EMO, ONT. -- Because of the United States/Canada border’s continued closure, the Emo Walleye Classic Tournament will be held virtually this year -- with Canadians fishing only the Canadian side of the Rainy River and Americans fishing only the American side.
The event, which in a typical year is held in Emo, Ont., Canada, is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 10-11. It will be a catch, record and release tournament through the FishDonkey app.
“It has been quite a year and when we decided not to move forward with our tournament in 2020 we could never have imagined our 2021 tournament could also be in jeopardy,” organizers of the tournament said in a Facebook post . “We realize in order to host a tournament that many things would need to change and we are making those changes this year to allow the Emo Walleye Classic to move ahead.”
According to the Facebook post, there will be no tournament gatherings and no dance.
Anglers also won’t be required to leave from the Emo launch and will be allowed to start at any launch on the Rainy River. This change will allow American anglers to participate in the tournament without having to cross the border.
ADVERTISEMENT
To register for the tournament, participants should download the FishDonkey app, or visit the website at www.FishDonkey.com . They can then register or sign in and click on “Fish in a Tournament.” They should then join the “Emo Walleye Classic Can & Am.”
Only one person per team should pay and register in the app. That person will be the designated captain to record fish. The cost to register in the tournament is $300 CDN (around $238 USD) per team.
Anyone who signs up and registers by noon on Saturday, April 3, will be eligible for the Nevin Bonot Early Bird Award of $300.
Cash and/or prizes will be given to the top positions of each leaderboard category with the cash amounts and number of winning entries to be determined. A $10,000 CDN (around $7,940 USD) top prize will be paid out to the winning team based on 80 entries, the tournament’s official website said.
For more information, visit the Emo Classic Walleye website at www.emowalleye.com/2021-tournament or call Colleen Vennechenko at (807) 276-4128.
