By Steve Weisman
Each year the Iowa Great Lakes Area kicks off the walleye season with the Iowa Great Lakes Area Walleye weekend tournament put on by the Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce. This year’s tournament begins at midnight on Saturday, May 4 and ends at 11:59 a.m. on Sunday, May 5.
This year is the 42nd annual event, and to help celebrate the event, 10 tagged walleyes have been released into the Iowa Great Lakes chain of lakes with the grand prize for catching one of these ten tagged walleyes this year set at $42,000. Cost to enter the contest is $30. Generally approximately 2,000 people enter the contest. Registrations are open, and you can go to the Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber website.
In addition to the tagged walleyes, contests are held for the heaviest stringer of walleye under 19”, for the heaviest northern pike, heaviest stringer of panfish and heaviest stringer of bullhead. Official weigh stations will be Kabele’s Trading Post, Oak Hill Outdoor/The Hookup and Stan’s Bait and Tackle. Awards to the top three in each category will be awarded at the Sunday noon luncheon held at the Dickinson County Expo Building, along with an array of door prizes and raffle items.
Kiley Zankowski, Director of Marketing for the chamber, says, “Iowa Great Lakes Walleye Weekend is another great example of our community coming together to welcome people from near and far. Events of this scale do not just happen, they take an entire community coming together to sponsor, donate prizes, and volunteer their time. We are blessed to have such a supportive community and membership base who steps up when called upon. Every collaborative piece works together to make a memorable weekend for anglers from across the country.”
Planning on fishing in the Iowa Great Lakes over the summer months? Don’t miss out on thousands of dollars! Make sure to register for the extended contest for your chance at the remaining tagged walleye until August 31st!
In the extended contest in 2023, the first of the extended contest tagged walleye was caught just 10 hours after the weekend’s event concluded. Local angler, Dennis Weerheim caught the fish off of his dock worth and garnered him a check for $5,080!
Biggest Walleye Tournament gaining in popularity
How do you do a big fish tournament, when you can’t transport fish to a baitshop to be weighed? Many tournaments, including for the Iowa Great Lakes Walleye Opener are using the Fish Donkey App. It is an optional tournament in addition to the regular tournament. All registrations and submissions must be completed through the Fish Donkey App. Registration will be $20.
In order to be entered, all fish must be photographed, measured and recorded through the Fish Donkey app. Each fish must be measured properly according to Fish Donkey rules. Leaderboards will be updated throughout the contest and can be checked. All registrations and submissions must be completed through the Fish Donkey app.
The three largest walleyes by length will be paid out a portion of the registration fees:
- Overall largest walleye: 25% payout
- Second largest walleye: 15% payout
- Third largest walleye: 10% payout
Big walleyes for the opener seem to always be caught after dark, and that held true in 2023. Karsten Elsen of Milford caught the largest walleye, a 27.75-inch walleye, followed by Dustin Koele of Alton with his 27-inch walleye with third place going to Drew Laidig of Bettendorf with a 26.75-inch fish.
Awards luncheon
The annual Awards Luncheon will be held on Sunday, May 5 at the Dickinson County Expo Building in Spirit Lake. Winners of the heaviest fish categories will be announced and awarded, along with thousands of dollars worth of raffle prizes given away to those registered for the 2024 Walleye Weekend. Lunch is free for anglers registered for the weekend’s competition and limited to the first 500 registered attendees.
Where the money goes
According to Blaine Andrea, CEO of the Chamber, “The impact of Walleye Weekend to the area is certainly important. The first thing that comes to mind is the economic impact for our area businesses, but another impact that is important is the benefit to other non-profit organizations. The Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce initiated a grant process a couple years ago to help benefit organizations that support the angling industry or water quality in the Iowa Great Lakes.”
Just this past year, $20,000 was donated to the following non-profit organizations: Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club, Spirit Lake Protective Association, Okoboji Protective Association, East Okoboji Lakes Improvement Corporation and the Center Lake Improvement and Protective Association.
