NIPAWIN, Sask. - Like many fishermen, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall can recall his biggest catch — a walleye 81 centimetres long that weighed 5.5 kilograms.
It was at Lake Diefenbaker on his first walleye fishing trip. The premier says the whopper was just luck.
"My friends said this is like getting a hole in one. You'll never probably catch a fish like this ever and, sadly, they're right," he laughs.
"I didn't realize what I'd done. What had happened at the time was one of those blind luck things."
But Wall says he also has a secret weapon heading into the 25th annual Saskatchewan Premier’s Walleye Cup in Nipawin this weekend. Wall says his partner is a walleye fishing enthusiast who knows where the fish are in Tobin Lake, site of the tournament.
"I think it's just a question of do we get any big ones? And that will be up to his skill and ability."
The Saskatchewan Party will pay Wall's registration fee and it's believed to be the first time a premier has cast his reel as a competitor.
"I like walleye fishing. I have some friends who are pretty serious about it, one who's got a nice boat and often talked about that we could do it if I had ever had a chance, if the schedule permitted and it did this year," said Wall.
"We're hoping to do well."
Organizers have said the two-day, live release tournament is one of the largest walleye events in Canada.
In January 2005, Father Mariusz Zajac from Carrot River, Sask., caught a walleye that weighed in at a hefty 8.3 kilograms. Nipawin's website boasts that this walleye has also entered the record books as the world record walleye caught ice fishing. The Saskatchewan live release record for walleye stands at 8.19 kilograms.
