Brown, the late Hall of Fame Sports Editor and creator of the Messenger Area Great Wall-Eye Derby (MAGWED), knew he had a winner in the early stages of the tournament. Fishermen from across the region began gathering each year, starting in 1976, to celebrate the opening weekend of walleye season in the Iowa Great Lakes around the Okoboji area.

“I’ve had a lot of people (recently) ask me about memories with this being the 50th,” said Roger Brown, one of Bob’s three sons. “That’s a long time and it’s been a great tradition, so it’s fun to stop and take a look back. Dad’s whole theory was never pass up the chance to go on a fishing trip, so at some point (in the ’70s) I’m sure he thought he might as well start one himself.

“The early years were kind of a golden era, where you had both the traditionalists and the technology and electronics changing the way people fished. Dad worked really hard at getting it going. But if you look at what it is today, I know he’d be proud of what it’s become. The (MAGWED committee) does such a terrific job. They’ve really elevated the whole thing and made it even more about kids and families having fun.”

MAGWED’s 50th anniversary will be celebrated this weekend at Triggs Bay Resort in Arnolds Park. The tournament is still going strong; the Fort Dodge Moose Lodge became the main sponsor over a decade ago, and now the MAGWED committee handles the preparation, currently led by Grant and Tasha West. The focus is on fun, fellowship and a field of participants that now reaches all ages and interest levels.

“What I remember most about MAGWED was the amount of fishing gear that would arrive on a daily basis at our home on Elmhurst Avenue (in Fort Dodge beforehand),” recalled Randy Brown, another of Bob’s sons. “All of these fishing products would be given away at MAGWED to some lucky fisherman or kid. We could have rivaled Kautzky’s (Sporting Goods, a former Fort Dodge outdoor supplier) as a fishing retail store. Just the name ‘MAGWED’ was enough to be curious about its pull to the circulation of readers in northwest Iowa.

“It started small, but gained steam quickly. Being a teenager at the inception, each of the early events (in the 1970s) were filled by stories of fish caught.”

The inaugural tournament was hosted by Brown and The Messenger on May 1, 1976. Anyone from the newspaper’s circulation area was eligible to participate.

“Dad was always in frantic mode as the (date) neared, scrambling around to get prizes secured from donors, answering questions from potential participants, troubleshooting and, of course, keeping an eye on the weather,” remembered son Rick Brown. “I think he was very proud of the event and the tradition MAGWED created.”

The initial derby, which tested the waters of Spirit Lake and East and West Okoboji, focused strictly on walleye. Today, fish from East and West Okoboji, Big and Little Spirit, Minnewashta Lake, and Upper and Lower Gar Lake are eligible. The categories now are walleye, northern pike and both small- and large-mouth bass.

There are adult and youth divisions, and the kids have a biggest pan fish contest for perch, bluegill, crappie, sun fish and yellow bass. All of the youth receive a prize at weigh-in time, and a bike giveaway is the main annual attraction for the field.

“I know dad really wanted as many kids as possible to learn how to fish,” said Brown’s daughter, Renee. “He felt the activity was so important to learn as a youth, so they would have a lifelong hobby.

“He would get so fired up in the weeks leading up to the event – and that was very fun to witness.”

As the event gained popularity through the years, it became more inclusive and an opportunity for kids to learn and grow on the water.

“I’m most proud of MAGWED for this fact, knowing the massive impact through generations of fishermen that it spawned,” Randy Brown noted.

Bob Brown was the founder, but MAGWED quickly gained a crowd of loyal volunteers and participants. The traditions continue five decades later, and the ability to create new memories keep the event fresh and young.

“Don Kruse from Gowrie always helped dad out. Charlie Jondle. Doc Kramback. Chuck Doyle. The O’Brions (Dave and Jim) took over for a while,” Roger said. “Then you have people like Pat Lawler, who has never missed a single (MAGWED) in 50 years. His son, Tony, has been at all of them from the time he could go (41 in a row). There are just so many worth mentioning, and that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day: the people.

“We’re just very fortunate to have a group that took it on after dad and made it stronger than ever. They do so much good for the MAGWED name and the fishing community.”