The Estevan Wildlife Federation (EWF) Boundary Dam Opening Day Classic walleye tournament saw warm sunny skies on Saturday, though the wind may have annoyed a few anglers.
Not Mike Reid of Virden, Man., however, who with his fishing partner Paul Skoczylas won the tournament with 17.6 pounds of walleye, the sum of their six fish maximum.
Reid laughed and said he enjoyed the wind, which isn’t surprising considering the pair spent eight hours on the water underneath the hot sun.
“It feels really good,” Reid said of the big win.
“It’s a good tournament, lots of fish caught and lots of fish weighed in, and the guys here do a great job of running it.”
Reid and Skoczylas brought home a total of $1,900, with $1,200 coming from the tournament itself, and another $700 from tournament within a tournament.
Both agreed it was a good day of fishing, with a good amount of pike and bass being caught amongst the walleyes.
Not bad considering Reid said he hadn’t participated in six years or so, and it was also the first year in a while for Skoczyla as well.
“I have fished it in the past, but I wasn’t here last year, so hit or miss whether I can make it or not,” said Skoczyla.
The biggest fish was awarded to the fifth place team of Clinton and Chandler Harkins, who got $500 for a walleye that came in at 4.12 pounds.
This time around marked year 14 for the tournament, and as always, organizers managed to fill the 50-team maximum and even used two of the six teams that were on reserve.
Mike Halirewich, past president of EWF, said there’s always a reserve list in case a team or two can’t make it, so the tournament can keep an even 50 teams on the water.
Proceeds from this year’s event will go to improving the Boundary Dam recreation site, like clubhouse and dock maintenance.
