The recent lowering of the water level at the Boundary Dam reservoir may just have jeopardized the annual Walleye Classic, the fishing tournament traditionally held on opening day of each new fishing season.
Mike Halirewich, co-ordinator of this year's tournament for the Estevan Wildlife Federation, said he hopes the spring runoff is healthy enough to build the Boundary reservoir levels up again, at least to a point where boats can be launched and the tournament can go ahead as planned this Sunday, May 5 which is the first day of the new season.
"They've changed the fishing regulations. The new season used to start on the first Saturday in May. Now the official day has been set as May 5, no matter what day that falls on," said Halirewich.
That means future Walleye Classics at Boundary Dam will have to be scheduled on the first Saturday following the official opening date since the club wants to keep the event a weekend competition.
Because the change is new this year, the wildlife group decided to go with a Sunday event, keeping it in the weekend schedule, but allowing them time to let fishers know that next year's event will be back to a Saturday schedule.
With 49 out of the maximum 50 entry spots already spoken for, there is no doubt that the Walleye Classic in Estevan is a popular event, attracting fishers from the United States as well as from Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon in the past.
"If the water level doesn't rise enough, we'll have to make the call to cancel it about three days before it's scheduled because we'll have to let everyone who registered know that it's off," Halirewich said.
That means tomorrow is decision day for the tournament organizers. But they're hoping, unlike those who fear flood conditions, that the runoff rate has been good enough to raise the water level just enough to let them hold the tournament as planned.
Because winter stayed around so long this year, Halirewich said the south end of the reservoir was still iced in as of last weekend.
The EWF and Halirewich are taking care of the docks and boat launching area for the Woodlawn Regional Park authority this year and a new dock is ready for its initiation, if only they can get enough water to send it out into.
With the former Boundary Dam recreation site now being a fully declared regional park, there will be park passes to purchase and boat launching fees. Those will be circumvented this year however, since Woodlawn will not be officially opened until the mid-May weekend, he said.
"But in the future, the competitors will have to purchase a day, weekend or season pass and pay a boat launch fee," Halirewich said. Visitors will probably have the launch fee included in their entry fee package in the future.
The daily fee for both the entrance and launch is $5 each. A weekend pass is $10 for each and a season pass to the park, which will cover both Woodlawn Boundary Dam and Woodlawn Regional Park near Estevan, will be $40.
"The boat launch fee income will be kept in a separate trust account and will be used strictly for dock and boat launch maintenance and expansion," he said. "We're hoping to launch that new $22,000 dock on May 3, just before the tournament ... if the water level is high enough."
If the Walleye Classic is able to go ahead on Sunday, Halirewich said the entry fee and prize money will be similar to the previous opening day competitions.
Because of its well established popularity, Halirewich said he felt the Classic will be around for a long time.
