2015 Lund AYA Tournament

July 18th seen the 2015 Lund AYA Tournament take place at the Cache Campground. Anglers faced a light misty rain before the start of the tournament. This, however, didn't dampen the sprits of the kids. With 40 boats lining up for blast off, you could tell by the children's faces they were excited to get the show on the road. One of the highlights for me was video taping the 30-second segment of each team with Lund Pro Staffer Craig Salmonson in his Lund 202 GL along with helping Craig with the weigh in. When we pulled up to Team Robinson-Ethier, young Maxim yelled to us that he reeled in a 8.4 lbs Walleye by himself. Maxim then went on to tell us that his dad (Paul) missed netting it the first time it came to the boat, but netted it the second time. Paul told us that Mixmim was very patient with his netting skills. It was apparent at weigh-in that the fish were cooperating for the kids on this day as some big bags of Walleyes came in. While everyone was waiting for the final results to be posted, I had a chance to talk with Rock Bouchard. Rock told me that his daughter Dominique caught a 17- and two 16-inch Walleyes and in the last half hour of the tournament his daughter Amelie caught a 5.65 lb Walleye. Twenty minutes later, she caught a 7.87 lb Walleye. The top three teams were as follows: First Place - Team Blazing Bouchards Captain Rock Bouchard Young anglers Amelie Bouchard and Dominique Bouchard Total weight 16.24 Second Place - Team Robinson-Ethier Captain Paul Ethier Young anglers Caleb Robinson-Ethier and Maxim Robinson-Ethier Total Weight 13.66 Third Place - Team Labine Captain John Labine Young anglers Ada Labine and Nolan Labine Total Weight 10.48 Winner of the biggest fish went to 10-year-old Maxim Robinson-Ethier for catching an impressive 8.4lbs Walleye that measured 29.5 in length. Mixim won a fiberglass fish reproduction, a $600 value sponsored by Mark Jensen. A funny little story happened when Craig and I pulled up to boat 22, Team Master Baiters/Catching Nemo, to shoot the 30-second video segment of them. Captain Jo-Anne Parent-Gagne told us that their only goal for the tournament, as it was their first one, was to catch a five fish limit. Well they achieved their goal by weighing in a five fish limit. By the way, Jo-Anne wanted everyone to know that it was her children Nathaniel and Madelaine that choose their team names. Clint Chartrand, manager of Guiho Saw Sales and Marine, would like thank the Cache Campground (Michelle and Denis Perrier) for letting us use your location and access to anything and everything. Clint would also like to Thank all the volunteers for taking the time to help with this event and all the Tournament Sponsors for their support in making sure every child left with a prize. I am very pleased to announce that only five Walleye were unfit to release out of approximately 200 walleye caught. All big fish were successfully release back into the water without any problems. This is a true testament that every team captain showed and are passing down to the next generation of anglers the importance of catch and release, and deserve a huge round of applause. I'm looking forward to next years tournament already.