Mercury National Tournament announces cancellation of 2020 event

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mercury Marine
David Maus‑Berkley
Communications Manager

Mercury National Tournament announces cancellation of 2020 event

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (May 13, 2020) — Event organizers today announced cancellation of the 2020 Mercury National Tournament, a walleye fishing competition originally slated to take place June 12‑14 on Lake Winnebago. This is the first cancellation of the annual event, a fishing tradition that began in 1978.

The event’s cancellation is due to the COVID‑19 pandemic and conforms with the state of Wisconsin’s “Safer at Home” prohibition of certain business activities and public gatherings.

“Our Mercury Marine team and collaborators at the Walleye Federation arrived at this difficult decision after assessing current public‑health recommendations and considering forecasts of when social‑distancing imperatives might relax enough to allow for a successful event,” said Mercury Marine Senior Manager of Competitive Angling Michelle Kilburn. “We concluded that the timing does not work in the event’s favor or the public’s trust. With less than a month remaining before the tournament’s scheduled start, there is too much uncertainty about whether we would be able to include essential elements that define this event, bring people together and make it something special for the community.”

The Mercury National Tournament has traditionally taken place in conjunction with Walleye Weekend, a community festival for the greater Fond du Lac region. Late last month, festival organizers announced a postponement of the event until the final weekend of August, citing concerns about large public gatherings amid the COVID‑19 outbreak.

Kilburn explained, however, that the fishing tournament could not follow suit. “This is a catch‑and‑release tournament and we’re very proud of our sustainable practices to promote the survival of the catch after weigh‑in. Walleye tournaments are typically recommended for cool weather, when catch‑and‑release survival rates are better.”

She added that an attempt to reschedule would create scheduling conflicts during the active fall competitive‑ and championship‑fishing season.

Mercury Marine and the Walleye Federation plan to relaunch the event next year.

About Mercury Marine

Headquartered in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Mercury Marine is a world‑leading manufacturer of marine propulsion systems. A $3 billion division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), Mercury designs, manufactures and distributes engines, services and parts for recreational, commercial and government marine applications, empowering boaters with products that are easy‑to‑use, extremely reliable and backed by the most dedicated customer support in the world with 10,000 service points globally. Mercury’s industry‑leading brand portfolio includes Mercury outboard engines and Mercury MerCruiser sterndrive and inboard packages. Mercury’s global parts‑and‑accessories offerings include: propellers; SmartCraft electronics; Power Products Integrated Solutions; MotorGuide trolling motors; Attwood, Garelick and Whale marine parts; Land ’N’ Sea, BLA, Payne’s Marine, Kellogg Marine and Lankhorst Taselaar marine parts distribution; and Mercury and Quicksilver parts and oils. More information is available at mercurymarine.com.

ATTENTION ALL REGISTERED ANGLERS – REFUNDS WILL BEGIN IMMEDIATELY back to the credit card it came from. We greatly appreciate your support and understanding. We all want to go fishing as soon as we can. Stay safe and stay tuned for the 2021 event!

Registration for the 42nd Annual 2020 Mercury National Tournament is almost here!

The excitement is already brewing and beginning March 20th at 9:00am CST teams will have the chance to register ONLINE for the 2020 Mercury National Walleye Tournament at MercuryNational.com. As published lastyear in 2019 paper registration forms will NO LONGER be mailed out all registration are ONLINE now via this website.

Held in conjunction with Fond du Lac, WI’s Walleye Weekend, this year’s Mercury National will have many of the same elements anglers and fans have come to expect from this historic owner’s tournament event. The full purse will be paid out based on 300 teams with the grand prize being a Tracker Targa V-18 WT powered by a Mercury 150hp AND $4,000 CASH (Total value over $35,000). Prizes from Mercury and MotorGuide will be awarded for teams finishing 66-80, cash prizes for teams who finish 65 or better!  As another great bonus, big fish prize each day will once again be a Mercury 9.9hp kicker!

This year’s event dates are June 13-14, 2020 with a mandatory rule meeting and check-in on Oven Island, Friday evening, June 12th.

You don’t want to be left out on this limited 300 boat tournament! Don’t wait, registration begins March 20th , 2020 and CLOSES when 300 team limit is reached.

As a reminder, this is an “Owner’s Tournament” all engines (including kickers) are required to be Mercury/Mariner to participate.

For more info and to register go to mercurynational.com or contact the walleye federation at support@walleyefederation.com or 580-765-9031


WELCOME to the Mercury National Home Page

WELCOME to the all new Official home page of the Mercury National Walleye Tournament.

2020 is the 42nd year of this Walleye Weekend event and we are celebrating with expanding on the same high standards set by those who have done such an outstanding job of laying the 42 year foundation of the Mercury Nationals!

This will be you home for all things Mercury National including:

  • Including for 2020
    • All entry’s will be taken ONLINE ONLY now! Simple, Secure ONLINE registration and entry fee payment processing! Starting at 9:00am CST on March 20th.
    • Real time LIVE digital leaderboard updated every 30 seconds!
    • Immediate daily results posted after each days weigh in.
    • Supplement for the awesome job of fish care being done already with the addition of a LIVE release boat  and other state of the art equipment.
    • State of the art streamlined weigh-in process
    • and more!