Official Rules for the Saskatchewan Premier’s Walleye Cup
The grand-father date is April 30, 2026. This guarantees last year’s participants their last year’s team number & flight if requested.
Grand-fathered entries must be postmarked (with post-dated cheque) or e-transferred by April 30, 2026.
1.0 Eligibility
1.1 All persons 16 years or older may fish in the Saskatchewan Premier’s Walleye Cup. Persons under 16 must fish with a parent or designated guardian.
2.0 Requirements
2.1 One or both team members must have the eTournament Fishing app downloaded on one or both phones. This is a subscription app with a nominal fee (one month subscription $4.99 USD or annual subscription $49.99 USD).
2.2 Each contestant must have in his or her possession a valid Saskatchewan fishing license (unless exempt as per Saskatchewan law).
2.3 All boats will be required to meet Canadian safety regulations. Each entrant must wear a personal flotation device (PFD) when on plane.
2.4 One team member must attend the “Official Rules Meeting”, held Thursday, August 6, 2026, 6:00PM, Nipawin Evergreen Centre.
2.5 Promoters and organizations assisting in tournament operation, their agencies and agents are not responsible for death, injury, damage, liability, theft, fire or any loss to any entrant. Each entrant, upon signing an accepted entry form, will in effect be signing a waiver form.
3.0 Boats & Equipment
3.1 All boats will be required to meet Canadian regulations and have valid liability insurance in place.
3.2 All boats must be inspected and tagged before allowed to leave with their respective flights.
3.3 All contestant’s boats will be identified with a numbered decal and Flights are identified by Team Number.
4.0 Fishing
4.1 Leeches, night crawlers, artificial bait and lures are allowed. Electronic or electrical luring or attracting devices are prohibited. No out-of-province leeches or bait, as all bait, lures and artificial bait must conform to current Saskatchewan regulations.
4.2 Pre-Fishing – All teams must be off the water on Thursday, August 6, 2026 by 2:00 PM.
4.3 Only those fish caught on a barbless hook and line in normal and usual manner will be accepted. Barbed hooks will result in disqualification.
4.4 Each fisherman will be allowed one (1) line in the water and a time. Spare rods and equipment may be carried in the boat. More than two (2) lines in the water, as witnessed by a patrol boat or committee member, will result in disqualification.
4.5 For most species, including Walleye, Sauger, and Saugeye, swim bladder problems (expansion /rupture) most frequently occur when fish are caught at depths greater than 9 metres. All anglers should fish in water shallower than 9 meters (i.e. 29.5ft). This rule is in place to prevent barotrauma to any fish and potential damage to the resource. Please reference Ministry of Environment, Government of Saskatchewan, Competitive Fishing Events Guidelines & Best Practices
4.6 No fish shall be mangled or altered in any way to lengthen or shorten. Evidence of alterations to any fish will result in disqualification.
4.7 Boats will be inspected before and during the tournament. Tournament officials will be checking boats at the launch area and patrol boats will be intensively patrolling the fishing area. Contestants must submit to an inspection of their boat upon request of an official or patrol boat. Refusal to allow an inspection will result in disqualification.
4.8 Boats observed by a patrol boat out of bounds will be disqualified. GPS co-ordinates are posted in Section 7.1.
4.9 Absolutely no fish are allowed in a live-well at any time during the tournament.
4.10 You can fish until your flight time ends. The eTournament Fishing app records to the second. For example if your flight ends at 3PM, measurement photos taken at 3:00:00 PM will be accepted. Photos taken a 3:00:01 PM will NOT be accepted. The hero shot and release video may be recorded after this time. We allow 30 minutes past your designated arrival time for your flight for
you to pass the official recording patrol boat prior to your designated arrival time for your flight.
The recording patrol boat will move down the line, as it forms, to ensure all boats are registered as “arrived” for each designated day.
5.0 Catch, Photo & Release Tournament
5.1 This is a Catch, Photo, Record and Release tournament, based from the Nipawin & District Regional Park, located on the Saskatchewan River section of Tobin Lake.
5.2 The tournament will be run using the eTournament Fishing mobile app (available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store) Available for both iPhone and Android, at least one team member must download and install the app. It is strongly recommended that both team members install the app on separate devices as a backup. Each team must record catches on one team
member’s account, not both.
5.3 Team scores will be calculated using your team’s two (2) longest fish over 70cm and three (3) or more of your longest fish under 70cm, for a total of five (5) fish each day. The etournament Fishing app will automatically select your team’s best fish in each length category, so you may record as many fish as you like, and you do NOT need to cull or delete any fish submissions. We strongly suggest to speed up times for results calculations, that you do not record shorter fish
once you know your longer submissions have been accepted.
5.4 All fish lengths will be converted to weight using the official tournament conversion chart. Therefore, teams will end the tournament with up to a 10 fish total weight as their score.
5.5 Team’s may record fish on the app between during the designated tournament hours and within the tournament boundaries on Friday, August 7, 2026 and Saturday, August 8, 2026. Any catches submitted outside of the tournament hours or outside of the designated boundary will not count.
5.6 The official Saskatchewan Premier’s Walleye Cup (SPWC) Judge Rulers will be handed out by a tournament official following boat inspection (just before you launch your boat) each day. Each SPWC Ruler is marked with a unique and identifiable serial number, which will be attached to your Team Number for that day. At the end of each day, you MUST return your SPWC Ruler to the tournament officials at the pickup dock. The same process repeats for Day 2, and you will have a different numbered board each day. There will be a $150 charge if an official SPWC Ruler is damaged, altered or lost.
5.7 In order for “catches” to be sent properly, you must use the same eTournament Fishing login email and password, regardless of the phone you use.
5.8 Minimum Operating Systems Device Requirements Needed to Optimize the eTournament Fishing app: Andriod: Most devices with Android 12 or later iPhone: 10 (Xr) or newer with iOS 17.4 or later
5.9 Anglers will need to download the eTournament Fishing app prior to the tournament..
5.10 It is strongly suggested to practice using the eTournament Fishing app ahead of time.
a) Watch app training videos at available at this link to familiarize yourself with the app: https://etournamentfishing.com/quick-video-guide-series
b) Test the app before you go out
5.11 By participating in this event your names may be publicly visible online.
5.12 Protecting anglers’ privacy is a priority, and any location data collected during the event will not be released to the public.
5.13 Angler’s are strongly encouraged to have a phone charger on-board. You will need your cell phone throughout the day to submit all catches
6.0 Catch Reporting
6.1 This event is for only the following types of fish: Walleye, Sauger and Saugeye. This event is strictly catch and release, no fish may be kept for any reason.
6.2 All contestants must have Camera/Microphone and GPS location services enabled on your cell phone for their catches to qualify. Your location data will be protected.
6.3 Each fish must be entered only once.
6.4 Fish must be recorded immediately after they’ve been caught. All fish entries must be freshly caught. Blatant abuse to fish or the resource is reason for disqualification.
6.5 The length of a fish is measured from the tip of the nose or jaw to the tip of the tail with the tail pinched to the width of the Judge ruler board.
6.6 All fish are measured to the next half centimetre (CM). If the tip of the tail touches or exceeds the half CM line, the recorded length of the fish will be rounded up to the next half CM.
6.7 The mouth of the fish in the measurement photo is allowed to be closed, or open in a natural position, so long as the upper and/or lower jaw of the head of the fish is clearly touching the bump of the board and the fish submission meets all of the requirements outlined in this section.
6.8 There are to be no fingers or equipment placed in the gills or mouth of the fish. Anything in the gill area or mouth of the fish will disqualify that fish. This rule applies to the Measurement Photo only (not the Hero Photo or Release Video).
6.9 The Photo Measurement Photo must be taken from a birds-eye view – directly above – looking down on the fish.
6.10 All fish must be measured with the right side down (the right side of the fish must be facing down or touching the board) and the left side of the fish facing upwards. Teams can only submit catches that they have caught themselves. Under no circumstances can you share fish with any other team.
6.11 Tournament organizers reserve the right to adjust entries.
6.12 A photo that does not clearly show the overall length of the fish, including head and tail, on the measuring device may not be scored for length. More than one attempt to get a valid scoring photo is allowed. The app will prompt you to either accept the photo or retake a photo.
6.13 Please do not delete any of your fish logs, especially during a tournament. If you accidentally delete the wrong fish from your log, it cannot be recovered.
6.14 All fish submissions will be reviewed by the eTournament Fishing Approval Team. During the entry process, a second photo; often called the Hero Shot consisting of the angler holding the fish, will be prompted in the entry procedure. Hero Shots are mandatory for this tournament. The Hero Shot should show the right side of the fish in the photo (which is the opposite side visible on the Measurement Photo).
6.15 You will also be prompted with a third option which is a Release Video of your fish. This is also mandatory for this tournament. The Release Video MUST show the fish clearly swimming away under its own power, without the angler touching it. The Release Video will record up to 60 seconds. You can restart the video if it takes you more than 60 seconds to release your fish.
6.16 During the event, the app will work without WiFi or any or strong cell service. If you submit a fish without any or strong enough service, the app will tell you that the fish has been recorded, and that it will sync up to the server once you return to service. The logs are time/date/location stamped to the moment that they were taken, so even if the submission is delayed, the time on that submission will still be accurate.
7.0 Tournament Boundaries
7.1 Only a portion of Tobin Lake will be used:
West Boundary: First set of overhead power lines, approximately 100 yards west of the old bridge.
East Boundary: Resort Village Boat Launch straight north to the SaskTel Tower.
Boundaries are marked by GPS coordinates. The eTournament Fishing
App defines boundaries and can identify your location.
7.2 NO FISHING – Between float plane docks (just east of blue bridge) and Twin Marine.
7.3 NO WAKE ZONE – Between Blue Bridge and Twin Marine.
8.0 Flights
8.1 The tournament fishing day will begin at 7:00AM and end at 4:00PM, Friday and Saturday. All boats will be identified with a numbered decal and flights are identified by Number. Flights are subject to adjustments dependant on number of entries
Friday, August 7, 2026
7:00 AM Flight 1 Out 3:00 PM Flight 1 Must stop fishing and return to docks
7:20 AM Flight 2 Out 3:20 PM Flight 2 Must stop fishing and return to docks
7:40 AM Flight 3 Out 3:40 PM Flight 3 Must stop fishing and return to docks
8:00 AM Flight 4 Out 4:00 PM Flight 3 Must stop fishing and return to docks
Saturday, August, 8, 2026
7:00 AM Flight 4 Out 3:00 PM Flight 4 Must stop fishing and return to docks
7:20 AM Flight 3 Out 3:20 PM Flight 3 Must stop fishing and return to docks
7:40 AM Flight 2 Out 3:40 PM Flight 2 Must stop fishing and return to docks
8:00 AM Flight 1 Out 4:00 PM Flight 1 Must stop fishing and return to docks
9.0 End of Day Procedures
9.1 All teams must check in at the “Official Weight Shack” to sign for their returned ruler and to have the eTournament Fishing app checked on their phone to ensure all downloads have completed.
9.2 Once the tournament concludes, a full review process will begin between the Organizer and their team. Following this review process, the results will be final.
9.3 The Awards Ceremony will be held on Saturday evening at the Saskatchewan Premier’s Cup Stage, Nipawin & District Regional Park (near the pickup dock) once the results have been finalized.
9.4 At the discretion of the tournament director, tournament days may be shortened, postponed or cancelled due to unsafe weather or water conditions.
10.0 Proper Fish Handling
10.1 We highly encourage conservation and the proper handling of all fish caught. To ensure the best chances of survival for all released fish, all participants are to handle fish safely. The following are suggestions only – not rules:
a) Try to keep the fish in the water as long as possible;
b) Cut the line as close to the hook as possible if a swallowed hook can’t be easily removed;
c) Have the phone ready with the eTournament Fishing app open prior to landing fish to minimize air exposure;
d) Hold large fish horizontally and support its body to avoid damage to the internal organs;
e) Do not hold or support the fish by its gills, gill covers or eyes, and no fingers in the gills at any time. Hand must not be wrapped around the tail, nor shall there be any excessive force to stretch or alter the natural status of the fish;
f) Use wet hands when handling a fish. Handle the fish quickly and as little as possible;
g) When releasing a fish, never throw it into the water
h) Whenever possible, keep the fish in the water while handling;
I) Use of thin cotton gloves for fish handling is recommended.
Spirit of the Rule
11.1 All rules have loopholes. It is the intention of the sponsor to provide an honest sportsmanlike tournament. In the interest of good sportsmanship, contestants are reminded that spirit of the rule will prevail in all judgement cases.
11.2 All questions or problems concerning the rules of this tournament are to be referred to the tournament committee.
11.3 In case of a tie for first place, the team with the largest fish will rank higher, if both teams have the same size, the team with the second largest fish will rank higher, and so on, and so forth. If there is a tie for big fish of the day, the first big fish caught as per the eTournament Fishing app timestamp is the winner.
11.4 Any contestant has the right to make a protest by 5:00PM on the last day of the event. A $100 fee must accompany the protest. The fee will be returned if the protest is found to be valid.
11.5 Should a team member receive a fine from the Ministry of Environment that team will be disqualified from the tournament.
11.6 Tournament rules are subject to change at the discretion of the Saskatchewan Premier’s Walleye Cup Committee. A final copy of the tournament rules will be enclosed with the tournament package at registration.