The fifth annual Rafferty Reservoir Walleye Cup (RRWC) is on the books, with Saskatchewan anglers extraordinaire Lance Marcotte and Karen Soke — both from Estevan — taking home the $10,000 cash first place prize with an extraordinary two-day weight of 32.93 pounds over the May long weekend.
Not only did they win several other prize categories, including Top Mixed Team and Top Central Walleye Trail (CWT) members, but they won the very first RRWC back in 2015.
With a second place finish of 30.40 lbs., Clayton Harkins of Bienfait, and Darren Anton of Estevan took home the Alumacraft boat package sponsored by Mercury Service Ltd. and Woodlake Marine, valued at $5,500.
Rounding out the top three was Paul Skoczylas of Estevan, and Mike Reid of Virden, Man., weighing in with a two-day total of 30.09 lbs. over ten fish for $2,500.
Other big winners for the 2019 RRWC were Quintin Becker and Jay Zadorozniak, both of Radville, weighing in a gorgeous 7.66-lb. walleye for the big fish of the tournament and $960 in cash.
The father-son team of Brad Graham of Bienfait and Travis Graham of Carievale, took home $1,000 from the Weyburn Wildlife Federation for Cool Under Pressure, having moved up 30 spots from Day One to Day Two.
The top local team was Lyman Sargent of Weyburn, and Colton Tochor of North Weyburn, receiving a prize pack worth $600 from New Age Motor Sports, Liquor Spot/Dallas Pizza, and Prairie Sky Co-Op.
The Rafferty Reservoir Walleye Cup began in 2015 as the first CWT Qualifier here in Saskatchewan. It launched as a one-day tournament with 55 boats on the May long weekend at Mainprize Regional Park, and grew steadily until 2018, when the anglers themselves voted overwhelmingly to make it a two-day event.
In addition to drawing anglers from across Canada and the northern U.S. to the Weyburn area, the RRWC has become the first Saskatchewan fishing tournament in more than a decade to be televised, courtesy of Access Communications. The on-air date has not been set as yet.
The RRWC is one of four fishing tournaments hosted by IOMPresents, the event’s management division of Innovative Outdoorsman Marketing, and is also the first stop on the Sask Slam, which is a provincial catch-and-release walleye tournament trail.
The event’s caterer was Tammy’s Homestyle Cooking, who provided an extraordinary feast that the anglers are still stalking about, and the fantastic volunteers from the Bird Doggin’ Classic of Goodwater.
IOMPresents will next host the Boundary Bass Classic in Woodlawn Regional Park south of Estevan on Saturday, June 15.
