RED WING, Minn. – When the 2002 Wal-Mart RCL Championship started this morning on the Mississippi River, many observers felt that a limit of fish weighing about 12 pounds would be an impressive total with cold temperatures in the 40s and plenty of icy cold rain to boot. However, Ranger pro Mark Brumbaugh of Arcanum, Ohio, burst into the day-one lead with an impressive five-fish limit weighing 24 pounds and 2 ounces, securing a place for him in the semifinal round, barring a catastrophic second day.
“I had a very steady fishing day today,” said Brumbaugh. “We caught fish very quick. We were in early today, around one o’clock. We just got into a good group of fish, while the other anglers around us were not catching the same sized fish.”
Brumbaugh likes his chances for making the semifinal-round cut.
“I feel pretty confident that I can make it to the semifinal round,” said Brumbaugh. “Of course, you never know how you will do from day to day. I hope for another good fishing day tomorrow. I guess I will play it by ear and see what happens.”
Brumbaugh used a combination of fishing approaches today. He opted to use rigging and jigging methods and a variety of live baits.
Amazingly, Brumbaugh was fishing in an area that had at least another dozen or more RCL Championship contenders within yards of him.
Grabbing the second-place position with 20 pounds and 3 ounces was Crestliner pro Rich Franklin of Louisburg, Kan.
“I only weighed in four walleyes today,” said Franklin. “They were the right size of walleye though. I lost one real nice walleye, but I feel pretty confident about my chances with the weight I have right now.”
Sliding into the third spot with 17 pounds and 13 ounces was Lund pro Dan Dolinski from St. Albert, Alberta. Dolinski credits his co-angler, Don Rosen of Rosemount, Minn., for helping him stay in the hunt for the semifinal round.
“I had a real good partner today,” said Dolinksi. “My partner put most of the limit in the boat today. I had a good day today, and hopefully I’ll have a productive day tomorrow.”
In fourth place with 17 pounds and 8 ounces after day one is Ranger pro Rick LaCourse of Port Clinton, Ohio. LaCourse was done fishing in about 40 minutes this morning.
“After I made it to the location I planned on fishing, we caught our limit in about 40 minutes or so,” said LaCourse. “I was working an area no bigger than 50 yards. I would just work back and forth through this area, and we caught the fish. In fact, we lost a couple of larger fish that would have given us even more weight.”
LaCourse feels consistency is the key to moving on to the semifinal round.
“I feel that fishing for two consistent days of quality limits is what an anglers needs to do to move on in this tournament,” said LaCourse. “On day one you don’t take huge risks, you just position yourself to move on to the next round. Hopefully tomorrow I stay consistent with a similar weight.”
Ranger pro Joe Wilson of Rolling Stone, Minn., used a run-and-gun approach to weigh in a 17-pound-and-6-ounce limit good enough for fifth place.
“I really did lots of run-and-gun fishing today,” said Wilson. “I fished a lot of spots. It worked today, I hope it holds out for tomorrow.”
The top five co-anglers after day one are, in first, Brandon Henexson of Denver, Colo.; in second, James Kraft of Eau Claire, Wis.; in third, Don Rosen of Rosemount, Minn.; in fourth, William Jakel of Westland, Mich.; and in fifth, Karl Elsner Jr. of Cortland, N.Y.
Look for the RCL pros to be concentrated in two primary areas: in Pool 3 near the Buffalo Slough and in Pool 4 in Lake Pepin. According to the Pool 3 lock attendants, approximately 150 RCL boats headed through the lock this morning on their way to Pool 4.
Pro contestants are battling for a possible first-place prize of $400,000 cash. The first-place co-angler can take home as much as $150,000 cash.
Takeoff for day two is at 7 a.m. at the Treasure Island Resort and Casino Marina, (800) 222-7077, located at 5734 Sturgeon Lake Road in Red Wing. Weigh-in will take place at the same location at 3 p.m.
Click here for a preview of day two.
Day-one links:
RCL Championship Notes: Mississippi River, Day One
Photos
Results
Day-two pairings
Press release