Robinson & Bernath take Top Prize at Mattagami Walleye Tournament

(Pictured L-R: Jamie Robinson, Mattagami Tournament Officials: Cindy McKay, Jessica Echum, Jo-Anne Naveau, and Terry Bernath. Photo provided by Jennifer Constant)

Mattagami First Nation hosted its 13^th Annual Walleye Tournament this past weekend on Mattagami Lake.  The weekend began with a reading of the Rules & Regulations at the Mattagami Community Complex on Friday September 7^th at 7:00 p.m., where at least one member of each of the 125 teams registered for the 2-day tournament congregated.

Members of the Mattagami Recreation Committee, which organizes and runs this annual Tournament were set up to provide registration packages to each team, which included boundary maps and promotional swag.  The groups’ tournament officials were also available to answer any questions anglers had about the rules, the tournament, or of the lake.

This tournament, which gives out over $20,000 in cash prizes, is typically held during the first full weekend of June but was postponed and rescheduled to September 8^th & 9^th due to the Timmins Forest Fire #9.  The Fire, which came within a few kilometers of the community, resulted in a week long evacuation of its residents.    Highway access restrictions, lake access restrictions and a limited time to get organized forced the committee to change the dates.  The change of dates resulted in a different type of fishing weekend for returning anglers who have been regulars to the Tournament and to the Northern Ontario Walleye Trail (NOWT.)  Typically Mattagami kicks off the circuit for the NOWT, being the first of seven tournaments associated with it.

The weekend began with two early bird draws of $1000 each.  Prizes were awarded for total combined weight caught for both days.  The prize board consisted of 8 spots, all provided by sponsors.

A Big Fish Competition also takes place during each tournament, anglers can choose to participate in the competition which has a winner-takes-all set prize for the biggest fish caught each day.  This year the prize amount was $1050 for each day.  Big Fish winners for Day 1 were Jacob Boyd & Glen Boyd who brought in a 6.07Lbs walleye.   Day 2 winners were Zack Corbiere and Bruce McKay having brought in a 5.41Lbs walleye.

The Young Anglers awards are also presented each year and were awarded to Ben Chorney and Noah Basaraba.

Other draws and raffles included a Boat #1 Raffle (which consists of full registration of a team and a 5 minute lead-start) Matt Guacci won this draw.  A 50/50 draw also took place, as well as other prizes for lowest weight (IAMGOLD sponsored a mystery prize worth approximately $1300) which was awarded to Mary Esquid and Richard Naveau.

Mattagami Recreation looks forward to next years’ tournament being held during its original dates in June.  “The weekend proved to be a challenging one for our returning anglers, who are used to fishing this lake in the early summer.” said tournament official Cindy McKay.  Fellow official Jo-Anne Naveau added “Next year the tournament will be held during the regular dates, which is not that far away.”

The next walleye tournament will be held just nine month from now.  The committee also hosts a Pike Ice Derby which boasts large prizes for heaviest pike of the one day tournament. The committee and community look forward to seeing familiar faces and welcome new participants.  The community is known for being a great host and an accommodating community to event participants.  Free camping is available for participants of community events, at the beautiful beach within the community.

Registration forms, when available can be picked up at Dumoulin’s and Pro Tackle in Timmins.  For more information contact the Mattagami First Nation administration office.  Tournament information can also be found on Facebook.  The committee is made up of community volunteers, and raise funds to sponsor youth in extra-curricular activities, and to deliver programming for the community youth who don’t have access to extra-curricular programs in urban areas.