Here is the update article re: Annual Vanity Cup which is held evey year in October on Tobin Lake, Saskatchewan.
Enjoy this post and welcome to visit us at Tobin Lake.
Blessings
Father Walleye 
at http://www.pikemasters.com/tsunami
Here you go:
It takes 57.3 lbs. to win this Vanity Cup!
“It’s been a lot of fun, we caught big fish every day since I’ve been here. We were consistently putting big fish in the boat,” said Dan Gougeon, of Winnipeg, MB who along with teammate Tim Geni of Regina took home the big $50,000 prize at this year’s Vanity Cup. The two men reeled in 10 fish with a combined weight of 57.3 lbs. Typically, a weight almost 20 lbs. lighter would make a team a contender, but everyone in the top 25 weights were above 35.6 lbs.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/FatherWalleye/79520.jpg
How good it feels! Vanity Cup Tournament Director Jim Chute (far left) and Lund President Andrew Klopak were on hand to congratulate the winners Tim Geni and Dan Gougeon on their $50,000 win.
By Ryan Kiedrowski
Journal Staff
Wednesday October 04, 2006
It takes 57.3 lbs. to win this Vanity Cup!
By Ryan Kiedrowski
Journal Staff
“It’s been a lot of fun, we caught big fish every day since I’ve been here. We were consistently putting big fish in the boat,” said Dan Gougeon, of Winnipeg, MB who along with teammate Tim Geni of Regina took home the big $50,000 prize at this year’s Vanity Cup. The two men reeled in 10 fish with a combined weight of 57.3 lbs.
Typically, a weight almost 20 lbs. lighter would make a team a contender, but everyone in the top 25 weights were above 35.6 lbs.
With perfect weather and an excellent turnout of 160 teams, the 13th Annual Vanity Cup was a thriving success from all accounts.
Geni, who was a Vanity Cup winner back in 1995, complimented the Nipawin area’s reputation for having lots of big fish.
“This is probably the best fishery in Saskatchewan right now for big fish and numbers of fish,” he said. “We had stellar days pre-fishing and just awesome fishing in the tournament.”
While many of the boats out on the water seemed to congregate around the six-mile point out on the Saskatchewan River, a little closer to the starting point seemed to be the sweet spot for the big fish this year.
“We pulled in there [near the bridge] in the morning and by 10 a.m. we had two big ones,” Geni recalled. “Then we moved around a little bit to get our small fish.”
The victory was especially sweet for Geni as he explained that his participation in the Vanity Cup was dedicated to his recently deceased uncle.
“I told Dan that when it came to this tournament, I was going to dedicate it to my Uncle Stan, who passed away in June,” said Geni. “[His spirit] was in the boat with us the whole weekend, and it was great to have him there.”
When asked if the fish are getting larger as the years go by, Gougeon replied “no, but the stories are!”
According to Vanity Cup Tournament Director Jim Chute, it takes the help of 70 volunteers to run the event.
“It’s mainly the same volunteers year after year, and mainly because it’s fun! They want to be a part of it,” said Chute.
The tournament was started to fundraise for the ball diamonds behind the Kingfisher Inn. Now that work on the area is complete, the Walleye Park Non-profit Corporation will meet to discuss what project will benefit from the tournament in years to come.
“We’re kind of thinking that it’s time to start spreading the wealth,” said Chute. “There are lots of places that need it, and we’re going to be having a look at where this money may go from this point on.”
The Vanity Cup is also a boon for Nipawin’s tourism industry by extending the tourism season by a month.
“In most areas in the province, tourism ends the long weekend of September,” said Sherry Michalyca, Economic Development Officer for the Town of Nipawin. “One thing the fishery does here and especially because the large fish swim upstream in the fall, our season is extended.
“The Vanity cup solidifies the extension by bringing in 320 fishermen to fish in this tournament where 95 per cent of them are from outside of the community of Nipawin.”
Michalyca noted that she also receives positive feedback while she is traveling in the winter promoting Nipawin.
“It gives us the opportunity to grow and have a good, strong tourism industry here.”
Even the ‘top dogs’ come to Nipawin for the Vanity Cup. Outgoing Lund president Larry Lovold has been participating in the tournament for nine years and says he will definitely be back in 2007.
“This is probably one of the finest walleye fisheries in the country,” Lovold told The Journal.
When asked what it was like to see so many of his company’s boats on the water, Lovold was pleased.
“We love that, obviously,” he replied. “I think we had 50 per cent of the boats on the water.”
