FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BAYS DE NOC TO HOST RCL LEAGUE POSTSEASON COMPETITION
ESCANABA, Mich. (Aug. 24, 2004) The 2004 Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League
season will come to a close Sept. 2-4 on Bays de Noc in Escanaba with
the $100,000 Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League Finals. The postseason
tournament features 200 qualifying walleye anglers, with 100 Boater Division
competitors in the hunt for the top prize of an Evinrude- or
Yamaha-powered Ranger, Crestliner or Lund boat, complete with trailer and equipped
with a Minn Kota trolling motor, Garmin electronics and EverStart
batteries. One hundred co-anglers will also fish for a top prize of an RCL
boat and trailer.
Competitors will take off from Escanaba Municipal Marina at 7 a.m.
each competition day. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held
there beginning at 3 p.m., and the final weigh-in Saturday will be held
at the Wal-Mart store located at 601 N. Lincoln in Escanaba beginning
at 4 p.m. The community is encouraged to attend daily takeoffs and
weigh-ins.
Boaters and co-anglers qualified for the finals by ranking in the
top 25 in year-end points standings in one of four RCL League divisions
Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota or Wisconsin. In RCL League
competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired and fish for a combined
boat weight, with boaters competing against other boaters and
co-anglers competing against other co-anglers.
The full field in the no-entry-fee championship will compete
Thursday and Friday to determine the top 15 boaters and co-anglers who will
advance to Saturday’s final round. Winners are determined by the heaviest
three-day catch weight.
Each RCL League division featured two one-day events and one two-day
Super Tournament presented by Evinrude during the regular season.
Evinrude, along with Ranger Boats, will sponsor a Children’s Fishing Clinic
Sept. 4 in conjunction with the RCL League Finals. The clinic will take
place at Escanaba Municipal Marina and will begin at 10 a.m.
Children will have the opportunity to visit with several Evinrude
and Ranger pros, who will demonstrate different fishing techniques and
talk about what types of lures and bait they use when fishing the Bays.
Parents are encouraged to bring along a camera to take photos of their
children with the professional anglers, and autographs will be available
also. On-the-water demos of Ranger boats powered by Evinrude outboards
will also be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Children under the age of 16 are required to be accompanied by a
parent when test-riding a boat. Representatives from both companies will
be available to answer questions, and participants may also register for
door prizes until 2 p.m., when the demonstrations will conclude. All
prizes will be awarded at the final-round weigh-in of the RCL League
Finals.