Fresno Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited banquet is back

After missing a year due to the pandemic, the Fresno Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited is back for its 37th Annual Banquet Saturday, April 23, at Havre Ice Dome.

The doors at the Ice Dome south of town at 2585 Fifth Ave. open for the event at 4:30 p.m., with early bird prize drawings 5 to 5:30 p.m. The event also includes a gun raffle and silent auction, but the main draw of the evening, the all-you-can-eat meal of walleye and baron of beef, starts serving at 6:30 p.m.

The dinner is prepared by Fresno Chapter members starting with the fish prep-night a few days earlier. Members gather to skin and de-bone about 500 pounds of commercially raised walleye which, along with the beef, feeds more than 400 people.

Prior to cooking it the evening of the banquet, the walleye is soaked in a milk bath then breaded and deep-fat fried just before being served.

While feeding and entertaining 400 or more people may be a daunting task to some people, the Fresno Chapter is used to functions with attendees in the hundreds.

Each May for decades now, the Fresno Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited partners with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to host Kids Education Day on the group's namesake Fresno Reservoir. This event brings in 300 to 400 fifth and sixth graders from schools all around the area.

The school kids learn about fish identification along with water and boat safety, and they are taken out on the reservoir in member and FWP boats to learn how to fish. Each youth is given a new fishing pole to use that day and take home afterward, but not before they are fed a hot lunch, as well.

The group also hosts its Walleye Challenge fishing tournament on Fresno each June, and that regularly sees about 200 people coming into the area for the weekend.

The Fresno Chapter has built a pavilion and camping spots on Fresno and helps collect and spread retired Christmas trees on the frozen surface of the lake each winter so when the ice melts in spring the trees settle to the bottom of the lake to make fish habitat, and contributes time and money to other improvements to the reservoir. They also installed a webcam and weather station at their Fresno pavilion, which the public can access through the group's website, but the chapter helps in other areas as well.

Along with improvements that help with the recreational access at Beaver Creek and Tiber reservoirs, they have helped with improvements at Pepin Park in Havre, donated equipment and training to the area's fire departments and search and rescue, and helped fund the Sletten Cancer Center. Money raised at the banquet helps pay for the Fresno Chapter's donations to the community.

The webcam and weather station can be accessed at the chapter's website, http://www.fresnowalleyes.com, which also has more information about the banquet and other chapter events.