Aug 20-24 marked the 2nd summer in a row that Aikens Lake hosted Toyota's Call of the Tundra promotion. This was the 4th time that the Prairie Zone Dealers Association (Western Canadian Toyota Dealerships) put together the Call of the Tundra. Through their dealerships scattered throughout Western Canada, ballots were available to enter the contest starting last fall. Five lucky winners were drawn and were invited up to Aikens Lake for their chance to win a new Toyota Tundra!

The tournament went very, very well. Despite hosting over 30 people in camp (competitors & guests, Toyota dealers and salespeople, and camera crew from Global TV), the familiarity from last year's event made our task a bit easier. We already knew the tournament format, expectations from the camera crew and from Toyota, and we had a lot of fun doing it! Although the high water made the logistics of loading up 15 boats every morning a little difficult, we did get the competitors out on time for their "Shotgun Start" every morning. The show was once again hosted by "Facs of Fishing" host Dave Mercer. His energetic persona is a perfect match for television! Dave is a marketing genius and he gave us plenty of food for thought for the winter. We will let you know which of his ideas we will adopt! He has already posted a small video blog from this past weekend's events on his own website. Check it out at www.factsoffishing.com The fishing was better this year than during last year's event (as was the weather!). Two gorgeous days allowed us the 4 hours each day we needed to complete the tournament. The format allowed for the 5 biggest walleyes from each day of competition to be scored. Only the competitors were allowed to fish (not the guest or the guide... only one line in the water). Last year's winner averaged just under 22.5" a fish, which was a bit disappointing in terms of size considering the great walleye factory Aikens has become. However, this year's tournament featured some great catches. The average score this year was higher than last year's winning score! After the first day of competition, there were three competitors with a legitimate chance to win the truck. There were only a few inches seperating 1st from 3rd after Day one. During the second day, everyone brought in fantastic scorecards. This time, only 4" seperated all five of our competitors! It went right down to the end, and will make for a dramatic television show!

To find out who won, you will have to watch the show in October on Global TV in Western Canada. We will update the newsletter with the actual airtime once it is determined. For those who can't get that station, we will also be adding a version of it on our website this fall, and sending it out on DVD to our entire mailing list in December.

2009 Call of the Tundra