The Scary Good Sportfishing yellow perch team, pictured, from left: Captain Rob Ebersole, Mark Mohr and John Woelfle, took first-place honors in the Southtowns Walleye Association of Western New York Lake Erie fishing contest last Saturday. They weighed five fish for an 8.38-pound bag, with the 2.74-pound heaviest single fish. Photo courtesy of Paul Sanchez

Captain Rob Ebersole of Scary Good Sportfishing, along with John Woelfle and Mark Mohr, braved the elements in the Southtowns Walleye Association of Western New York annual Spring Perch Tournament.

Despite the challenging weather, their team scored the heaviest five-fish bag with 8.38 pounds and the heaviest single fish, a 2.74-pound jumbo perch. However, the highlight of the day was Mark Mohr’s personal best-ever yellow perch, measuring 16 1/2 inches long. This achievement is a testament to the skill and dedication of the whole team.

Bob Rustowicz, fishing with Tom Slawatycki, finished in third place.

“It was cold, windy, and raining non-stop,” Rustowicz said.

Somehow, Rustowicz, a war veteran marine, makes even the most demanding fishing conditions fun and survivable with his always-confident grin.

“The lake was rough with a northeast wind that had a very short wave-cycle, so that before the bow of the boat could float through and bounce back up, it was already digging into the next wave before the wave reached the stern,” Ebersole said. “We had the Minn Kota electric bow motor fully extended and working hard to keep us in position, but then we ran out of battery power and had to anchor the boat.

“Then the bouncing waves loosened the anchor rope tie-down at the bow, and we lost the anchor and anchor rope,” added Ebersole, laughing a bit through retelling the trip events. “What a day. So, we used the big motor to back troll and had a few waves come over the stern. The bilge pump worked well. Thank goodness for that. We had minnows all over the floor because our fingers were slightly frozen, and we kept losing our grip. We tried to laugh it off to keep warm, which only worked for a while. We used the old-fashioned wire-hook crappie rigs, adding an extra hook to trail off the 1-ounce sinker we had on the bottom. The late Norby Antonik used to call that set-up the tail-gunner hook. That caught a bunch of bigger fish for us.”

Ebersole has a few open charter dates for perch and walleye trips this month, contact him at 716-713-9696.

Despite the brutal weather, the Southtowns Walleye Association of Western New York’s annual Spring Perch Tournament was a testament to the strong community spirit among the anglers. “We had 38 guys in the event, and the weather was brutal this year,” Paul Sanchez, tournament chairman, recalled. “We paid out first through seventh place anyway and did the best we could for one more great event for the Southtowns Walleye Association of Western New York.”

This sense of camaraderie and shared passion for fishing is what makes events like this very special.

A few days before last weekend, when Lake Erie was calm, Jim Holtzman from Conneaut, Ohio, visited Chautauqua County to launch from Silver Creek and fish here for yellow perch for the first time. Fishing in 55 feet of water, Holtzman used fresh emerald shiner minnow for bait.

“I was very impressed with the quantity and quality of the perch,” Holtzman said. “I will be back.” That is how all anglers feel about the perch fishery here at the Eastern end of Lake Erie.

Gotta love the outdoors.

CALENDAR

May 10: Chautauqua Lake Bassmasters 2025 Walleye Open, Long Point Boat Launch; Open to the public. $100 entry. Info: Tournament Director, 716-708-0330.

May 10: Springville Strutters Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Annual Banquet, St. Aloysius Church Hall, 186 Franklin St., Springville, 5 p.m. start, Info: James Gamel, 716-592-2388.

May 10-16: Wilson Harbor Salmon Slam Fishing Contest, $1k/day prizes, Info: Kevin Jerge, 716-863-1001.

May 13: Junior Olympic Archery Program for youth 5-16 yrs of age, 6 p.m. start, West Falls Conservation, 55 Bridge St., West Falls.

May 17: Ribbons and Bows Charity 3-D Archery Shoot, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., $20, Hawkeye Bowmen, 13300 Clinton St., Alden; Info: Deb Frederiksen, defrederiksen85@gmail.com.