BEMIDJI — The Knights of Columbus Walleye Classic fishing tournament will celebrate its 25th anniversary on Saturday, June 14, starting at the waterfront on Lake Bemidji and ending at the Sanford Center.
Promising “to be bigger and more fun than ever before,” the catch-photo-release tournament begins at 7 a.m. at the Lake Bemidji Waterfront near Paul Bunyan Park with 100 two-person teams competing throughout the day.
Meanwhile, the Sanford Center will open its doors at 2 p.m. with free admission and plenty of family-friendly activities, including bouncy houses, live music from the Empty Cooler Band, games for kids, food, beverages and more. There will also be $5,000 in door prizes, with $100 given out every 15 minutes.
Prize drawings, including for the KC Walleye Classic fishing boat, will be held at 5:30 p.m. The awards ceremony and a boat parade of the top 10 teams will start at 6 p.m.
“This celebration of our fishing community, started by Kraus-Anderson and carried forward by the Bemidji Knights, has become a great tradition for the Bemidji area and it is so important to help sustain all our great beneficiaries,” tournament director Phil Hodapp said in a release.
The KC Walleye Classic has raised over $1.2 million for different organizations since its inception, according to the release. The beneficiaries this year include: Bemidji Youth Baseball, Take A Kid Fishing, American Heroes Outdoors, Boy Scouts, Fishing Has No Boundaries, Special Olympics, Let’s Go Fishing, All Pro Dads, Bemidji Lumberjack Fishing Team, Casting with Cops, Minnesota DNR and Bemidji Knights of Columbus Council 1544.
Raffle tickets for the 1650 Lund Angler boat/ 50HP Mercury motor and Shorelander Trailer sponsored by Ray’s Marine and other valuable prizes are on sale for $10 each from any member of the Knights or can be found at:
- Acme Tools
- Ray’s Sport and Marine
- Lueken’s Village Foods North and South at the service counter
- Ace on the lake at the cashier station
- Northwoods Bait and Tackle
- Timberline Sports in Blackduck
For more information, go to
kcwalleyeclassic.com.
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