Exploring the Iowa Walleye Challenge: In Pursuit of the Prize
Exploring the Iowa Walleye Challenge: In Pursuit of the Prize
The previous two spring fishing seasons, anglers across the state of Iowa have participated in a citizen science project known as the Iowa Walleye Challenge. The IWC is a virtual fishing tournament through the MyCatch app. What started as an app to record a diary of catches and fishing trips has turned into one of the best ways to capture data for Iowa’s walleye fisheries.
Challenge Explanation
The MyCatch app allows anglers to register for a chosen event and record their catches in real-time during the duration of the tournament. Catches are recorded through photos with length specifications and GPS tracking via the location services on the angler’s mobile device.
The gathered data is then anonymized, stripping off both the angler information and the specific location information, and waterbody-level data is given to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to assist with research and stocking efforts across the state. The app also promotes catch and release, encouraging anglers to take a trophy shot of their catch and a release video, although these are not required to submit the catch.
The Iowa Walleye Challenge is moving into its third year with some significant transitions. This year, the challenge is expanding to the Midwest Walleye Challenge. Through grants and numerous meetings with surrounding states, the Iowa DNR has shared its data, and this spring, many other states will join in the fishing fun!
IWC 2024
Throughout 2024, anglers in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, as well as a few Canadian provinces will be able to register for the Midwest Walleye Challenge. Even better news, some states will also feature a fall challenge. While not every state will have an official partnership with their natural resources agency just yet, each state will monitor the data to determine if this tournament will continue in future years.
Within this broader event, each state will have its own challenge and may feature different date ranges and rules depending on regulations and seasons. So, each angler will register for their individual state, and be competing against anglers fishing similar systems. However, if you’re an Iowa angler looking to fish the Mississippi River, you can register for both the Iowa and Illinois events and submit your fish for both events at once.
Competitions and Prizes!
There will be state-level competitions nested within the overall Midwest Walleye Challenge, so Iowa anglers are competing against other Iowa anglers for prizes like longest walleye. A grand prize of a week-long Canadian fishing trip, courtesy of Lac Seul Evergreen Lodge (lacseulwalleye.com) will be randomly selected from all participants throughout the Midwest. At the state level, prizes will include merchandise from sponsors and donors. During the event, biweekly prizes will be awarded to anglers who have fished the most water bodies, the longest walleye, and other random drawings for anglers who didn’t get a catch to still have a chance to win a prize.
In 2023, some of the winners were Kooper Jondal with the most fish caught, totaling 451 walleye. Chase Lange won the longest walleye with a 28.7-inch catch. There were also many other localized prizes won throughout the challenge. Jeff Kopaska with the Iowa DNR has prepared a presentation about the data collected from the 2023 event that can be viewed from the Iowa Walleye Challenge Facebook page.
Great Opportunity
This challenge is a great way for anglers to participate in a tournament over several weeks on their own time and win some great prizes. It also allows anglers to fully participate in helping the Iowa DNR gather data to better improve walleye fisheries and walleye populations around the state. Anglers’ data is kept private. While the app will record the location of the angler where they submitted the catch, that information is not to be shared with anyone. Your secret honey holes will stay secret!
The 2024 Midwest Walleye Challenge will start in Iowa on March 30th and wrap-up on June 30th. While there are still updates being made, anglers are encouraged to follow the Iowa Walleye Challenge Facebook page to stay up-to-date on the tournament. There will be more information posted on their page after the beginning of the new year about a webinar where anglers can ask questions about the tournament and learn more information. If there are any questions, feel free to message their Facebook page or email taylor.kennedy@anglersatlas.com.
by Taylor Kennedy
April 2024
