TX-12 Wins "Princess Rod Walleye Challenge" — Yes, Really

Sometimes Church Tackle pro staffers share a story that makes us laugh. But after an initial chuckle, this one made us think.

Paul Antonowitsch entered a local walleye tournament with a specific and unusual rule: kids beginner rod-and-reel combos only. You know the type—Princess branded, two-foot rods, designed for a child’s first bluegill, not a walleye tournament.

They thought they had a solid plan. They figured they’d just cast and vertical jig, leaning on forward-facing sonar for precision. But in practice, they quickly realized casting accuracy with a 2-foot rod turned out to be its own kind of challenge, and the morning bite never materialized.

So the team did what Church Tackle pros do—they started trolling.

The Princess reels got re-spooled with braided line (tournament rules allowed it), and they set a spread of Church Tackle planer boards—TX-12 Minis off the sides, and TX-005 and TX-007 stern planers out the back, all pulling crankbaits. No line counters, just feel and years of experience.

Within five minutes, the first walleye was in the box. By the end of the day, they had trolled up 14 keeper walleyes and a tournament win.

But it wasn't all smooth sailing. One of the Princess poles temporarily went Little Mermaid on them, when it launched clean out of the back rod holder as a fish hit. They heard the reel screaming but couldn’t get to it in time. Fortunately, the stern planer was still on the line. They  were able to snag it with one of their other stern planer lines and haul the whole rig back aboard.

Why the TX-12 Mini Planer Board Made Sense

The TX-12 Mini Planer Board from Church Tackle made a lot of sense in this fairly unusual situation:

• Even the lightest gear—literally princess poles— are capable of retrieving the TX-12 Mini
• But the TX-12 Mini is perfectly capable of pulling full-size walleye crankbaits
• Faster, more visible bite detection
• Doesn’t overpower the fight of the fish
• Minis clear easier than full size boards when reeling in fish

What This Crazy Tournament Revealed

The takeaway isn't really about walleye, or even about Princess poles. It's that a 2-foot kids' combo with a re-spooled reel pulled a TX-12, a TX-007, and a TX-22 through a full day of trolling without blinking. If those reels can handle the drag and leverage of a 100-foot lead, your normal trolling setup will too.

Congrats to the team on their quick-thinking change of plans and their big win at the 2026 Princess Rod Walleye Challenge. Bring more boards next year.