LAC LA BICHE - Lac La Biche Lions Club is hosting its first La Biche Walley Cup, drawing in anglers from across the Prairies and Western Canada to Lac La Biche Lake this weekend. The tournament is something organizers hope will become a yearly event.
As of Friday morning, five spots remain for this weekend’s tournament for any two-person teams wanting to reel in the maximum top-prize payout, which will be $14,000 if the event reaches its goal of filling all 80 slots.
The fishing event takes place on June 12 and 13, will see the lake buzzing with boating activity as anglers compete to catch, photograph and release the largest walleye the Lac La Biche Lake has to offer.
This competitive Western Canadian Walleye Trail sanctioned tournament will have an early morning orientation at the Old Trail Boat Launch. However, teams are not required to launch from that location and will be pushing off into the waters around the lake before the event officially starts. Half of the teams will begin at 7 a.m. and the other half will be staggered at an 8 a.m. start time.
With the sound of a bang ringing out from the shoreside on both Saturday and Sunday morning, competitors know it is time to drop their lines.
So far, the first La Biche Walley Cup has attracted 160 anglers and their families to the hamlet's shoreside. Chris Suhan, one of the event organizers, said roughly 35 per cent of this year's competitors are locals, the rest of participants are coming from all across Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
Volunteer organizer and Lions Club member Mel Kuprowsky says this event, and ones like it, are essential for Lac La Biche’s local businesses as the area looks to attract more “adventure tourism,” giving a leg up to retailers, restaurants, and the hospitality industry that has been hit hard by COVID-19 restrictions and the downturn in the oil and gas sector.
“In the past, anglers would typically stick to the remote lakes around the hamlet,” said Kuprowsky. However, the La Biche Cup will be the first tournament bringing fishers into the heart of the hamlet. This he says, will help the community long after tournaments like the La Biche Walleye Cup wrap up.
Although, early estimates by organizers see the event generating roughly $3,000, a relatively small fundraising amount, they say the idea behind the event is largely to attract new people from all over the province and beyond, and creating a positive experience to share with their families.
The deadline to register for the walleye tournament’s the remaining spots will be Friday, June 11, before 2:30 p.m. Interested participates can reach email event organizers at [email protected]
