2002 RCL Championship Notes: Mississippi River, Day One
Blowing away the field … By any objective standard, Mark Brumbaugh is one of the true legends of the sport of professional walleye fishing. And today, he reminded everyone why. Using a catch of 24 pounds, 2 ounces, Brumbaugh dominated the entire pro field, out-fishing his nearest competitor by nearly 4 pounds, despite recording an 8-ounce penalty for weighing in one deceased fish. “Everything just went right today,” he said. “It really makes your day when you can land a stringer like that.” For the resident of Arcanum, Ohio, paying careful attention to the no-cull rule will likely be the key to winning the tournament. “You’ve got to get the right bites, and you have to get them in the right order,” he said. “Because once you get them in the boat, they’re there to stay.” Brumbaugh, who finished in second place in the RCL Angler-of-the-Year competition in 2001, said his day-one weight is significant because now he can relax a little bit heading into tomorrow’s competition. “It gives you a little bit of a cushion,” he said. “It’s also nice to know that everybody is going to have to chase after you.” For the record, Brumbaugh believes it will take a two-day total of 28 to 30 pounds to advance past Thursday’s top-12 cut.
Sweet sixteen … Perhaps the most amazing story of the day was the fact that Brumbaugh’s co-angler partner in crime was none other than Brandon Henexson of Denver, Colo. Wait a second … Brandon Henexson? Who the heck is Brandon Henexson? Glad you asked. Brandon Henexson is a 16-year-old high school senior currently on sabbatical from Horizon High School in Thornton, Colo. Somehow, the savvy senior managed to convince both parents and teachers to allow him to take a trip halfway across the country to fulfill his lifelong dream of fishing in a major walleye championship. “It’s been a great experience so far,” said Henexson, who qualified for the championship by placing 48th at the RCL event on Saginaw Bay earlier this year. “I never expected to be fishing with (Brumbaugh) because he’s a legend in this sport who I’ve always looked up to. Obviously, it’s turned out really well for me.” Due to his partnership with Brumbaugh, Henexson finds himself atop the leaderboard in the Co-angler Division heading into tomorrow’s competition. But lest you think the 16-year-old is in over his head … well, let’s hear him tell it. “I’ve been fishing walleye tournaments forever,” he said. “Pretty much since I was 9 years old.” To make matters more interesting, Henexson is currently competing against his father in the Co-angler Division. Unfortunately, his father, Kenny, (130th place) didn’t fare quite as well today.
Four fish is good enough … Despite failing to land a limit, partners Richard Franklin of Louisburg, Kan., and co-angler James Kraft of Eau Clare, Wis., weren’t complaining. After all, they had enough big bites to produce a 20-pound, 3-ounce stringer and take over second place on the first day of the championship. “You’re dang right I’m happy,” said Kraft. “Anytime you can catch a limit like that with only four fish … you’ve got to be pleased.”
By the numbers:
400,000: First-place prize money, in dollars, for RCL Champion in the Pro Division, assuming all sponsor bonuses are met.
1,553-13: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of total fish caught after only one day of RCL Championship competition on the Mississippi River.
1,500: Entry fee, in dollars, for pro field at 2002 RCL Championship.
1,500: Amount of prize money, in dollars, the 200th place pro angler will receive, assuming sponsor bonuses are met.
571: Number of fish caught during the first day of RCL competition.
468: The total number of pro and co-anglers participating in this year’s RCL Championship.
35: Total number of limits caught during day one of competition.
22: Number of states and Canadian provinces represented by the pro and co-angler fields.
Sound bites:
“Yesterday I was sweating. Today I’m freezing.”
– Day-one pro leader Mark Brumbaugh on the fickle Minnesota weather.
“Just awesome!”
– Day-one co-angler leader Brandon Henexson, 16, on what it feels like to play hooky from high school only to wind up leading the tournament after the first day of competition.
“When I saw the size of it, I thought, `We’d better not miss this one.'”
– Co-angler Darrell Charles on the monster 9-pound, 7-ounce walleye that he and his pro partner, Bill Leonard, successfully hauled into the boat.
“It’s all about making decisions, and we made the wrong one today.”
– Pro Richard Nascak on throwing back a small fish that would have given him a five-fish limit and a berth in the top 12.
“Oh we got it in all right, but then it kind of jumped out of the boat.”
– Pro John T. Mullenbach on watching a boated 5-pound walleye reduce his four-fish stringer to a three-fish stringer in a blink of an eye.
“No it isn’t.”
– Co-angler Gene Lamere disputing RCL tournament host Charlie Evans’ assessment that his 2-pound, 1-ounce catch was better than a “sharp stick in the eye.”
“My wife has it just about all spent.”
– 2001 RCL Champion Dean Arnoldussen explaining that last year’s first-place prize money – $400,000 to be exact – hasn’t lasted as long as he had hoped.
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