The first Midwest Walleye Challenge took place in South Dakota in 2025, and the event will return again in 2026! A new twist will be the ability to compete at a county level, with Team Lip Ripper Fishing representing Stanley County!
The Midwest Walleye Challenge is hosted by Angler’s Atlas and the MyCatch app. The event runs across the entire state of South Dakota April 1-June 28, 2026. Eligible species include walleye, sauger, and saugeye.
Entry into the event is $25, and anglers are eligible to win up to $10,000 in prizes based on a 250 angler field. Prizes are based on longest walleye, most walleye, most waterbodies fished, and 12 weekly challenges.
New for 2026, the event will feature a team element as well. Teams are based on a county wide level, and both the team and captains are listed at time of registration.
Currently there are 8 county teams:
- Team Lip Ripper Fishing (Stanley County)
- Walleye Slayers (Day County)
- Team Meade (Meade County)
- The Sully Squad (Sully County)
- Walleye Coalition (Turner County)
- Brown County
- Hamlin County
- Walworth County
Anglers submit every walleye, sauger, or saugeye they catch through the MyCatch app. Entering every fish is important as this is a citizen science event, which allows South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks biologists to see all of the data regarding walleye catches to have an even better understanding of the fisheries.
All waterbodies are open to this event, and anglers are rewarded for fishing as many waterbodies as possible. The more waters fished, trips logged, and fish submitted the better the information is for fisheries managers.
The 2025 event was extremely fun, and the 2026 event is shaping up to be even better. Get signed up, and be sure to join Team Lip Ripper Fishing!
