With the 25th anniversary of the Emo Walleye Classic around the corner and will return as a fun but challenging competition in the district, expects Travis Rob, Fort Frances’ infrastructure and growth manager.
The Emo Walley Classic is the township’s annual fishing tournament that’s been running since 2001. The competition garners attention from all over the Rainy River District to past its boundaries, bringing in teams of two made up of seasoned and rookie anglers alike, all competing towards a series of monetary prizes.
“The organizers put on an absolutely spectacular tournament,” Rob said. “It is so much fun right from start to finish. If anyone’s ever told me they thought about fishing it, my suggestion is always that you’ve got to at least try it, it’s a lot of fun.”
Although he’s expecting a fun weekend, Rob said he knows it’ll be equally as challenging.
“My goal is always to go and have a lot of fun,” Rob said. “It is a super fun fishery, but it’s very, very challenging, which adds to the fun of it.”
“I never go into the Emo Walley Classic with ambitions that I’m going to win it. I love the tournament. It’s such a well-run tournament, but it is such a challenging body of water to fish. I always go in with the goal of having a ton of fun, and I always do that. If I catch some big fish, that’s just a bonus.”
This section of the Rainy River has a level of unpredictability that puts anglers familiar with the area at an advantage when it comes to pulling Walleye and Sauger from its waters.
“The water conditions can change very rapidly, there’s a lot of current there,” Rob said. “A rainstorm that doesn’t even hit Fort Frances or the area may this impact and all of the sudden increase the flows in the river tremendously or bring in a bunch of sediment.”
“The conditions are different and that’s what makes it challenging. With a high current, finding fish can also be difficult because they’re going to be hiding in areas where there are breaks in the current that you may not be able to find from the surface.”
At this point, Rob has made a habit of going to the Walleye Classic, having fished in the tournament for almost two decades. He said there’s been very few years since he started that he hasn’t made it out.
“I’ve been fishing the Emo Wally Classic since 2008 or 2009, I want to say was when I first fished it.”
“Sometimes things come up in life and you have other commitments that pull you away. But for me now, it’s kind of become like my unofficial kickoff to summer. For me, I really shift gears from winter, spring to summertime once the Walleye Classic is done,” Rob said.
Anyone interested in joining anglers like Travis Rob and competing in the Emo Walley Classic can register online with their partner at the emowalleye.com and clicking the “Register – 2026” link on the homepage. Contestants need to act quick, as registration slots are nearly full.
The competition is running this year from May 21 to 23. Any contestant over 18 years of age must be in possession of a valid fishing license.
