The first ever Dauphin Lake Walleye Dash was a tremendous success, with 68 fishers trying their luck just offshore at Ochre Beach, Saturday.

The event was hosted by the Kin Club of Dauphin and Toba Outdoors.

Prize winners were Fred Boychuk, $2,550; Orville Brown, $1,190; Kashtin Wilson, $850; Nathan Sichewski, $340; and Nathan Bassingwaite, $170.

The walleye dash is one of several events the Kin Club of Dauphin will be involved in after stepping away from the Parkland Business Expo.

“We had wanted to do a few different things just this year, after we put our Kin Clubs together. So we’ve melded with the men and the women. So we wanted to try some new fund-raisers. So we thought that putting on a fishing derby would be the way to go,” said Kin Club of Dauphin president and event chair Becky McGregor.

Considering it was the first time for this event, McGregor was pleased with the response, adding  it was a learning experience for everyone involved in organizing the derby.

“I’m pleased with the amount of people out here and everyone is happy,” she said.

More than 40 fish were caught during the six-hour event, including 27 walleye. McGregor added the first 10 fish were caught within the first 20 minutes.

The Kin Club of Dauphin has stepped away from organizing the Parkland Business Expo because of a lack of volunteers to get them through the planning stages.

“And the event stage, we felt. It was just time to try something new and fund-raise in the community in a different manner,” McGregor said.

At this point, the amount raised, or where the proceeds will go, has yet to be determined.

Overall, McGregor was pleased with the event.

“It was a great day. The weather is great. Everyone is happy. Organizers are happy. The food tastes good. Fish are caught,” she said.