Rookie team takes top spot in 2011!

A mix of youth and experience proved to be the successful combination at the 10th-annual Emo Walleye Classic as Rod Woodgate and his grandson, Dylan Swire, took home this year’s title with a two-day total of 19.67 pounds.

“I’m just thrilled,” Woodgate said after the final weigh-in Saturday afternoon.“I never thought we would be able to do it, it’s just hard to believe,” he added.

After sitting in top spot on Friday with a haul of 12.22 pounds, the duo were the last team to make their way onto the stage on Saturday, where they needed 5.68 pounds to overtake 2009 champions Ted Heyens and Kelvin Caul.

With the crowd at the Emo/La Vallee Community Centre on their side, the Devlin and Fort Frances-based pairing brought in a four-fish total of 7.45 pounds, which was more than enough to give them the crown.

“I didn’t think we had enough, to be honest,” admitted Swire, whose dad, Grant, finished in 33rd spot.“I only thought we had five pounds before we put our fish onto the scales,” Swire added.

From the Fort Frances Times. See the full story here. Full results of the tournament to follow shortly!