That meant anglers could search for big fish in Canadian, Pennsylvania or Ohio waters. Anglers with fast boats and lots of fuel could look for big fish elsewhere. Anglers did, but the Big Fish Friday results showed the giant walleye were not found. Anglers that traveled far did no better than anglers fishing NYS waters.

Big Fish Friday anglers dropped lines at 6 a.m. with the proviso to be in the weigh-in line by 3:30 p.m. for cooler-check. The weigh-in started at 4:30 with much anticipation among the competitive teams. In short order, thanks to the efficiency of the Jim and Diane Steel tournament team, the results became clear as they were posted live on the Big Fish Leader TV screen.

John Rogers of Team “Day Drinkin” with a 7.65-pound walleye took first place, David Peters with Team “Heavy Hunkers” was close with his second-place fish at 7.63 pounds, and Ron Morcio with Team “Who’s Ur Uncle” took third with a 7.46-pound walleye. Remaining spots as follows: Ashton Laird, Lime Lake Marina, 7.23; Timothy Stone, Trolling Stones, 7.03; John Ligos, Current Obsession, 6.97; then a 3-way tie for 7th place with Chris McKeever, Team Extreme, and Bryan Dusenbury, Creative Woods and Waters, and Jim Klein, Eye-Fish, all with 6.96 pound walleye, and finally, Hans Mann with Buffalo Harbor Outfitters in 10th place with a 6.89 pound fish.

The anglers really liked the tournament rule that allowed fishing in all the waters of Lake Erie, but the weigh-scale results showed that the big fish schools are hiding in areas unknown.

Above is the Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge weigh-station with Tournament Director Jim Steel, right, providing announcements and humor to more than 200 onlookers at the Clarion Hotel Pavilion on Chadwick Bay last weekend. Photo by Forrest Fisher

Anglers surmised that someone might find them tomorrow, Saturday, Aug. 17, the main event of the tournament. The weather forecast was tenuous overnight with the possibility of a storm front delaying the official 7 a.m. shotgun start. The unpredictability of the weather added an extra layer of excitement and challenge to the tournament. With the blast of an air horn, all the teams departed, ready to face whatever the elements had in store for them.

At noon or so, depending on where each angler team was located, a strong storm front blew in. Rain, hail, thunder, and scary lightning ensued. Many teams moved to cover, some returning to the shelter of Dunkirk Harbor. Despite the challenging weather conditions, the spirit of camaraderie and sportsmanship among the teams was evident.

I can attest to the force of the storm as tree branches along Route 5 broke and flew across the road west to east. Some teams were caught in the weather muddle, unable to get their lines out of the water in time to avoid the fast-moving front. Big Fish Friday was a 1-fish event, but the main event was a 6-fish event with a 20-inch minimum size walleye rule. Many anglers returned to the Clarion Hotel Pavilion sopping wet through and through. Others stopped off at the hotel to change into dry clothes.

Despite the challenging conditions, there was a sense of excitement and anticipation among the contestant teams, united by their shared passion for fishing.

Captain Jim Klein, Captain T.J. Yetzer and others were unanimous on one thing. The fish that were hungry and schooled yesterday were not where they were today! And when you found them, they would not feed, would not bite.

Captain Klein said, “We caught lots of fish, but they were all small, under 20 inches.”

Yetzer added, “The wind changed today, there were sea fleas everywhere, maybe that affected the mood of the fish.”

As the official weigh-in started, the red LED scale tally high above the stage provided everyone with the instant news of the weight of the fish bag. Some teams did not have 6-fish above 20 inches and could only bring four or five fish to the scale. Those teams weighed in ahead of the rest. As the process of weighing in each team went on, the official leaderboard began to take shape.

In the end, Captain Jim Taggert with Team “Fish Missile” finished first with 35.97 pounds for their 6-fish cooler. Tim Stone with Team “Trolling Stones,” finished second with 34.01 pounds, and Bob Rustowicz with Team “Forever Fishin” came in third with 32.33 pounds. Jeff Henderson with Team “Fishin Technician” was fourth with 31.45 pounds, Aaron Telgaira was fifth with Team “Body Count” with 29.67 pounds. Down the line, 6th- Rob Oram, Team “I-Con,” 28.95; 7th – Roger Riggs, Team RIGGSY,” 28.48; 8th – Brandon Nova, Team “Nova Sportfishing,” 28.27; 9th- John Lignos, Team “Current Obsession,” 27.94; 10th – Joseph Kramar, Team “Kra-Mar,” 27.11 pounds.

Contest winner, Captain Jim Taggert of Eldred, Pa., was fishing in a Hewescraft 240 Ocean Pro with a 300 HP Suzuki main engine and 9.9 HP trolling motor. They fished in 110-120 feet of water, roughly 7 to 9 miles off the Brocton Shoal area. They did best trolling west to east with 27-pound 7 and 8-color lead core line.

“We used just 20-foot leaders from the lead core to custom-painted shallow-diver and deep-diver Bandit lures with no worm,” Teammate Dave Salvalzo said. “It was very scary out there when the front hit us. As soon as the lightning started to happen all around us, the fish went crazy. Three lines went off at once! While we were reeling in those through the driving rain, two more lines went off. It was a big fish moment we will never forget.”

The third team member, Joe Boone, stated, “Our biggest fish was only 6.2 pounds, but we had six of those to make our 35.97-pound box. The fish were all nearly exactly the same in size.”

Taggert added, “We were using Bandit lures painted by Larry Johnson at Sharp Point Custom Baits, he calls them his Lake Erie Gold Perch color. Whatever he calls them, we like ’em,” we caught about 35 fish today in this mushy weather. I talked with Larry Johnson later, who was there. He sells his custom lures for $8 each, but in jest, added, “I might have to move my price to $10 after Jim Taggert’s win today.”

Everyone laughed.

Rob Oram of Team “I-Con” said he moved four times and ended up using Dipsey Divers and eight-color lead core with Long-A Bomber lures the best. They fished from 75 to 110 feet of water off Barcelona and did best “trough trolling” south to north.

Bob Rustowicz of Team “Forever Fishin” dropped their lines about 1-mile west of Barcelona in 105 feet of water. They started with one Dipsey, one downrigger and seven lead core lines of 6, 7, and 8-colors. After catching their first two fish on 8-color, they pulled the 6-color line and added two more 7-color lines. Using dark-colored new-style Reno Lures, they tallied 26 fish for the day, coming in two hours early because of the storm.

“The only thing that matters is the silhouette of the lure,” Teammate Charlie Klaus said. “We use only two hooks on the lure but change the back hook to a number2 treble and add a half-piece of nightcrawler on the middle hook with no front hook.”

Third teammate Greg Solvay added, “Only believe half of what this guy says.”

Everyone laughed.

WNY Walleye Cup Series (WWCS) Champion was one contest that depended on the results of this tournament to find the winner. With their third-place finish and 32.33 pound box here in this contest, Captain Bob Rustowicz and Team “Forever Fishin” took first place in the WWCS race and are the 2024 champions.

Congrats to them!

Close behind in WWCS second place is Captain Rob Oram with “Team I-con.” Their 6th place finish in this contest with 28.95 pounds was not enough to overtake Rustowicz.

To all the teams of the Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge and WWCS Championship participants, the community thanks you for joining in the fun, with hearty congratulations to the winners.

Gotta love our fishy Lake Erie outdoors!

Outdoor Calendar:

Aug. 24: NYS Hunter Safety Course, Springville Field & Stream, 8AM-5PM, 8900 Chaise Rd., Springville. Register online: https://dec.ny.gov.

Aug. 29: NYS Hunter Safety Course, Ripley Rod & Gun, 6PM – 9:30PM, plus one additional half day, 9820 Rod and Gun Club Rd., Ripley. Register online: https://dec.ny.gov. Must attend both days.

Aug. 31: Labor Day Sporting Clay Shoot, NSCA registered event by choice, Hanover Fish & Game, 780 Overhiser Rd., Forestville. Registration starts 8AM, shooting begins 9AM. Info: https://hanovercalys.com.

Sep. 1: Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club family picnic, members only. 1 N. Mullet St., Dunkirk.

Sep. 1: NYS Squirrel season opens in WNY (gray, black, fox).

Sep. 6-7: WNY Walleye Association Lake Erie Walleye Tournament, Contact Ron Kucinski: 716-545-5925, or email: kucinski1293@gmail.com.

Sep. 9-22: NYS Early Antlerless 2024 Deer Season, check specific Wildlife Management Units (WMUs).