Originally published in Lake of the Woods Area News, Volume 55, Number 3, Summer 2025
My first experience with competitive fishing was as a youngster when my parents took me to watch the weigh-in for the Kenora Bass International (KBI). The tournament started in 1988 so this would have been in the early 1990s. The original organizers of the KBI wanted the tournament to be a community event, so there was a Kids’ KBI that took place off the Harbourfront docks in conjunction with the big tournament. It still goes on today, attracting over 100 kids every year. I can remember fishing that a couple of times before fishing in the big tournament for the first time when I was ten years old in 1993.
Today, there are several fishing tournaments that take place annually on Lake of the Woods, mostly for bass, but also for walleye and even musky. Bass have become a popular species for tournament competition because they are easy to keep alive in a live well on your boat, are relatively easy to catch, and are fun to fish for because they so readily bite artificial lures.
That first year I fished the KBI, I teamed up with my dad, Jim. He took me fishing as a kid, but he didn’t fish for bass, so this was a new challenge for us. Our goal that first year was to catch “a” bass so that we would be able to cross the stage and weigh-in. We caught fish that first year and learned a lot in the following years, becoming more competitive every year. When I was seventeen, then fishing with my friend Chris Savage—my dad started fishing with my younger brother Ben—we won the tournament.
I had caught the competitive fishing bug, and it was all I wanted to do.
Today, there are bass tournaments on the lake that take place in Kenora, Sioux Narrows and Morson. Across the region, several other lakes play host as well, attracting anglers from all over North America who come to enjoy our beautiful part of the world and the excellent bass fishing.
There’s a tournament for you
The Kenora Walleye Open takes place in early July and is the premier walleye tournament on the lake. Larger walleyes are tougher to keep alive, so they have adapted their rules in recent years to allow anglers to measure and photograph their big fish over 27”, then bring in the rest of their four fish limit of walleye under 17” to be weighed.
It continues to be a popular event year after year.
The Nestor Falls Musky Cup has been around for over a decade now and happens each year in late September. Since muskies can’t be placed in a live well, they are measured on video, then released and the team with the four biggest muskies over two days of fishing are declared the winners. Obviously, care must be taken when measuring the fish for them to be counted.
Other area tournaments that are worth mentioning include Lake of the Woods Women’s Walleye Tournament, Bronzeback Classic and Bassin for Bucks. Lake of the Woods Women’s Walleye Tournament is touted as the largest all-female walleye tournament in Canada. The Bronzeback Classic puts the focus on those elusive smallmouth bass. Both tournaments were established in memory of longtime anglers and community contributors —Lynda Richardson and Bob Stapleton. Bassin’ For Bucks, in Sioux Narrows, is a three-day event with a unique format in that they pay daily prizes and award money for the top teams featuring youth and female anglers as well. They really spread the money around so it’s fun for anglers of all ages.
Good training for a career in fishing
Much of what I learned in these local tournaments prepared me for my fishing career. Today, I make my living as a professional bass tournament angler competing in the U.S. on the Bassmaster Elite Series. 2025 is my 13th season of pursing my “dream job” and it’s been a fun ride getting to visit lakes all over the country from Florida to Texas to New York each year. I have never forgotten how I got my start on Lake of the Woods. Its diversity has served me well, travelling to fish all types of different lakes. These local tournaments also taught me the basics of following the different rules that apply from one tournament to the next.
One rule that applies universally is the requirement for the anglers to take care of the fish. In bass tournaments, the standard is for anglers to bring in their five biggest fish each day. They are weighed and then released. Only artificial baits can be used, teams consist of two anglers and all anglers must leave from and then return to the same check-in spot, without being late. Penalties are assessed for a dead or non-releasable fish, which sometimes happens if a fish gets hooked bad, but most days there aren’t any dead fish. If you are late for your check-in time, you are either going to be penalized or receive zero weight for that day.
Technology in tournament fishing
Over the past several years, a big change has happened in the competitive angling community with the popularity and use of forward-facing sonar. This technology, when mounted on the front of the boat, allows anglers to look out and see fish, bottom structure, as well as their lure throughout an entire cast. It has made catching fish much easier for all species but there is some controversy with it because it has also made many traditional lures and techniques obsolete. On the professional fishing scene, we’re seeing young anglers in their early 20s dominating events, because of their ability to catch fish using this technology.
Some tournaments have banned forward-facing sonar, some have put limitations on its use, and some are letting it be used without limitations. More changes are coming.
On a local level, there is no doubt this technology makes it much easier to locate and catch fish of all species. There is a moral obligation for those who are using it to not abuse the resource. An angler who is competent with it can absolutely catch more fish, especially when they group up at certain times of the year. For a species like crappie, which are easy to exploit, it can be devastating.
So far, our local tournaments have not put any limitations on the technology because a high percentage of the teams have it on their boats (85 per cent did at Bassin’ for Bucks last year). We’ll see what happens moving forward. The reality is, without using this technology, it would be nearly impossible to win any of our local events on Lake of the Woods; it is that effective.
These tournaments are a lot of fun for the anglers that compete. We’re lucky that we have all these community-run events that have great volunteer representation to make them happen. If you are interested in getting involved, all would welcome your help. Check out the links above.
The anglers and visitors these tournaments attract are great for our communities, spending money at restaurants, hotels, gas stations, local shops and grocery stores.
They also spread the word on the awesome fishing to be had on Lake of the Woods!
Lake of the Woods Women’s Walleye Tournament Jun 7 womenswalleye.ca Kenora Walleye Open Jul 5 & 6 kenorawalleyeopen.com Bronzeback Classic Jul 19 & 20 bronzebackclassic.ca Kenora Bass International Aug 7–9 kbifishing.profishingtournaments.com Bassin for Bucks Sep 5–7 bassinforbucks.com Nestor Falls Musky Cup Sep 27–28 muskycup.2cat.com
