Mitch Calvert
The Rainy River wasn’t very generous for much of the eighth-annual Emo Walleye Classic field on Saturday. But for Ted Heyens and Kelvin Caul, it gave them just enough to capture their first title.
The pair brought in a 11.25-pound bag on the second and final day to move up from second place after Day 1 and capture the trophy and $10,400 prize.
“It was a pretty tough bite [Saturday], but we got the right ones,” Heyens said afterwards.
“Only had five bites all day, but we got them to the boat.”
The pair have been fishing the EWC since its inception—consistently finishing among the top 15—but finally broke into the win column with a two-day haul of 24.98 pounds.
Paul Allan (Emo) and Jason Rostek (Dryden) finished second with a 21.40-pound total to earn $5,800 while Day 1 leaders Brett Meyers and Nathan Brigham of Emo slipped to third to claim $3,800.
Brigham and Meyers had the big catch of the tournament at 13.99 pounds on Friday, aided by a six-pound lunker, but couldn’t put another solid day together Saturday, bringing in just 6.34 pounds.
Rounding out the top 10 were Joe Dobransky and Lorne Jonassen (17.10 pounds), Paul Jewiss and Mike Graham (15.21), Frank Grunewal and Frank McWhinne (15.03), Mike and Evan Maxton (15.02), Raynard Croswell and Kevin Croswell (14.96), defending champs Doug McBride and Steve Ballan (14.86), and Wayne Angus and Rick Pruys (14.59).
The rookie award went to the duo of Dean St. Pierre and Johnny Stone of Rainy River, who finished 19th with a 12.36-pound total.
The big fish of the tournament was caught by the father/son pair of Mike and Evan Maxton, who hauled in an 8.51-pound monster on Friday.
