More than 75 fishing teams competed in the Reel Country Classic walleye tournament on Otter Tail Lake on May 19-20

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – More than 75 teams of fishing pairs competed in the Reel Country Classic Walleye fishing tournament on Otter Tail Lake on May 19-20 to have a chance at more than $10,000 in prize money.

Competitors and onlookers crowd around the weigh station during Reel Country Classic walleye tournament on Otter Tail Lake on May 20, 2023. (Michael Achterling / KDLM)

Tony Mariotti, tournament director for the Reel Country Classic, said the event keeps getting bigger every year.

“This is one of the bigger walleye tournaments in this area,” said Mariotti. “If we can get this tournament up to 100 teams in the future … you are going to see prizes like no other tournament in the state has.”

The fishing teams were able to submit six walleyes per day, with each fish needing to be longer than 14 inches and only two fish of the group were allowed over 20 inches.

Shiloh Wahl, a tournament participant from Detroit Lakes, said Friday’s session left him a little numb in the hands, but, overall, he said it was a great weekend on the Otter Tail Lake.

“Today it was beautiful out there,” said Wahl. “It doesn’t get any better than that. Catching big walleyes. Loving it.”

Wahl also said: “This morning, when it was real calm, we struggled a little bit. But once that wind picked up a little bit, and we got that walleye chop, then we started picking them up.”

The tournament winner, based on points, was the team of Travis and Jake Owens, who submitted the competition maximum 12 walleyes totaling nearly 37 pounds.

A complete list of tournament results and photos from the 2023 Reel Country Classic walleye tournament can be found on the KRCQ Facebook page.

Rocco Mariotti releases a walleye back into Otter Tail Lake after it has been weighed and aerated in a holding tub during the Reel Country Classic fishing tournament on May 19-20. (Michael Achterling /KDLM News)

Participants competing in the Reel Country Classic walleye tournament on Otter Tail Lake on May 19-20 bring their bags of fish to the weigh station on May 20, 2023. (Michael Achterling / KDLM News)