Harris and Walz Sweep Mr. Pike Tournament

The Mr. Pike Fishing Tournament returned to the chain of lakes June 10 and 11 on Seeley Lake. Fishermen and women from the area tried their luck on Salmon and Seeley Lakes. DJ Harris and LeeRoy Walz of Victor, Mont. swept the tournament taking the biggest fish both days and winning by more than 15 pounds for the two-day event.

This year's tournament drew 24 entrants from Seeley Lake, Clinton, Victor, Darby, Stevensville, Corvallis and Hamilton. Most fished in pairs having a combined weight for the team.

Seeley Lake produced the largest and most fish for the tournament. Seeley Lake fisherman Gary Ikerd said that normally Salmon Lake is warmer than Seeley Lake but it is not this year. Salmon is only 57 degrees Fahrenheit and Seeley Lake is significantly warmer.

This year's tournament allowed for three northern pike to be weighed and they all had to be longer than 22 inches. Everything had to be caught on artificial lures.

Of the 15 boats in the tournament, only nine brought in fish on the first day. Everyone agreed that they were catching fish, however, they were all small and did not meet the length requirement.

Harris and Walz from Victor, Mont. weighed in at 29.13 pounds on day one. This included the biggest fish of the day at 11.5 pounds.

Greg Fister and Willis Steinhiemer of Lolo were in second with 27.27 pounds, missing the biggest fish by 4.4 ounces.

Steve Butler and Daniel Belanger from Clinton were in third on Saturday. Their three pike weighed 14.44 pounds.

Sunday's fishing report was much slower with several of the fishermen reporting that they did not catch anything. Many were out on the lake by 6 a.m. and reported temperatures of 27 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ikerd said he caught three pike that were between four and five pounds but none of them were longer than the 22-inch requirement.

"They looked like footballs," said Ikerd who did not weigh in on Sunday. The other fisherman kidded him that his scale must be off.

The leader board never changed with only five of the nine boats returning to weigh in Sunday afternoon.

Walz again brought in the largest pike of the day weighing 5.28 pounds. Combined with Harris's fish, their total weight for the two-day tournament was 42.55 pounds. Walz took home $210 for having the biggest fish on Saturday and Sunday and they split $270 for the most weight.

Although Fister and Steinheimer did not fish on day two, they held second place with 27.27 pounds. They won $170.

Butler and Belanger finished out the tournament adding 11.4 pounds making their two-day total 25.9 pounds. They left with $100 for third place.

Harris said they plan on holding the tournament again next year providing they can get the permit from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. He is hoping to attract more participants to sweeten the pot since the winnings are split from the entry fees.

 

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