This year’s Emo Walleye Classic went off without a hitch, bringing with it excitement and a gathering of anglers from across the district to the waters before a father-son duo hooked their first win in the competition.
Last weekend marked the 25th anniversary of Emo’s premier fishing tournament along the Rainy River. Anglers taking part in the event had two days out on the water, making the biggest catches of walleye and sauger they could muster before bringing four fish per day to the weighmaster. The competition wrapped up with a spectacle of showmanship and bravado before announcing the 2026 champions.
The top five teams from day one were towed in their boats to the Emo-Lavallee Community Centre, raising their catches to the crowd and throwing small prizes to the children in front before Jack and Cody Drennan, a father-son team from Emo, were brought to the stage to be crowned the victors.
“The water was good this weekend,” Cody, the team captain and younger of the two Drennans said. “The type of fishing we were doing, it was slower, but we knew that we wanted were there, they were just difficult to catch. We didn’t catch a lot of fish, but we did catch the right ones. It feels really good. It was a long time coming. We’ve done pretty decent in the previous years but it’s nice to take it home this time.”
The Drennans had landed in fifth place following the first day of fishing, bringing in a respectable 10.93 lbs, but still a fair distance behind first place team Jon and TJ Barker, who led the Day One scoreboard with 17.69 pounds. However, their fifth place finish on Day One meant there were still plenty of anglers to go when they reached the hot seat, and when the final result of their efforts came out to 27.42 pounds total, they took their catch all the way to the grand prize.
Officials from the Emo Walleye Classic noted the Drennan’s final catch also broke a 21-year-old record weight of 25.82 pounds that was originally set by Doug McBride and Steve Ballan back in 2005. Additionally, Day One leaders Jon and TJ Barker also broke a 21-year-old McBride and Ballan record for their Day One total weight of 17.69 pounds, compared to the elder team’s 2005 Day One weight of 15.06 pounds.
Cody said that he and his father plan to be back next year and are looking forward to other fishing challenges coming up in the area throughout the year.
“As long as the things work out and we can fish it, absolutely we’ll be there,” he said. “We’re going to fish Rainy River this fall and hopefully Morson too.”
The top five teams in this year’s Emo Walleye Classic are as follows:
1st: Cody Drennan and Jack Drennan – 27.42 pounds
2nd: Doug McBride and Steve Ballan – 23.04
3rd: Jon Barker and TJ Barker – 22.13 pounds
4th: Callum McCormick and Zander McCormick – 21.85 pounds
5th: Dennis Smith and Terry Allan – 18.90 pounds
For more photos from this year’s tournament, please see C1.
