FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STILES LEADS WAL-MART RCL WALLEYE TOUR ON LAKE SHARPE
PIERRE, S.D. (May 1, 2003) – Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour pro Harry Stiles, 53, of Pierre, S.D., and his day-two teammate Colleen Lampman of De Soto, Wis., landed a six-fish limit weighing 13 pounds, 1 ounce Thursday on Lake Sharpe to make Stiles the No. 1 seed heading into the semifinal round with a two-day total of 12 walleyes weighing 25 pounds, 8 ounces.
Weights fall back to zero, however, as Stiles and 19 other pros representing 10 states square off Friday for one day of fishing to see who earns a spot in Saturday’s final round. Only the top 10 pros will advance to the finals for a shot at $90,000 in cash and prizes, including a Ranger, Crestliner or Lund boat powered by Evinrude or Yamaha, so every ounce is critical. Weights are cleared for the final round as well.
“I feel really good,” said Stiles, a 17-year tournament veteran who entered Thursday’s competition tied for fifth place after landing six walleyes weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces Wednesday with his opening-day teammate, Randy Straatmeyer of Hurley, S.D. “I’m pumped up, and I like the idea of only 20 boats going out [Friday]. That should open up some water for me. At this point, I feel like the pressure is off. What happens, happens.”
Stiles, like several of the leaders, caught fish pitching 1/8- to 1/4-ounce jigs tipped with minnows into water less than 5 feet deep. He also caught a 6-pound, 10-ounce walleye in about 14 feet of water after backing off a sandbar that he was targeting. Since culling is prohibited and only two of six walleyes in a limit may measure over 18 inches, the 27-inch fish could not have come at a better time for Stiles, who at 1 p.m. had opted to keep just three of nine walleyes he had hooked. It was Stiles only fish to stretch past the 18-inch size limit.
Lake Sharpe produced solid numbers for the second straight day, as 146 of 195 teams weighed in six-walleye limits. Overall, 1,044 walleyes weighing 1,558 pounds, 2 ounces crossed the scale Thursday.
Rounding out the tightly packed top five pros are Gerrick McComsey of Fort Pierre, S.D. (12 walleyes, 24 pounds, 1 ounce); Richard Nascak of Winona, Minn. (12 walleyes, 23 pounds, 6 ounces); Dustin Kjelden of Brookings, S.D. (12 walleyes, 22 pounds, 15 ounces); and Shannon Kehl of Menoken, N.D. (12 walleyes, 22 pounds, 13 ounces).
Five pounds separated the top 20 pros.
Opening day leader Terry Narum of Sioux Falls, S.D., held onto the top spot in the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 12 walleyes weighing 23 pounds, 11 ounces. He and Nascak caught six walleyes weighing 15 pounds Wednesday to take the lead. Narum then landed six walleyes weighing 8 pounds, 11 ounces Thursday with pro Dave Anderson of Apple Valley, Minn., to remain the No. 1 seed in his quest to win $15,000 cash. Like their pro counterparts, co-anglers start the semifinal and final rounds from zero.
“I’m a little surprised,” Narum said. “This is my fourth RCL Tour event, and I hadn’t cashed out in any of them. I’m definitely pumped.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Lawrence Hoff of Flasher, N.D. (12 walleyes, 23 pounds, 5 ounces); Kevin Paul of Winner, S.D. (12 walleyes, 22 pounds, 7 ounces); Bob Carlson of Billings, Mont. (12 walleyes, 21 pounds, 4 ounces); and Scott Woodward of Littleton, Colo. (10 walleyes, 20 pounds, 14 ounces).
Woodward jumped from 109th on opening day into the top five on the strength of a six-walleye limit weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces Thursday. Three pounds, 9 ounces separated the top 20 co-anglers.
Daily takeoffs start at 7 a.m. at Downs Marina in Pierre. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins start at 3 p.m. at the Wal-Mart store located at 1600 N. Harrison Ave. in Pierre.
Anglers from 22 states and Canada started the lucrative tournament, which will award more than $432,085 in cash and prizes to the top 68 anglers thanks to a record field of 195 pros and 195 co-anglers.
Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour anglers compete in four regular-season tournaments in their quest to qualify for the $1.4 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship Oct. 1-4 at Treasure Island Casino and Resort on the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minn. With a total purse of $3.07 million for the season, the RCL Tour is the world’s most lucrative walleye-tournament series.
The tour is administered by FLW Outdoors and named after boat manufacturers Ranger, Crestliner and Lund. FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing, is named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood. Other FLW Outdoors-sanctioned tournament trails include the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League for weekend anglers; the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the world’s most lucrative bass-tournament series; the EverStart Series, designed as a pathway to the FLW Tour; the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League for weekend anglers; and the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, please visit FLWOutdoors.com.
For more information about the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
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Editors: click here for tournament photos, and click on the attached documents for complete results: http://pull.xmr3.com/p/1900-D131/85144656/website.html
lol. If I remember correctly you bought your first boat many years ago: one just like Harry Stiles and Stand Berry his MWC partner used to fish their tournaments in. 
Man, we are getting older hey! 
Oh well, it happens to us all. 
Old !!! You got that right. About the Boat that is..It was a 16 foot tiller 60 an for that time was a big rig…Also was the best boat I have ever had. It was a Forrester..The motor stunk..won’t name it.. Man now if the boat company would come back and put a Suzuki on it…I would be in heaven…