Tournament Success

This past weekend the National Walleye Tournament was held on Lake of the Woods. May we say that the anglers who traveled many distances were completely satisfied with the fishery of this lake. 71 teams of two were entered in the contest  who traveled as far out as Garden Island and other locations on the lake. Each day the anglers arrived for a 3 p.m. weigh-in at Sportsman’s Lodge which was the host lodge. There the Cabela’s stage was set up where anglers weighed in their fish. The process of getting the fish to the weigh-in was very interesting and well orchestrated. Fish were kept in wet wells on the boats and then bagged to take to the weigh-in. At that spot, huge containers of ice cold water helped those fish to stay alive while waiting for the chance to be weighed. Water was then dumped and fish were weighed on stage and then transported to more water, time being about 2 minutes. Then they were transported in bags of water again to a pontoon boat at the water’s edge where they were placed in an aerated container and examined for their return to the lake. Yes, most fish were returned to the waters of Lake of the Woods in a Catch and Release style which is why this fishery remains so constant. Very few were lost, but those that were, were processed and donated to local senior centers for their eating enjoyment. May we say “hats off” to the many hands that helped at the tournament and especially to the great care that were given to Lake of the Woods wonderful resource, the walleye.