Special  mailing List

Dave Washburn, Communications Director, (270) 362-5213
 
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

$2.9 million 2002 Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit to Visit South Dakota

Tournament features largest sporting event purse in South Dakota’s history

Pierre, S.D., (March 21, 2002) — The $2.9 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye
Circuit will visit Lake Sharpe May 1-4 with 300 top pros and co-anglers
competing for a share of $346,000 cash in the season’s second tournament.

Directed by FLW Outdoors and named after Wal-Mart and boat manufacturers
Ranger, Crestliner and Lund, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit is the world’s
most lucrative walleye fishing series. Each of the circuit’s four regular
season tournaments features a cash purse of $346,000 with $50,000 cash and a
fully rigged Ranger, Crestliner or Lund boat powered by Evinrude or Yamaha
going to the winning pro. The top co-angler earns $15,000 cash. Pros and
co-anglers fish for a combined six-walleye limit and receive cash payments
to 50th place.

One hundred and fifty Ranger, Crestliner and Lund boat owners comprise the
Pro Division while 150 co-angler berths are open to the public. Anglers in
both divisions fish in three elimination rounds. After the two-day opening
round, the field is cut to the top 20 pros and top 20 co-anglers who advance
to the one-day semifinal round. The top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers after
the semifinal round advance to the finals. Catch weights carry over for the
first two days, but anglers start the semifinal and final rounds from zero.

Weigh-ins during the first two days of the four-day tournament will be held
at Steamboat Park in Pierre starting at 3 p.m. each day. The semifinal and
final round weigh-ins May 3-4 will be held at the Pierre Wal-Mart located at
1600 North Harrison Ave. at 4 p.m. each day. Takeoff will be at 7 o’clock
each morning at Downs Marina in Pierre.

Ranger pro Mark Brumbaugh, Crestliner pro Rick Olson and Lund pro Scott
Glorvigen are a few of the walleye fishing superstars who will be competing
in the Lake Sharpe tournament.

The third Wal-Mart RCL Walleye tournament is May 29-June 1 on Lake Winnebago
in Oshkosh, Wis., followed by the final regular season tournament June 26-29
on Saginaw Bay in Bay City, Mich.

After four regular season tournaments, 200 pros and 200 co-anglers from the
Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit and other sanctioned tournament organizations
and events will compete in the $1.4 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye
Championship for a top pro award of up to $400,000 cash and a top co-angler
award of up to $150,000 cash. The championship will be held on the
Mississippi River near Red Wing, Minn., Oct. 2-5. Green Bay, Wis., hosted
the Wal-Mart RCL Championship last season when Dean Arnoldussen of Kaukauna,
Wis., won $400,000 and instantly joined the sport’s top all-time money
winners.

Entry fees for regular season tournaments are $1,250 for pros and $500 for
co-anglers. A limited number of co-angler spots are still available in each
tournament.

“We are excited about visiting Pierre and Lake Sharpe,” said Mark Dorn,
director of walleye operations. “We had a lot of positive feedback from
walleye anglers following our inaugural Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit season.
Interest in walleye tournaments has never been higher.”

	Laker

Join Special  mailing List