Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour to visit Illinois River
SPRING VALLEY, Ill. – The $3.07 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour will kick off its third full season April 2-5 on the Illinois River near Spring Valley. The tournament marks the first time the RCL Tour has visited the Illinois River, and as many as 330 pros and co-anglers are expected to compete in the event.
The season-opening tournament was originally scheduled for the Detroit River, but due to significant ice cover on Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron, that site was deemed unsafe for competitors. The tournament dates remain the same for the Illinois River event, and no action is required for anglers previously registered to fish the Detroit River.
Expected to compete in the tournament are Crestliner pro Bruce Samson, $300,000 winner of the 2002 Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship; Ranger pro Tim Minnema, 2002 RCL Tour Angler of the Year; and Lund pro Gary Roach, known to many as “Mr. Walleye.”
Anglers will take off from the Spring Valley Boat Club in Spring Valley at 7 a.m. each morning. Wednesday and Thursday’s weigh-ins will also be held there beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1650 38th St. in Peru beginning at 3 p.m.
The tournament will pay out as much as $386,000 in cash and prizes, with the winning pro receiving a guaranteed cash award of $50,000 plus a Ranger, Crestliner or Lund boat powered by Evinrude or Yamaha and trailer for a top award worth $90,000. The winning co-angler earns $15,000 cash. In RCL competition, pros and co-anglers fish for a combined boat weight and are randomly paired each day.
At the conclusion of a two-day opening round, the field is cut to the top 20 pros and top 20 co-anglers who fish the one-day semifinal round. Only the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers advance to the one-day final round. Each boat is allowed a six-walleye limit on each day of competition.
The top 35 pros and top 35 co-anglers from each of four qualifying events earn entry into the $1.4 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship. Another 60 spots in the championship will be filled by anglers who compete in RCL-sanctioned events for a total of 200 championship contenders in each division. The Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship is the most lucrative event in professional walleye angling, with guaranteed cash awards through 100th place. Including sponsor bonuses, cash awards are available through 200th place. A guaranteed cash award of $150,000 plus potential sponsor bonuses totaling $250,000 will go to the RCL Championship winner for a total pro award of $400,000. The champion co-angler will win a guaranteed cash award of $75,000 plus potential sponsor bonuses totaling $75,000 for a co-angler award of $150,000.
The Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour and the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League are named after boat manufacturers Ranger, Crestliner and Lund. FLW Outdoors is named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood.
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