of Kaukauna, Wis., and Patrick Neu of Forestville, Wis., are fishing buddies and have all shared the same location about 50 miles out on Green Bay throughout the week. All four of their boats were headed that way at takeoff this morning, but expect their camaraderie to turn into competitiveness Saturday.
“It’s every man for himself,” Mark Keenan said yesterday. “It’s going to be key that, if you get a fish on, you get it in the boat.”
Local favorite Tom Zollar of Green Bay was also planning on making a 45-mile run onto the frigid waters of Green Bay, shouldering the hopes of many in the hometown crowd along the way.
Semifinal-round leader Paul Meleen of Onamia, Minn. – the only finalist not from Wisconsin – is staring down the barrel of what will likely be the most memorable week of his life. Not only is he contending to win the world’s richest pro walleye tournament, his wife is at home pregnant and expecting their first child any day.
“It could be the two best days of my life,” he said, “other than when my wife said, `I do.'”
Today’s final weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. at the Green Bay Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 2440 West Mason Street.
Vital statistics
Sunrise: 6:57 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 30 degrees
Expected high temperature: 48 degrees
Wind: From the west at 9 mph
Relative humidity: 66 percent
Day’s outlook: A mix of sun and clouds
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