First place team Nick Huckson and Jason Doyon.

The week leading up to the Mattagami First Nation Walleye Tournament was rainy, cold – less than ideal fishing weather. But early arriving anglers pre-fishing for the first event of the Northern Ontario Walleye Trail were not deterred from establishing walleye hot spots and spring patterns.

Highly anxious anglers (242 of them!) patiently waited for the fog to clear for a delayed start to the tournament.  After a short wait, the horn sounded, and friendships were put on hold as anglers put on their competition faces and blasted off to catch the big ones.

For some the day 1 weight was enough to offset a tougher day 2.  Then, others had very successful second days which helped recover from a less than ideal day 1.  Consistency also paid off for anglers.

Congratulations to all anglers for 2 successful days of very competitive fishing in challenging conditions.

The top 25 teams in the 2017 MFN Walleye Tournament (weight in pounds):

  • 1 Jason Doyon Nick Huckson 27.40
  • 2 Jamie Robinson Terry Bernath 23.20
  • 3 Darcy Guenette Mathieu Guenette 21.73
  • 4 John Labine Jonathan Morin 21.30
  • 5 Miguel Tailleur Denis Gendreau 21.28
  • 6 Taylor Klimczak Stephane Morin 19.78
  • 7 Chantal Cauchon Ken Perreault 18.98
  • 8 Jody Villeneuve Chad Vis 18.86
  • 9 Luc Audet Dan Breault 18.30
  • 10 Matt Guacci Denis Perrier 18.11
  • 11 Roger Lafontaine Ray Lafontaine 17.64
  • 12 Jeff Shippam Dan Katic  17.40
  • 13 Craig Salmonson Rock Bouchard 17.38
  • 14 Denis Martineau Dave Pilon 17.30
  • 15 André Chenier Darren Dinel 17.02
  • 16 Sébastien Lizotte Jeff Vipond 16.70
  • 17 James Lund Don White 16.35
  • 18 Denis Martin Perry Caverson 15.72
  • 19 Cory Nephin Dean Bliss 15.45
  • 20 Henri Roberge Annie Roberge 15.20
  • 21 Eric Belanger Luc Belanger 15.00
  • 22 JC Cayen John Vrolyk 14.80
  • 23 Brian Millions Robert Huff 14.39
  • 24 Mark Lytham Phil Nadjiwon 14.31
  • 25 Martin Boisvert Roger Toussin 14.26
  • Full results are available on the NOWT Tournament Results page.

Please visit the MFN Fishing website for the complete tournament recap.

Congratulations to the MFN Fishing Tournaments organizing committee, volunteers and sponsors. Our season has officially kicked off with this successful event.

Next up: Dubreuilville Magpie Walleye Derby June 10-11, 2017. See you there!