wild guide: walleye tournaments
“Tournaments are a great way to learn
to adapt to different conditions that you
might not face when heading out on the
lake for a just few hours of fishing,” says
Mike Dotoli, tournament director for the
Cape Coppermine walleye tournament
and committee member with the Central
Walleye Trail (CWT). “Anglers learn to
step outside their comfort zones to try a
new technique or fish an area that they
may not under normal conditions.”
Just when you think you have determined
what the fish are doing, where they are
and how to get them to bit, variables like
weather can change everything in an
instant. When the clock is ticking, you are
forced to quickly learn how to read the
situation and make a move. TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME
A walleye tournament can be a single-day
event at a lake near you. Or it can be a multi-
day event, in a different province. The best
way to test the waters and learn the game is
to keep the difficulty level as low as possible.
“A one day tournament, like Cape
Coppermine, allows an angler to try
tournament fishing without the amount of expenses and pressure that you would have
with a two day tournament,” says Dotoli.
One-day events are every bit as legitimate
as their multi-day counterparts. In the CWT,
single-day events sell out with big fields as
often as multi-day events. In 2017, half of
that trail’s qualifying events are single-day
tournaments, and they count for full-points
in the trail standings.
PREPARING FOR YOUR FIRST EVENT • If your event is part of a tournament trail,
consider your options for participation
before the event. Trails will not include
your results retroactive to joining, and
some offer prizes for members who only
fish one or two qualifying events. • Arrive early to give yourself time to
navigate the launch and boat-check
station before long lines start forming.
Use the extra waiting time on the water
to tie your lines and meet others who are
competing.
• Double-check the rules. Understand
what’s expected of you regarding life
jackets, kill switch use, cell phone use,
fish measurement, boundaries, live bait,
boat check and important times of day. • Boat number one…go! Ask tournament
officials to make sure you understand the
starting format. Hitting the throttle at the
wrong time can be dangerous and may
result in a disqualification.
• Hit the washroom, and make sure you
have everything from your truck. Most
tournaments have rules against leaving
the boat and passing items between
boats. This may take effect as soon
as your boat has been checked by a
tournament official in the morning. • When returning at the end of the day, find
out if there’s a check-in boat. They will
need to record that you returned on time
(late returns may result in penalties or
disqualification) and may be responsible
for establishing the order of boats headed
to the weigh-in station.
• Register well in advance so you aren’t
shut-out by a sold-out event. When in
doubt, contact the tournament director to
find out how close the event is to being
full.
• Plan some time to “pre-fish” the location
in the days leading up to the event. Make
sure you know if there is a rule about when
you can and cannot pre-fish the water.
Some events close fishing to participants
at a set time on the day before.
•
Is there a mandatory pre-event rules
meeting? Don’t get slapped with a D.Q.
for missing that requirement. It’s also the
perfect opportunity to meet your fellow
anglers.
Wild Guide
. Summer 2017
24