Pictured, from left, are: Joe Papalia, NWT angler Andy Travis and Captain Ashton Laird of Lime Lake Marine, which took home the 2025 Classic Championship and cash winnings with 38.06 pounds for their six-fish bag. Photo courtesy of Primitive Patriot Outdoors, LLC

The weekend of the Western New York Walleye Classic is over, running from the Dunkirk Central Avenue Pier and main stage, the event invigorated the entire community and region.

The main activity of competitive walleye fishing started Thursday night with the Captain’s meeting at Dimitri’s Restaurant. Tournament Director Josh Larsen, president of Primitive Patriots Outdoors, LLC., is a very positive and likable young man who has gained the respect of every competitor team in the event.

Larsen started the meeting with a vibrant “Hello Everybody! Good to see you all.” He reviewed the preliminary rules and said, “This year is the fifth annual Western New York Walleye Classic. We did something special, teaming up with Ron Viavada and the Merril Lynch Banking Group; we were able to sponsor one team of military veterans to thank all our veterans through this event. This team consisted of three well-deserving veterans from Western New York: Bob Healy, Miranda Hulse and Jay Cutter. Captain Daryl Glasner of CEO Guide Service will be their boat captain.”

A long round of applause followed. With the uncertain weather forecast and lower Lake Erie water temperature, teams had anxious but confident anticipation as Larsen provided details of prizes and the weigh-in protocol. Registration was completed for 43 teams, with two to five members on each team.

Big Fish Friday started the next morning, following a boat inspection of each competitor. Some teams had pre-fished on Thursday to sort out where to begin when the competition started. In this tournament, all the American waters of Lake Erie were open to anglers. So, for the first time in many tournament years, some teams headed west toward Pennsylvania and Ohio, while others went to Lake Erie deep straight out from Dunkirk Harbor. The big fish are where you find them, but that can be a challenging task in a lake of 10,000 square miles. There were no technology limitations, only standard New York State fishing rules.

Big Fish Friday is a one-fish contest; the biggest fish by weight wins, paying the top three places.

As Big Fish Friday fishing ended, excitement on the main stage grew. Eye-Candy with Wayne Shafter, Cody Seroka and Mike Fitzgerald took top honors with their 8.53-pound walleye. Mac-Attack came in second with a 7.76-pound walleye, and Drag-N-Lures, with their 7.58-pound fish, was third.

The next day was the main event, with over $75,000 cash and prizes for the top 10% of the 43-team fleet (top five places). It was a new day with a six-fish bag for weight; the heaviest bag wins. Lake Erie defied the potential for a nasty forecast and was totally calm. Some competitors said it’s almost too quiet but better than fighting 6-foot waves and rough seas. At the shotgun blast (air horn), the competition boats roared in every direction, seeking their fishing spot and big walleye. Most anglers started out trolling, which is incredibly effective in June because anglers can cover miles of water to find scattered fish, run multiple lines (up to three per angler in New York), use planer boards, lead core lines, or diving planes to target various depths. The goal for anglers was to find any large migrations of walleye entering the Eastern Basin from the west, which usually starts in late May/early June, but this year, the water temperatures were 10 degrees cooler than in 2024. For each team, the mystery of what to use, where to fish, what color lure, what speed to troll or retrieve, and more, was among the key questions.

As the competition day ended, the boats entered the harbor to deliver their six-fish bag. The stage was alive, with various teams taking the lead, bumping out one another. In the end, with Captain Ashton Laird, Joe Papalia and NWT angler Andy Travis, of Lime Lake Marine took home the 2025 Classic Championship with 38.06 pounds. Eye-Candy was second with 35.39 pounds; Kra-Mar, with Captain Joe Kramer, Bud Marsh and Andrew Peck, came in third with 34.34 pounds; followed by Triple-Threat with Captain Peter Szklanka, Joe Vaccarella and Bob Wasson in fourth with 33.08 pounds; and in fifth place was Ice Breaker with Captain Randy Jaroszewski, David Sacvaczo, Mark McQuown and Brett Bakalik with 30.11 pounds. Ice Breaker also took home the biggest single fish of the competition day with their 8.12-pound walleye, followed by One-More with a 7.83-pounder, and Tech-Difficulties with a 7.34-pound fish.

Captain Ashton Laird shared that their team spent much time searching for potential places to fish. They settled in an area not more than 10 miles from the harbor and planned to use forward-facing sonar. FFS allows for precision targeting, allowing anglers to spot small groups of active walleye, even individual walleye, chasing bait schools. FFS will enable anglers to track the fish behavior in real-time, whether they are spooked by your cast or engine noise with clear water, to go slower, or to use smaller lures and make effective adjustments. The units allow the angler to present their lure precisely. Even in deep water (30-60 ft), which is common in the Eastern Basin during June, the Lime Lake Marine team used FFS from two manufacturers to home in on the fish. Andy Travis used a Lowrance Active Target unit, and Laird and Papalia used Garmin Live Scope units. Running with an electric bow motor mounted on their 350HP Suzuki-powered Vexus DVX22 flagship angler boat, they used medium-power, fast-action Douglas fishing rods from Doc’s Tackle with Daiwa Tetula open-face spinning reels. The reels were loaded with 15-pound Master Braid main line and 20-pound Sunline Fluorocarbon leaders to throw number 7 and 9 jigging Rapala’s at suspended fish they saw on their sonar units. They spotted fish from 5 feet down to 50 feet down and were able to cast their lures effectively to fool more than 150 walleyes in two days of tournament fishing. Laird admits they learned from Andy Travis how to best use FFS.

Look for outdoor columns soon, with more details of FFS — cost, complexity, maintenance, details and effectiveness, that I learned from an interview with Lime Lake Marine. They are the first team to win an angler competition event in Western New York using FFS. They may be showing us a lesson in change; it could be the only way forward. We’ve come a long way since my window sash weight sonar from the 50s.

Many teams and family members took advantage of the comforts at the Clarion Hotel, finding a view of Chadwick Bay a peaceful comfort amidst the fun and long days of fishing competition.

Gotta love the outdoors.

CALENDAR

June 7-15: WALLEYE. 41st annual nine-day Southtowns Walleye Tournament, $100 entry, $100k prizes; Jim Skoczylas, 716-796-5372; https://www.southtownswalleye.com/.

June 14: Teach-Me-To-Fish free fishing clinic, NYSDEC with Erie County Federation of Sportsmen, Tifft Nature Preserve, 1200 Fuhrmann Blvd., Buffalo, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., register online: www.ecfsc.org, or call 716-533-4070.

June 14: Father’s Day Shoot, Hanover Fish & Game,100 sporting, non-registered, 780 Overhiser Road, Silver Creek; 716-934-4028

June 14: NYS Safe Boater Course, Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., register online at Https://www.register-ed.com/events/view/226928.

June 15: BASS. Chautauqua Lake Bassmasters 2025 Father’s Day Bass Open Tournament, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., Prendergast Boat Launch, two adults and one child allowed per boat; $100 entry includes Big Bass Payout. Tournament director: 716-708-0330.

June 21-22: MUSKY. NY Musky, Chautauqua Lake Showdown, Launch site TBD, Region 3 Chapter Challenge; 585-287-7578