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Walleye Contest Winners Use Innovative New System

Under the leadership of captain Ron Kucinski, the Western New York Walleye Association members ran its first-ever Lake Erie walleye tournament last weekend. Submitted photo

A first-year WNY walleye organization has spawned a new Lake Erie Walleye Fishing Contest direction for future consideration.

Last weekend, the Western New York Walleye Association members ran its first-ever Lake Erie walleye tournament. On Friday, the group had 15 teams registered for their first Big Fish Friday event, and 17 teams registered for the main event on Saturday. The new direction uses a revolutionary software application called the Fish Donkey app. This app, which uses a certified Fish Donkey measuring board, allows walleye to enter the tournament based on length, not weight. This unique approach enables contestants to practice CPR, otherwise known as catch, photo, release.

In many walleye fishing contests nationwide, walleye are less prevalent than here in the eastern basin of Lake Erie. Anglers fish all day and keep their best fish for the weigh-in, releasing all the fish they do not intend to keep – often releasing many times their limit. It is not uncommon for walleye fishing teams to catch 30 to 50 fish in a 7-hour fishing day. With tournaments like this one and many others, only the top 3 fish are brought to scale. What about all the other fish? With the “Fish Donkey” format, every fish can be released alive, contributing to the sustainability of the walleye population.

While further discussion is necessary regarding how deep the fish was caught versus released fish mortality – a talk with NYSDEC may be required for a proper answer to that question.

The Fish Donkey approach eliminates many problems and deviations at the weigh station where fish are measured to one/one-hundredth of a pound (XX.XX) on a calibrated scale. The fish slime from fish rubbing against fish in the cooler begged questions among some anglers – did the scales get wiped off before the next fish was weighed? Did the weighmaster use the tare button properly to zero out any non-fish elements of weight on the scales before the next fish was placed on the scale? To zero out the slime left on the scale from the previous fish. For EVERY fish? What if all the fish are in a pour-through bag or a basket? Similar questions.

The Fish Donkey App eliminates some of the obvious concerns that come with a calibrated scale/weigh system. In some tournaments with a cash award of $100,000 or more, 0.01 pounds of slime counted or not counted can mean the difference between a winner and second place. Second place is $20,000. That’s an $80,000 fraction of an ounce!

The Fish Donkey App is sure to receive more attention soon. There are likely other concerns using the length system, such as the potential for measurement errors or disputes. For example: a fish weighed at 7 a.m. (air temp 65 degrees) versus fish weighed after the calibrated board has been left in the hot sun with a fish measured at 2 p.m. (air temp 90 degrees) …does thermal expansion of the board matter? Is it compensated? There will be other issues identified and addressed. Fairness and accuracy of the tournament is the goal. Note that a photo of the entire fish is required with each Fish Donkey entry. The photo shows the nose of the fish and the tail to yield length, and then fish length and respective photo is entered into the Fish Donkey live database for the tourney. Everyone registered in the tourney can see each fish entered. They can see who is winning and how many fish they have on the board. Pretty cool. Pretty exciting. Pretty exacting.

Credit for the first test use of this system on Lake Erie goes to Captain Don Rupert and his team, who, with their First Thursday Practice Contest in the 2024 Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout tournament used the Fish Donkey App. It was a test program to find the winning team for that pre-tournament practice day. It worked there, and it seems to work here too.

Ron Kucinski, President of the WNY Walleye Association Group and director of this tournament, was happy with the membership turnout for the new club. He said, “Just like that, our inaugural tournament is in the books! Many of us are home cleaning our boats, cleaning some fish, or relaxing while watching some football. Sadly, the fishing season is quickly coming to an end.”

The results of Big Fish Friday and the Main Event are in. Big Fish Friday was won by Ryan Smith and his team with a 28.50-inch fish. The Main Event was won by Randy Jaroszewski and his team, who had three fish with a total length of 82.25 inches. The Bernie Turner Team won second place with a total length of 79.75 inches. Third place was won by Tom Miranda and his team, with 79.50 inches. Miranda has cashed in several times this year across many of the ten Lake Erie walleye fishing contests. Kucinski added, “Congratulations to everyone who won, but also to all of the anglers for participating in our event.”

President Ron Kucinski also expressed further gratitude, saying, “A big thank you to the Village of Blasdell for their support and to all our generous sponsors. But our deepest appreciation goes to the volunteers and members who have joined our organization and continue to support our club’s initiatives and Mission Statement. The contributions of our sponsors are invaluable and greatly appreciated.” The club meets monthly on the first Thursday of the month at 6:30PM at the Knights of Columbus in Hamburg.

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