DRYDEN – If anglers are wondering just how good the fishing is during the Dryden Walleye Masters, all they have to do is look at last year’s results.
The tandem of Scott Abraham and Frank Lombardo captured their second straight title last June with a record two-day total of 42.66 pounds, which easily surpassed the 36.53-pound output that Jeff and Blair Dingwall put together on their way to earning runner-up honours.
“The quality of fishing in the last couple of years has been fantastic,” tournament chairman Taris Rostek said. “We’ve never seen the size of the fish that was coming in and in that many numbers.
“We’ve always had large fish coming in, but it just seemed like everybody was bringing in big fish.”
Rostek and the rest of the tournament committee are hoping that trend continues this weekend as the 33rd edition of the Dryden Walleye Masters takes place on Saturday and Sunday on the Wabigoon Chain of Lakes.
According to the event’s website, 83 teams have registered for the event, which is down from the 101 entries that took to the water last year.
“It is down, but that’s the case everywhere right now,” Rostek said. “The numbers for tournaments really took a hit after COVID and things changed quite a bit for everybody.
“We hope to get back to our former numbers in the future, but I’m not sure that will happen for this year.”
Rostek is quick to note though that the field once again features anglers from all over.
In addition to the local competitors, tandems from the United States, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sioux Lookout, Red Lake and Kenora are taking part.
Another element that’s come into the event over the last couple of tournaments is the Dryden Trailblazer Tagged Fish Contest.
While it is not affiliated with the tournament itself, anglers who buy a ticket have a chance to win additional cash prizes if they catch a tagged fish.
“From what I understand, there’s about $72,000 in tagged fish in the lake right now, including two $10,000 fish, so that will make things pretty exciting if someone catches those,” Rostek said.
After a rules meeting on Friday, which is when the pre-fishing for the tournament comes to an end, anglers will set out on the water on Saturday starting at 7 a.m.
The weigh-ins begin around 3 p.m. at the Dryden Memorial Arena, with the process repeating itself on championship Sunday.
“We have a couple of new things going on this year to go along with the event, including a craft market that will be held at the arena on Saturday,” Rostek said.
“We’re also hoping to get out on a couple of boats so that we can do some live streaming from the lake during the day. All of that will be televised in the arena.”
More information and live results from this year’s tournament can be found on the Walleye Masters website and Facebook page.
