Joey Payeur
For 15 years, the organizing committee has been the heartbeat behind the Emo Walleye Classic and Lincoln Dunn was its pulse.
The torch will be passed come next spring, though, as Dunn recently announced his resignation as chair of the tournament following his decade-and-a-half of involvement.
“The memory I will take away is how much fun we had together all these years,” Dunn said about his fellow committee members.
“It was a really difficult decision to make,” he admitted.
“The tournament has been a part of my life from the outset. I’ve seen how things have changed.
“We’ve rotated committee members in and out, and I will always remember such people as Sam Visser and Nevin Bonot and what great friends of us all they became,” he added.
Dunn was pleased with how this year’s EWC turned out in his final time at the helm.
“It’s so heartening to see the rise in teams we had,” he said regarding the 37 entries this year, compared to a record low of 29 a year ago.
“There was definitely concern about the tournament continuing to be a viable event in Emo,” Dunn noted.
“But we felt some of the changes we made to the payout format were really impactful.”
The Rookie Award was created for the team with the highest overall weight that had at least one member on it who had never fished in the EWC before while “KidPro” prizes went to the top angler under 16 years old each day.
As well, the EWC added categories like the “Two’fer” and “Three’fer” prizes for those teams netting the top weight each of the two days with either two or three fish in their live well.
“It was good to see that the changes were very effective and there was a groundswell of support from people in regards to it,” Dunn remarked.
But he also acknowledged this year’s tournament was more difficult than normal for the anglers.
“There were more incidents with boats and motor issues than in a long time because the water levels on the river dropped so much,” he noted.
“But everyone was still able to come back on shore safely.”
Dunn wasn’t playing favourites but admitted he was thrilled for the winning team of Ted Heyens (Stratton) and Kelvin Caul (Devlin), who claimed the EWC title for the second time.
“I’m happy to see anyone walk across that stage during the last part on Saturday, but it’s good to see two guys up there who have been there since the very beginning,” he said.
“To see them get the second-biggest fish ever [8.79 pounds] was awesome, and just an exciting way to end the tournament to have the second-to-last team come up with something like that,” he enthused.
Meanwhile, Dunn rated the overall tournament experience as “very successful” for both the anglers and the public alike.
“We had a good parade of boats as we normally do, with most of the teams participating in it,” he recalled.
“We had great crowds all weekend long and a lot of new faces in the crowd.
“At the teen dance, the kids had a blast,” he added.
“They were all dripping with sweat, dancing, doing the limbo, and having a really good time.”
Dunn also was very confident the EWC tradition won’t end with his departure.
“It feels good to go 15 years and leave the tournament in such great shape,” he remarked.
“We have a fantastic and talented group of people to keep this going, with new perspectives that will keep this tournament going for at least another 15 years.
“It’s time to go and let someone else take over the reins,” he reasoned.
With the burden of being lead organizer now off his plate, would Dunn consider competing in the EWC sometime down the road?
“I wouldn’t say no,” he chuckled.
“It would be fun to see it from the other side of the boat for a change.”
