Q: Where and when is the 2024 Walled Lake Summer Fishing Derby?

A: The derby is scheduled for Saturday June 8th 2024 6:00AM to 2:00PM on Walled Lake.  The event is hosted at The Beach: Tiki Bar & Grille located at 142 E. Walled Lake Drive, Walled Lake MI 48390 248-669-3322

Q: How many people can I have in my boat and who all needs to be registered?

A: You're allowed to have as many people as legally allowed on your boat.  Everyone on the boat must be registered to participate.

Q: What's the cost to enter the 6/8/2024 Walled Lake Fishing Derby? A: Kids 15 and younger $5.00 Adults $55.00 with a potential angler pay out of $4,300.00! 

Q: How are winning fish determined for the derby?

A: length is the ruling measurement, longest fish wins in all categories.  We take a length and weight measurement and use the weight as a tie breaker in the event of a tie. 

Q: When and how do I get my fish measured to be considered for potential winning at the derby?

A: All fish be entered must be alive at time of measuring.  Measuring will take place at the Tiki Bar boat slips.  We will have a larger pontoon party barge that anglers can pull up to and have their fish measured and photographed at any time with a hard STOP at 2PM.  Anything brought in after 2pm will not be measured.  Feel free to call in to our hotline during the event to see what the top 5 currently are and if warrants running your fish in for a quick measure prior to 2pm.  Once fish have been officially measure by a WLBFD staff member anglers are free to release the measure fish.  Fish do not need to be kept and we encourage releasing them right after they are measured. 

Q: How, where, when can I register for the WLBFD?

A: We have TWO registration options:

(1) Online registration at www.mifishingderbys.com

(2) Onsite registration at The Beach: Tiki Bar & Grille Friday 6/7 from 5PM to 9PM and Saturday 6/8 the day of the event from 6am to 9am. Located at 142 E. Walled Lake Drive, Walled Lake MI 48390 248-669-3322

Q: Can I use a fish finder at the derby?

A: Fish finder and depth finders are allowed at the Derby- HOWEVER,  derby anglers are NOT allowed to use a Garmin Livescope or the Lorance active targeting monitor.  If you currently have one mounted to your boat or kayak, the monitor must be removed prior to the event and all the electronics to the device must be disconnected from the battery.  Derby staff will do routine checks thru out the day and will disqualify any boat that has one on their boat and or in use.  

Q: Where to park and launch your boat?

A: Parking and launching is a first come first serve available the day on the event starting at 5AM.  Anglers will pull into the NW corner of East Lake Drive & Pontiac Trail and a WLFD member will route them to the boat launch site.  After launching your boat, you'll need to pull your boat to the Tiki Bar Boat slips and park your vehicle and trailer back to the parking area you checked into, again, at the NW corner of East Lake Drive and Pontiac Trail.  Kayaks and canoes can launch and park closer to the Walled Lake Beach which is just on the east side of the The Tike Bar parking lot.  There will be limited parking an available at the tiki bar parking lot however you can also park on the Northern side streets.  Please Avoid any parking that blocks driveways or street traffic, vehicles will be towed if that occurs. We will post a parking map soon on our FB page. 

Q: Where are popular spots to fish on Walled Lake?

A: The million-dollar question! Winning fish are caught just about everywhere, and anglers tend to fish shallow and deep sides of the weed beds.

Q: Will bait and tackle be available onshore at the derby?

A: Eddie's party store will have night crawlers, leaf worms, and wax worms available for sale.  Note, they do not open till 10am so it is best to pick up and live bait needed prior to the derby. 

Q: Do I need a fishing license to fish the derby?

A: No, the WLIFD falls on the “Michigan Free Fishing Weekend” which is 6/8/2024 & 6/9/2024 anglers are NOT required by law to have a valid MI fishing license.  If the derby planned date of June 8th gets moved from that weekend to a non-free fishing weekend, then yes, a valid fishing license would be required.

Q: What are legal size and daily possession limits for fishing in Michigan?

A: Per the MI DNR 2024 Rules and Regulations here are the size requirements and possession limits for each species that will be considered a prize category in the.  WLBFD cannot measure and will not, keep, our consider any fish under the below legal minimum length defined below.  If it is under the required length, throw it back in the water and keep fishing for a legal size fish!

Large & Small Mouth Bass minimum of 14" with a possession limit of 5

Northern Pike Minimum 24” with a daily limit of 2 in possession. 

Perch/Panfish/Crappie No length requirements but has a daily possession limit of 25.

Q: What methods of fishing can be used during the Derby and is live bait allowed?

A: All legal means of fishing is permitted per the 2024 MI DNR rules and regulations.  Artificial AND Live Bait are allowed at our Derby.  As a reminder, all Michigan DNR rules & regulations must be followed at all times.

CATEGORY WINNERS / RAFFLES / DOOR PRIZES / 50/50

Q: When and where is the award ceremony?

A: The award ceremony will be held inside of The Beach: Tiki Bar &Grille starting at roughly 3:00pm The Tiki Bar’s capacity is well over 600 people, folks typically grab lunch  right after the 2:00 PM Derby stop time and wrap up just in time for the awards, winnings, raffles all start taking place.  Cash pay outs for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th place largest Bass, Largest side pot category’s of Perch, Crappie, Panfish, Rock Bass and Northern Pike.  We will also have kids categories.

Q: What is the deal with a $1,000.00 prize tagged fish?

A: Prior to the derby we will tag an either a smallmouth or largemouth bass that will pay out $1,000.00 to any registered angler who catches the tagged fish within the derby start and stop time.  Complements of the Walled Lake Green House.   FYI- We had a lucky contestant catch a tagged fish at our 2022 derby and was paid out the $10,000.00! 

Q: Do I have to be present to win Fish Category Prizes and payouts? Raffle Prizes? Door Prizes? 50/50 winnings?

A: Registered derby winners who have weighed in prior to 2:00pm for the fish categories do NOT have to be present to win. Raffle prize winners do NOT have to be present to win either. We will call out on the restaurants PA system around 3:30pm the day of the event.  If the winner is not present, we will post the winners on our Facebook page letting them know if they won or not, we will also contact them shortly after the event to make arrangements for them to pick up their winnings. We will take a picture of the winner and their prize earnings and post it on Facebook for recognition. Make sure all registration forms and raffle tickets are filled out with a legible full name and phone number.

50/50 requires you MUST be present to win. If not present when numbers are called, another number will be drawn roughly 2 minutes later until we have a present winner.

Q: Where can I buy Raffle tickets, 50/50, Derby Summer Performance Shirts?

A: Raffle tickets, 50/50, WL Derby Hoodies and Shirts can be purchased onsite at The Beach Tiki Bar and Grille Friday 6/7 from 4pm to 9pm and day of the event 6/8 6am to 4pm.  You can also purchase Derby Hoodies and Shirts along with raffles tickets at our online registration store www.mifishingderbys.com 50/50 raffle will only be sold at the event and during onsite registration 6/7 and 6/8 at the above hours, 50/50 will not be available at the online registration.

Q: Who do I contact with any questions?

A: Please call Tony Hopeck, Tournament Director at 248-949-0221 or email ahopeck@hotmail.com with any questions. You can also message us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/walledlakefishingderby