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Fishing champs hook first prize at annual DL walleye tournament

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By Isaac Vaagen, DLJ Collegiate Intern
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Left to right, first-place winners James Rusten and Kyle Clifton proudly present their awards with host Johnnie Candle on stage in the background at the 50th Annual Devils Lake Chamber Walleye Fishing Tournament held Friday, June 26 at Grahams Island State Park. Photo by Isaac Vaagen, DLJ

Left to right, first-place winners James Rusten and Kyle Clifton proudly present their awards with host Johnnie Candle on stage in the background at the 50th Annual Devils Lake Chamber Walleye Fishing Tournament held Friday, June 26 at Grahams Island State Park.

Photo by Isaac Vaagen, DLJ

As clouds gather overhead, fishing boats return to shore after a productive day of fishing in the 50th Annual Devils Lake Chamber Walleye Fishing Tournament held Friday, June 26 at Grahams Island State Park. Photo by Isaac Vaagen, DLJ

As clouds gather overhead, fishing boats return to shore after a productive day of fishing in the 50th Annual Devils Lake Chamber Walleye Fishing Tournament held Friday, June 26 at Grahams Island State Park.

Photo by Isaac Vaagen, DLJ

DEVILS LAKE, N.D. – The Devils Lake Chamber of Commerce held its 50th Annual Walleye Fishing Tournament on Friday, June 26, at Grahams Island State Park. It was a warm, sunny morning as 119 teams of fishers took to the lake, hoping to win the top prize of $6,500. An additional payout of $1,500 was guaranteed after the tournament field was filled out by Thursday, June 18.

The weigh-in began at 3 p.m., and the awards followed soon after. Johnnie Candle, professional angler and sport fishing communicator, was the presenter for both events.

Kyle Clifton and James Rusten were declared the winners of the tourney, having bagged five fish that weighed a total of 33.35 pounds. They caught the third largest walleye at 7.79 pounds for an additional $250 bonus.

“Everything worked out perfect,” Rusten said. “We fished clean, threw back a couple four pounders early, and at one point we were like, wow, we could really use one of those four pounders. At the end we caught another 28 plus her, and we were happy about that.”

“Once we got five in the bow, we went hog hunting,” Clifton added. “At 2:45, we had to be in at 3 to 3:30. We went into a spot and caught about 27 to 28 inches, and that was the end of our day. We just kind of looked at each other and were like, ‘Wow, what the heck, that just doesn’t happen like that.’”

The top ten finishers are listed below:

1. Kyle Clifton and James Rusten, $8,000, 5/5, 33.35 pounds

2. Tyler Elshaug and Tanner Paine, $5,500, 5/5, 31.28 pounds

3. Mark Bry and Noah Bry, $4,200 5/5, 26.65 pounds

4. Skylar Schulz and Justin Schulz, $3,700, 5/5, 26.29 pounds

5. Vince Bechtold and Tanner Langan, $3,400, 5/5, 26.05 pounds

6. Jason Ramberg and Ty Ramberg, $3,000, 5/5, 24.23 pounds

7. Jeff Bruer and Kevin Bruer, $2,600, 5/5, 23.2 pounds

8. Kurt Hodny and Jason Vasichek, $2,200, 5/5, 23.05 pounds

9. Kyle Olson and Elizabeth MacDonald-Olson, $2,000, 5/5, 22.9 pounds

10.Garret Schemionek and Gerald Schemionek, $1,500, 4/4, 22.87 pounds

The full list can be viewed at the Devils Lake Chamber of Commerce website. https://www.devilslakend.com/events/annual-events-festivals/chamber-fishing-tournament/.