It was a busy weekend across the Sunset Country region for tournament anglers with two bass tournaments and a walleye tournament taking place. Bass tournaments were held at Shoal Lake and Lake Despair, while the Kenora Walleye Open happened on Lake of the Woods. It’s a short season for the anglers who enjoy tournament competition so for the next few months we try to cram in as many events as we can.
Over the years, I’ve fished in all three of these tournaments but for the past several years they have all happened over the first weekend in July. If I was able to make it to all of them, I would – I just enjoy any kind of competition I can get into.
The Shoal Lake Big Bass Classic is one of the longest running tournaments in the region, its roots dating back to the early 90’s. I fished it for the first time in the mid-90’s and have only missed it a couple of times over the years. Shoal Lake has always been an adventure because of the good fishing and the fact that it was never mapped all that well, it’s just always a fun place to fish. When I was a kid, I used to get sick the night before the tournaments out there because I would be so excited.
While we’ve had success over the years, it was a tough weekend for my partner Karl Engstrom and I. We caught plenty of fish, which is never the problem on Shoal but we did not catch the quality needed to do well. We had a better second day but after having a brutal first day, we felt like we really needed to gamble on day two to try and catch a big limit to get back into prize range. We fell short, finishing in the middle of the pack.
Jonathan and Chuck Neniska dominated the Shoal Lake tournament, bringing in the biggest limit as well as the biggest bass each day, totaling 34.01 pounds. They earned $10,000 for the weekend! The second-place finishing team of Rob Reznowski and Brad Harlos brought in 31.76, while Paul and Coel Forsyth were third with 31.30. The big bass of the weekend, brought in by the Neniska team came in at 4.18 pounds. 57 teams showed up out at Shoal Lake, which was the best turnout they have had in several years.
At the Lake Despair Castin’ for Cash tournament, put on by Lake Despair Lodge, the father and son team of Jake and Ben Boettcher took the $5,000 first place prize with a two-day total of 32.44 pounds. Jeff Bragg and Ross Steele were second with 31.05, while Brayden and Jeff Kreger were third with 30.99.
Meanwhile, on Lake of the Woods, 90 teams competed in the Kenora Walleye Open. This tournament has a unique format, where teams can weight one big fish each day, over 27 inches, which is measured, photographed and released on the lake. These big fish have a weight value assigned to them, depending on the length. Teams can then bring in three walleye under 17 inches to be weighed. So, to do well, you need a big one, in the 30 inch plus range each day, as well as really good slot fish, that come close to but don’t go over the line. A lot of strategy is involved.
The duo of Ian Waterer and Motei Demers took the title with a two-day total of 31.47 pounds. They have had a lot of success in bass tournaments across the region in recent years and have done well in this walleye tournament in the past as well. Their win netted them around $30,000 in cash and prizes.
Second place went to Blair Dingwall and Jeremy Kennedy with 30.01 while third place was taken by Daniel Gougeon and Tanis Desrochers with 29.61. A bunch of big walleyes were caught on Lake of the Woods over the weekend, it’s an incredible walleye fishery.
Big thanks to all of the tournament organizers for making all of these events happen. We’re lucky to have the great competitive fishing community that we do across the region. The next events to happen are the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship and Bronzeback Classic, both being held the weekend of July 20.
