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Walleye Weekend Described As Another Big Success

May 06, 2024 Steve Schwaller

(Arnolds Park)– Another Walleye Weekend has gone into the books. Kylie Zankowski of the Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce says it was another big success…

“It went really great. You know we had our second largest turnout of all time and so we welcomed over 2,100 anglers from 18 different states and it was just great to see the lakes full, the parking lots full at a lot of our local businesses and hear all of the angling stories that they had from the weekend.”

And she says even though a tagged walleye wasn’t caught, that anglers did enjoy quite bit of success…

“No tagged walleyes have been turned in yet but there is still hope for people to catch those throughout the extended contest, so if you were registered, those are up for grabs and the first three will be paid out. We did have over 1,400 people register for the extended contest which means that first tagged walleye that gets caught by a registered angler is worth over $5,000.”

She says the weekend was also a success from an economic standpoint…

“A lot of our local businesses especially our bait shops were amazed with the turnout of people, from people coming in to shop and get registered to those that, you know, were here for the weekend to enjoy the fun. A lot of anglers come with their families or groups of friends and so it was really great for people to kind of have that soft open for summer.”

Zankowski thanks everyone who helped make Walleye Weekend another success, including the Iowa Department of Natural Resources as well as the sponsors, bait shops, and volunteers.

Here are some of the results:

Heaviest Northern Pike

1st Place: James Gossman of Terril, IA with 9.10lbs & 34.875″

2nd Place: Jake Lasch of Truman, MN with 8.55lbs & 32.75″

3rd Place: Aaron Espey of Hartley, IA with 8.16lb & 31″

Heaviest Stringer of (10) Bullhead
1st Place: Chris Daisy of Estherville, IA with 16.83lbs
2nd Place: Hudson Schneckloth of Cushing, IA with 16.07lbs
3rd Place: Berklee Carpenter of Sioux City, IA with 15.75lbs
Heaviest Stringer of (5) Panfish
1st Place: Conner Cregeen of Jackson, MN with 8.71lbs
2nd Place: Carrissa Stethem of Milford, IA with 8.26lbs
3rd Place: Jacob Westhoff of Dyersville, IA with 8.10lbs
Heaviest Stringer of (3) Walleye (Under 19″)
1st Place (Charlie Shuck Memorial Award Winner): Laef Lundbeck of Royal, IA with 7.28lbs
2nd Place: Aaron Hill of Fenton, IA with 7.18lbs 
3rd Place: Kelly Cook of Spencer, IA with 7.14lbs

Photos from the weekend can be found by clicking here

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