Green Bay To Host World's Richest Walleye Tournament

Top Pro could net $400,000 in Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship

Green Bay, Wis., (Sept. 19, 2001) - This championship will not be played out on the city's legendary frozen tundra, but when the Super Bowl of walleye fishing-better known as the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship-kicks off Oct. 3, the stakes will just be just as high as anything the gridiron has to offer.

Top walleye anglers from more than a dozen states and Canada will be casting in Green Bay and the Fox River for a share of up to $1.4 million with the winning pro taking up to $400,000. The winning co-angler could walk away with up to $150,000, making the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship the richest walleye tournament in history. Only the inaugural RCL Walleye Championship held last year in Green Bay equals it.

The winner of that historic first championship, Scott Glorvigen of Grand Rapids, Minn., received $300,000 and instantly joined the sport's top all-time money winners. He will be one of 200 pros gunning for this year's title, too. Gary Hettenhaus of Fond du Lac, Wis., who won $120,000 as the top co-angler last year, will also be making a return appearance as one of the championship's 200 co-anglers.

Anglers competing in the championship represent the top competitors from the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit and 35 qualifying organizations and events sanctioned by the RCL. The winning pro is guaranteed the largest cash award in walleye fishing-$150,000-and the opportunity to collect an additional $250,000 in sponsor bonus cash from Ranger, Crestliner, Lund, Mercury and Yamaha. The winning co-angler is guaranteed $75,000 cash and the opportunity to collect an additional $75,000 in sponsor bonuses.

"The Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship is as big as it gets in competitive walleye fishing," says Operation Walleye chairman Irwin L. Jacobs. "There are 4 million people who fish for walleye each year in the United States and for a select few this is the chance of a lifetime."

Operation Walleye introduced the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit this year and conducted three qualifying events each with a $390,750 purse.

RCL Championship competition begins at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, at Metro Park Boat Launch on Bay Beach Road followed by a 3 p.m. weigh-in at the same location. The Oct. 4 weigh-in also starts at 3 p.m. at the boat launch, but the Oct. 5 weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 2440 West Mason Street starting at 5 p.m. The final weigh-in, Oct. 6, will also be held at Wal-Mart starting at 3 p.m. Fishing fans can meet their favorite pros beginning at 6 p.m. Oct. 3 during a fish-fry cook-off to benefit Walleyes for Tomorrow at Brown County Arena. A Family Fun Zone complete with children 's games, interactive product displays and giveaways will be set up at Wal-Mart starting at 3 p.m. Oct. 5 and noon Oct. 6.

Anglers will compete in three elimination rounds and one of two divisions-pro and co-angler. After the two day opening round, the field will be cut to the top 12 pros and co-anglers who will compete for one day in the semifinal round. Co-angler competition ends after the semifinal rounds, and only the top six pros advance to the final day of competition. Pros and co-anglers are randomly paired and fish for the heaviest combined weight. Catch weights carry over on the first two days but are cleared for the semifinal and final rounds.

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. Jim Klick of White Bear Lake, Minn., won the RCL season opener in April on Lake Erie near Port Clinton, Ohio, and collected $50,000 cash plus a Mercury-powered Lund boat while his partner, co-angler Cecil Newman of River Rouge, Mich., received $15,000 cash. Dan Plautz of Muskego, Wis., won the second stop in June on Saginaw Bay near Bay City, Mich., and received $50,000 cash plus a Yamaha-powered Crestliner boat while his partner, co-angler Steve Campbell of Fife Lake, Mich., reeled in $15,000 cash. Kevin McQuoid of Isle, Minn., won the third stop in September on Devils Lake near Devils Lake, N.D., and received $50,000 cash plus a Yamaha-powered Ranger boat while his partner, co-angler Don Rosen of Rosemount, Minn., reeled in $15,000 cash.

Sponsors of the 2001 Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit are Coleman, Conseco, Crestliner, Energizer, EverStart Batteries, Garmin, Kellogg's, Lund, Mercury, Minn Kota, Poulan, Ranger Boats, Wal-Mart, Weed Eater and Yamaha Outboards.

To register for competition or for more information about the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit, visit www.operationwalleye.com or call 270-362-5259. Entry fees for the championship are $1,500 for pros and $750 for co-anglers.