04-29-2003, 03:20 AM
[font "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"]NAFC Member Wins Wal-Mart RCL Season Opener[/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][size 2]SPRING VALLEY, IL--North American Fishing Club member John Kolinski, of Menasha, Wisconsin, took first place in the recent Wal-Mart RCL Tour season opener on the Illinois River. Kolinski caught six saugers weighing 10 pounds, 15 ounces in the event's final round, helping him land $90,000 in cash and prizes, including a Yamaha-powered Lund boat. His final-round teammate, Dan Miller of Madison, Wisconsin, took home $15,000 for the catch.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][size 2]"I didn't think it would happen," said Kolinski, who's fishing his second RCL Tour season. "I figured we might make the top five, but not this. When I saw the last guy pull out his last fish and put it on the scale, it just took the air out of me. It's just incredible."[/size][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][size 2]The anglers caught their fish under frigid conditions, jigging ΒΌ-ounce bucktails tipped with minnows in 10 to 14 feet of water. The pair targeted a sand flat on the inside of a turn in the river using orange jigs in the morning and lime-green jigs in the afternoon. It was the same technique Kolinski employed all week, but the location was new because debris washed into his primary area and made it unfishable.[/size][/font]
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[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][size 2]SPRING VALLEY, IL--North American Fishing Club member John Kolinski, of Menasha, Wisconsin, took first place in the recent Wal-Mart RCL Tour season opener on the Illinois River. Kolinski caught six saugers weighing 10 pounds, 15 ounces in the event's final round, helping him land $90,000 in cash and prizes, including a Yamaha-powered Lund boat. His final-round teammate, Dan Miller of Madison, Wisconsin, took home $15,000 for the catch.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][size 2]"I didn't think it would happen," said Kolinski, who's fishing his second RCL Tour season. "I figured we might make the top five, but not this. When I saw the last guy pull out his last fish and put it on the scale, it just took the air out of me. It's just incredible."[/size][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][size 2]The anglers caught their fish under frigid conditions, jigging ΒΌ-ounce bucktails tipped with minnows in 10 to 14 feet of water. The pair targeted a sand flat on the inside of a turn in the river using orange jigs in the morning and lime-green jigs in the afternoon. It was the same technique Kolinski employed all week, but the location was new because debris washed into his primary area and made it unfishable.[/size][/font]
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