The first Midwest Walleye Challenge for South Dakota kicked off April 1, and the leaderboard is starting to fill up! We’ve got a quick peek at where things stand just over two weeks into the event!
“My favorite thing about the Midwest Walleye Challenge is that the leaderboard updates daily, so you can see exactly where you stand for both big fish and most fish caught,” said Nick Harrington, Owner of Lip Ripper Fishing. “I’ve really enjoyed checking it each and every day and want to share where things stand currently.”
There are currently 93 participants in the Midwest Walleye Challenge for South Dakota, this is either on par or exceeding other states participating that include Nebraska (75 participants), Iowa (103 participants), Illinois (22 participants), and Indiana (29 participants).
“This our first year, and I’m extremely proud of where we are for total participants,” continued Harrington. “It goes to show how much we care about our fisheries here as South Dakota anglers.”
As far as fish caught, the first leaderboard is biggest walleye. Currently, the Top 10 is:
- Hunter Halverson 26.5 inches
- Zachary Schwartz 22.5 inches
- Kevin Holter 21.7 inches
- Jeremy Heideman 21 inches
- Jeremy Friebel 21 inches
- Nick Harrington 19.5 inches
- Michael Ocobock 19.5 inches
- Jeff Uzzle 18.5 inches
- Cody Morris 18.3 inches
- David Blaha 18.1 inches
“There’s been some good fish caught, but it’s certainly anyone’s game at this point in terms of big walleye,” stated Harrington. “You can crack a 27 pretty much anywhere in the state, so I’d anticipate a bigger one ultimately coming in at some point this season.”
The second leaderboard is for most walleye. Currently, the Top 10 is:
- Nick Harrington 54
- Hank Asher 27
- Jeremy Heideman 24
- Michael Ocobock 8
- David Blaha 7
- Tom Heier 5
- BJ Olson 3
- Cody Morris 3
- Jeremy Friebel 3
- Jesse Curnow 2
“Remember this is about submitting all the fish we catch, not just the biggest ones,” reminded Harrington. “The more fish we submit, the better the data we’ll be able to share with fisheries biologists.”
The Midwest Walleye Challenge runs until June 29, so there is still plenty of time to get registered and submit your catches.
“I’d encourage everyone to get in this event, download the MyCatch app, and submit your fish,” concluded Harrington. “It really is a ton of fun, and even more beneficial to our fisheries!”
Complete information and sign up is available at AnglersAtlas.com.
