Walleye Rodeo

The 54th annual Canton Lake Walleye Rodeo was this past weekend, drawing hundreds to the Blaine County town for a weekend of rodeo, carnival rides, food and, of course, fishing.

The oldest fishing tournament in Oklahoma, the rodeo is dedicated to a fish that’s hard to find in most Oklahoma waters but thrives in Canton Lake. Each year the tournament gives out big prizes, including $1,000 for the largest walleye caught.

Mike Dobson took home top honors at this year’s tournament with a 7.4-pound walleye catch. But any fish could have been special, no matter the size, because tournament organizers tagged certain fish in advance and gave away cash prizes to participants who found them. Many tagged fish were worth $100 or more.

The tournament also awarded lifetime fishing licenses to several dozen children.

Just down the road in Longdale, racers competed Friday and Saturday night at the speedway. There was also a nightly ranch rodeo at the Canton arena, featuring penning on Friday and a 3-in-1 event on Saturday.

Saturday began with a 5K run and the annual Walleye Rodeo Parade. Though the weather started ominous, it cleared up for a beautiful Saturday evening.

But the rain started falling on Sunday as the competition wrapped up and the awards ceremony was held that afternoon.

Tournament organizers said the 2021 Walleye Rodeo had the most entries in at least 15 years.