Since 1990 the village of Riverhurst has held an annual fishing tournament they call the Riverhurst Walleye Classic, which brings anglers from across Saskatchewan together to see who can fish up the biggest and best walleye, sauger and saugeye out of Lake Diefenbaker.  

“We have a limit of 100 teams in the tournament and most years we do sell out, it’s kind of a first come first serve thing,” said event chairperson Cameron Durfey. 

“It’s all done off the boats. We check all boats and send them all out in two flights, on Saturday and Sunday, and the best fish on Saturday and Sunday each qualify for large fish and there's also cash and merchandise prizes of up to $25,000.”  

Besides the top 20 prizes there are also hidden prizes available to anglers in the competition including “Cool Under Pressure” which is awarded to those who see the biggest increase in catch size from day one to day two. 

The tournament is not just an opportunity to hit the lake and compete against hundreds of other anglers, it also raises funds to keep the Riverhurst parks and recreation facilities such as the rink and hall in operation. 

“We’ve got a very large group of sponsors who are very good at helping us out in this tournament. It’s all put on by volunteers and there’s a lot of people that have come together to make this thing a success,” said Durfey. 

The volunteer team consists of between 25-30 people assisting with all aspects of the tournament, from helping launch boats, to weighing and documenting catches and staffing the arena where meals and live entertainment will be provided.  

The Riverhurst Walleye Classic runs from June 15 to 16, on Father's Day weekend, and spots are limited so visit riverhurstwalleye.ca and sign up. The cost to register is $260 per team.