FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HARTMAN AND SEVERSON WIN WAL-MART RCL WALLEYE LEAGUE EVENT ON BIG STONE LAKE
CORONA, S.D. (June 14, 2004) – Boater Jim Hartman of Milbank and co-angler Peggy
Severson of Ft. Pierre combined for a total of five walleyes weighing 13 pounds,
2 ounces to win the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League tournament held Saturday on Big
Stone Lake near Corona. Hartman claimed $1,120 plus a $500 contingency bonus for
the win, with Dub earning $560 from the South Dakota Division event.
Hartman and Severson caught their winning limit in 6 feet of water on rock
piles and weeds. They looked for cloudy water and mostly casted Shad Raps. Their
biggest walleye came on a black jig with a minnow.
Finishing second were Tim Tesch of Watertown ($576) and Larry Bawdon of
Highmore ($288) with four walleyes weighing 10 pounds, 13 ounces. Brandon Finck
of Milbank ($480 plus $300 bonus) and Jim Ellenbecker of Pierre ($240 plus $150
bonus) caught three walleyes weighing 10 pounds, 7 ounces to finish third. Todd
Steffensen of Watertown ($416 plus $250 bonus) and Dean Arndt of Ortonville,
Min. ($208) claimed fourth place with five walleyes that weighed 10 pounds, 1
ounce. Tied for fifth were the teams of boater Scott Arndt of Ortonville, Min.
($264 plus $200 bonus) and co-angler Douglas Chapman of Hills, Min. ($132 plus
$100 bonus) and boater Artie Arndt of Ortonville ($264) and co-angler Jerry
Galloway of Sioux Falls ($132 plus $100 bonus) with four-walleye catches that
weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces.
The South Dakota Division’s next stop will be the regular-season finale – a
two-day super tournament on July 17-18 on Lake Oahe. Boaters and co-anglers who
finish in the top 25 in final points standings in each RCL Walleye League
division will advance to the $100,000 RCL League Finals Sept. 2-4 on Bays de Noc
in Escanaba, Mich. The winning boater at the finals will receive an Evinrude-or
Yamaha-powered Ranger, Crestliner or Lund boat. Every angler who receives weight
credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points awarded to the winner, 199
points for second, and so on, except for Super Tournaments, which award 300
points to the winner, 298 to second, and so on.
Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League boaters and co-anglers fish together for a combined
boat weight, with boaters competing against other boaters and co-anglers fishing
against other co-anglers. The Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League meets the needs of
America’s fishing masses by providing professionally administered,
close-to-home, affordable events with lucrative cash purses.
The Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League is administered by FLW Outdoors, the world’s
leading marketer of competitive fishing. Other FLW Outdoors-sanctioned
tournament trails include the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour, the world’s most
lucrative walleye-fishing series; the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the world’s most
lucrative bass-fishing 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 League or to enter a
tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or visit FLWOutdoors.com.
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