Alberta’s biggest walleye tournament is coming back to Slave Lake in 2008. Organizers of the Grizzly Ridge Honda Anglers Cup announced last week that contrary to the original intention to hold the tournament every two years, it would be going ahead again in June of this year.
“It’s due to high demand,” says Angel Meinecke, of the organizing committee. “They’ve been asking us to go annually. We’ll see how it works out.”
It wasn’t a snap decision. The license was secured in August, and information packages went out to prospective competitors in December. Meinecke says the 121 teams that took part in the 2007 tournament have an automatic spot (assuming they pay the fee, of course) in ’08. With a limit of 135 teams this year, that means most newcomers will go on a waiting list until the deadline for last year’s teams to state their intentions. They have until Feb. 28.
The waiting list, Meinecke says, is already filling up.
“This is the one they want to go to,” she says.
The prize money probably has something to do with that. Based on a full field, it adds up to $135,000, with the winner raking in a cool 75 grand.
The tournament dates? June 19 – 21. That’s more or less the same weekend as last year, but what’s different this time, Meinecke says, is that it doesn’t conflict with any other Alberta walleye tournaments.
The Anglers Cup, Meinecke maintains, is not only the richest around, but it’s the best. On the matter of getting permission to go ahead this year, she says Fish & Wildlife had been “very impressed” with the way the ’07 tournament was run.
“One Fish & Wildlife rep said they’re using some of our practices as tournament standards!”
One thing they must have liked was how the weigh-ins procedure was designed to reduce the time out of water for the fish. The weigh-in people had it down to a matter of a very few seconds, and had refined their approach even during the two days of the tournament. It included a waterslide back into the river from the recovery tank.
This year could see even further reductions in the ‘out’ time for the fish.
One thing the Anglers Cup needs for sure is plenty of volunteers and sponsors. Meinecke says anyone interested should call the tournament number at 849-3500.

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