This week, professional walleye anglers from all over the midwest are coming to MidMichigan to see who's the best.
A $30,000 top prize is at stake in the Anglers Insight Marketing, also known as the AIM Pro Walleye Series.
Water quietly laps the shore of the Saginaw River now, but Thursday, 50 anglers will be tearing it up looking for the finest fish.
Dennis Gulau, a Midland angler competing in the tournament, says "The Saginaw Bay is a world class walleye fishery. It's always good to bring that exposure locally here, and maybe we can bring more people here from our of the area."
Gulau has fished the Saginaw River and Bay for around 20-years. He's one of three anglers from Michigan competing in the three day tournament. Last year, he came in sixth place.
The AIM Pro Walleye Series has an interesting way of recording fish. It's called CRR (catch, record, release). The fish is caught and then put on a measuring scale. A digital picture is then taken. The fish is released, and then those digital pictures are compared to see who wins.
For spectators, the tournament is kind of like a fishing trade show in action.
Gulau says, "The pro anglers will bring new and better technologies to the area for fishing that a lot of the local anglers can use in the future."
Traditional fishing wisdom says the best fishing is in the Bay, however last year the winner took the best catch from the Saginaw River, where many anglers are expected to head back to.
The local tournament starts Thursday, May 20th and goes through Saturday the 22nd.
It starts at Veterans Memorial Park in Bay City.
The professional anglers will be paired up with amateurs throughout the tournament.
As of Tuesday, there's still four amateur openings.
The cost is $150 for three days of fishing.
