A number of anglers walked away with extra cash in their pocket after the 4th annual Moose Lake Walleye Classic.
Hosted by the Elk Point Lions Club, there were 110 boats out on the waters of Moose Lake for the two-day event on June 26 and 27. Teams of two tested their lines trying to walk away with the largest walleye.
“It was a hot weekend, fishing was a little slow because of the heat,” said organizer George Hahn. “Everything went really well except the road to the rodeo grounds was all ripped up but we ended up getting a spot in town (on the Centennial Centre's grounds).”
The tournament is part of the Western Canadian Walleye Trail, a four part circuit in which anglers accumulate points based on how well they do in each tournament.
The big winners of this year's Moose Lake Walleye Classic were Ryan Johnson and Chris Suhan who took home $20,000. Their two day total weight of 33.4 lbs landed them in first place overall.
“It's about time, we were due,” said Suhan. “I wanted to win a tournament by the time I was 30 and I turn 30 this fall.”
It was their first win of the year for both men, who have been competing in the circuit for a number of years but have never won the Moose Lake Classic before. While they didn't have any specific gear they swore by, Johnson said there is always one thing the two anglers stick to.
“Hard work and leeches; home caught leeches.”
While Johnson and Suhan were the grand winners of the weekend, a number of other teams faired quite well in the tournament.
In second place, also with a two-day total weight of 33.4 lbs but weren't quick enough to get weighed in before the first place pair, Bill and Billy Fleming took home $15,000. The third place team of Terry Milles and Mark Connelly received $12,000 with a total weight of 32.5 lbs. Fourth place with 30.84 lbs, Brian Oestreichen and Kalynn Gillespie got $10,000. The two teams tied for fifth split the prize money at $4,000 each; Ashley and Robert Hornseth and Doug Shea and Dana Shmyr weighed in at a total of 30.7 lbs.
Shea and Shmyr were also the day two winners with a weight of 16.06 lbs. Johnson and Suhan took day one with an impressive 18.66 lbs.
Their weight of 30.84 lbs was enough to make Oestreichen and Gillespie the top mixed team in the tournament. The youngest member of the tournament Leland Kofluk and his teammate, father Jayson Kofluk, received first place in the youth category after weighing in at 28.52 lbs.
Despite being down in donations, which Hahn believes is due to the current economy, interest in the tournament was up for this year. The spots were filled within 30 days of opening registration, a record for the tournament. While he admits it's a lot of work, Hahn said he would keep the Moose Lake Walleye Classic running for as long as he can.
Next stop on the Western Canadian Walleye Trail is the Golden Walleye Classic, which will be taking place on September 5 and 6 at the West Basin of Lesser Slave Lake.
