Fresno Walleye Challenge set for weekend

The Fresno Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited still has a few slots open in this weekend's walleye fishing tournament and area youth have an opportunity to experience their own fishing adventure Friday in the chapter's Fresno Kids Fun Fishing Day.

The fun day, which acts as a sort of preamble to the tournament, is open to all youth to give them an opportunity to get out on the water fishing for walleye with experts, said Brian Olson, Fresno Chapter member and tournament director.

The Kids Fun Fishing Day is Friday 9 a.m. to noon starting at the main dock on Fresno Reservoir 13 miles west of Havre, Olson said. Not only is the event free, but each kid also gets a free fishing pole and a chance to fish with Fresno Chapter members and tournament entrants.

"We get a lot of our tournament fishermen to come out and give us a hand on this, so they'll take time from their pre-fishing," he said, "... and they'll just come out here and help us out with the kids."

Kids 12 and older will need a fishing license with the state. And, Olson said, it would help if the kids could find a life jacket because not every boater has youth-sized life jackets.

"We give every one of them their own personal fishing pole, so they're ready to go. It's theirs," he said, adding that part of the drive is to feed the longevity of the interest in walleye preservation and fishing. "We're trying to get kids hooked into our sport."

Registration for the weekend tournament is Friday night at 5 p.m. at the Fresno Chapter's pavilion near the main dock. This will be followed by a sloppy joe dinner and a rules meeting at 6 p.m., Olson said, adding that a pulled-pork dinner will be served Saturday at 6 p.m. for tournament entrants.

Cost is $300 per two-person team, which can be any combination of adults, youth, males and females, he added.

As of Wednesday they had about 20 slots open, Olson said, and that is not necessarily bad, he added, because the water level is down on the reservoir so it could get crowded.

The tournament fishing will run 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Entrants will start out at the main dock but measurement stations where the weight and length of the fish are recorded will be in four locations around the lake, he said.

For the tournament, each entrant's top five walleye will count toward their day total but they are allowed to catch as many fish as they want, or can, he said, because even the winning fish are all released back into the lake.

"This is strictly a catch and release format. In fact," he said, "we release 100 percent. And, of course, that's what we strive for, but if anybody has a fish that we deem is non-releasable, well, then we put that away and they basically get zero credit for one fish, and that day they'll only be able to weigh in four."

The boats are equipped with "live wells" in which the fish are kept in water deep enough for them to swim then they are taken to one of four stations on the water for weight and length measurements before being released to preserve the walleye population in the reservoir.

The teams with the largest 10 fish will get cash awards with day-payout both Saturday and Sunday and payout for top totals for the weekend, he said. Day money will pay to 16th place with the amount based on the number of entrants, and tournament total placings will go to eighth place, with the top team winning $2,700.

The winner could leave with $5,000 to $6,000, Olson said.

The Fresno Walleye Challenge is the third stop on a four-tournament walleye fishing circuit in the state which includes the Crooked Creek Classic and the Tiber Walleye Tourney which have already taken place and the Canyon Ferry Walleye Festival, June 24 – 25. Circuit awards will be handed out after the tournament at Canyon Ferry Reservoir.

For more information on the kids fun day or the Fresno Walleye Challenge, contact Brian Olson at 390-2091 or go online to http://www.fresnowalleyes.com.