Walleye League contest April 5
The Illinois River in Spring Valley, just south of LaSalle, is expected to draw as many as 200 weekend walleye anglers to that area on April 5 when competitors in the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Heartland Division battle for a top prize worth as much as $7,500.
Anglers will take off from Spring Valley Boat Club located at 13862 IL Highway 89 in Spring Valley at 7 a.m. on April 5, and the weigh-in will be held there beginning at 3 p.m. The takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
The winning boater will collect as much as $7,000 cash for the win, and if the winner is the registered owner of a qualifying Ranger or G3 boat used during the event, the winner receives a $500 boat bonus for a top award of $7,500 cash. The winning co-angler will earn as much as $3,500, a $250 bonus for a qualifying boat.
Boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired for the event and fish for a combined boat weight. Boaters compete against other boaters, and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers. Cash payouts extend through 20th place based on a full field of 100 boats.
Four FLW Walleye League divisions - Michigan, Minnesota, Heartland and Wisconsin - each feature three one-day events. Every angler who receives weight credit earns points, with 100 points awarded to the winner, 99 for second, 98 for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings.
The top 30 boaters and top 30 co-anglers from each FLW Walleye League division at the end of the season advance to the $133,400 Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Finals set for Sept. 11-13 on the Mississippi River in Winona, Minn. The boater and co-angler point's champions from each division also advance to the $650,000 no-entry-fee Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour Championship in Bismarck, N.D., Sept. 24-27 for a chance to compete for as much as $150,000 in the Pro Division and $20,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers finishing the season in the top 10 in each division also receive priority entry into the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour for 2009.
Heartland Division anglers will visit Lake Rathbun in Centerville, Iowa, May 31 for their second regular-season event. The third and final stop will be held on the Mississippi River in Moline, Ill., July 12.
To enter the tournament on the Illinois River, visit FLWOutdoors.com. If the tournament is not yet full, entries will also be accepted during registration, which will be held April 4 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Hall High School located at 800 W. Erie St. in Spring Valley. Entry fees are $300 for boaters and $150 for co-anglers.