Most of the walleyes caught by anglers end up under the sharp edge of a fillet knife, their fate determined by the taste people have acquired for their flaky, mild-tasting meat.

But pro angler Sammy Cappelli of Poland gladly frees the walleyes he catches in exchange for cash and prizes in fishing tournaments across the United States.

Ironically, a big walleye that failed to survive its stay in his boat’s livewell ended up costing Cappelli and teammate Tony Karrick of Chicago thousands of dollars at the conclusion of the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit on Wisconsin’s Green Bay on July 24.

Cappelli and Karrick caught more weight than winners Chad Lunde and Luke Schultz of Colorado, but an eight-ounce deduction for their one deceased walleye put them two ounces shy of the winning total of 55 pounds, 15 ounces amassed over the two-day tournament.

“We had it won, but they called our fish dead,” Cappelli said. “It’s a disappointing loss, but rules are rules. We just take it on the chin and keep going.”

Cappelli and Karrick won the MWC season opener at Spring Valley, Ill., in April and currently lead the season-long MWC Angler of the Year points race.

Interestingly, many Great Lakes walleye tournaments do not penalize for dead fish due to the long runs and rough water the competitors must navigate. The Green Bay tournament was contested on Lake Michigan and connected waters under rules that included weight deductions for fish that expire.

“We knew it would be a game of ounces because Green Bay was a no-cull tournament,” Cappelli said. “Once you put your sixth fish in the box, you’re done. We headed in early after catching our limit and when we got to the scales, the walleye’s gills were moving, but it turned out to be too close for them to call it alive.”

In practice, Cappelli scouted areas north of Green Bay in 40-60 feet of water, but the fishing was not as good as he wanted.

“So we stayed down south near Green Bay and found a bunch of fish in 34-38 feet of water. We were pulling one-ounce weights 1 mph with worm harnesses using gold, perch color and purple Lindy blades,” Cappelli said. “We trolled with the maximum six rods and when the bite slowed, we pulled one rod and went up front casting Sonars. We caught key fish doing that.”

High-tech ActiveTarget 2 Live Sonar was important in their success. Cappelli matches the ActiveTarget with Lowrance Pro units on his electric Ghost trolling motor, which he can turn to scan side-to-side.

“I’m really getting dialed in on ActiveTarget,” Cappelli said. “Rhonda (Cappelli’s wife) and I went to Berlin and set up to scan the concrete pillars of the railroad trestle from 40-50 feet away. We got it fine-tuned and watched schools of crappies swimming by and could see their tails moving and watch the fish eat the bait.”

Though he’s fishing all over the country, Cappelli keeps in touch with local walleye action.

“Erie is good now out of Geneva and Ashtabula. In close, 35 feet of water is holding a lot of fish,” Cappelli said. “Some of the charters are running out to 72 feet, but you can catch them closer casting Erie Dearies and hair jigs and trolling Bandit B Shads.”

Inland lakes are too warm now for good walleye fishing, but Cappelli is looking forward to cooler weather.

“The fishing at Berlin will pick up again at the end of August into September,” he said. “I expect a good Vib-E bite.”

Jack Wollitz’s book, “The Common Angler,” is a collection of stories that explain why anglers are passionate about fishing. Send a note to jackbbaass@gmail.com.