86 walleyes caught during annual Lakers Fishing Team Walleye Tournament on Detroit Lake

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – Twenty-two teams of 44 anglers cast their lines into Detroit Lake on Saturday for the 3rd annual Lakers Fishing Team Walleye Tournament.

The top prize for the tournament went to Tony Boyd and Josh Bass who turned the contest maximum six walleyes, totaling 20.54 pounds.

The largest walleye caught during the competition was hauled in by Tony Boyd at a length of 28 inches and weighing 7.24 pounds.

13-year-old Tyler Longfield, a member of the Detroit Lakes Fishing Team, was volunteering at the weigh-in booth with some of his teammates and said he’s learned a lot about one of his favorite passions in just his first year on the team.

“I learned how to use a baitcaster because normally I only use a spinning rod,” said Longfield. “Spinning rods, I feel, are easier to use, but baitcasters, once you learn to use them, are a lot better because you can get them farther and you don’t have to hold down the line, you can just have your thumb on it. It’s a lot easier to cast.”

He also said he learned an important lesson about rain gear.

“I need to bring more ponchos than just one,” he said. “I had to take off my poncho because all my stuff was getting wet, so I ended up using the poncho for my stuff.”

Ryan Ziegler, a Lakers Fishing Team member parent and volunteer working the event, said they actually have a college fishing intern helping with the tournament and team this year, which provides another avenue for the kids to learn more about fishing.

“One of our boat captains is actually a college fisherman out of Ohio, so he’s here on an internship and he’s helping us out and it’s great having those types of guys coming out and help,” said Ziegler. “Because they have that college knowledge and the tournament knowledge.”

Ziegler also said having high school level and college level fishing competitions is a great way to stimulate interest in the sport at younger ages.

“When we were younger, (a high school fishing team) was no such thing,” he said. “If you wanted to fish a tournament, you were going out there and competing with guys that were anywhere from 20 years old to 70 years old, so there wasn’t that college level and high school entry level to get into that.”

Event organizers said they’ve gotten more participants in each year they’ve held the tournament and hope for an even better 2024 competition.

In total, 86 walleyes were caught and released during the this year’s Lakers Walleye Tournament with a combined weight of more than 223 pounds.