At the end of Day 1, David Hoisington of Warren, Pa., and Andrew Bentz of Brookville, Ind. lead in the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s National Walleye Tour, presented by Progressive’s stop in Dunkirk with a total weight of 37 pounds for their five-fish bag. The exciting finish will happen later today on the main stage at the Central Avenue Pier starting at 3 p.m. Photo courtesy of National Walleye Tour

Conquering Lake Erie’s deep eastern basin during the National Walleye Tour demands a mix of savvy, precise depth management and strategic restraint considerations. Those anglers who adapt quickly using tools such as old-fashioned down-scan and side-scan sonar, in conjunction with navigational electronics and the newest high-tech forward-facing sonar, will find rewards. Then, combining what they see with proven lure setups typically brings aggressive fish (usually the biggest fish) from the suspended big-fish pockets to catch the heaviest walleyes.

After more than seven hours on the water, in first place is David Hoisington from nearby Warren, Pennsylvania, with a five-fish bag that tipped the scales at 37 pounds. Duane Hjelm from Pierre, South Dakota, among leaders in the race for Angler of the Year, had a notable fifth-place finish Thursday, tallying 32-14 for his five-fish total. There is still one more day to go, Duane.

Among local favorites, Andy Travis from Youngsville, Pennsylvania, is tied for fourth with a five-fish total of 33 pounds, 3 ounces, and Craig Sleeman from Fairport brought in 32-12 for 11th place in this close race for the big cash. Other nearby locals in the race include popular angler, Charlie Klaus, with 31-6, good for 16th place. Dylan Nussbaum was among the top five for Angler of the Year standings before Day 1, but finished in 27th place with 30-5. Shawn Disney from Bradford, Pennsylvania, pulled in five good fish for 29-6 and 35th place. Another local favorite at area Lake Erie tournament action over the last few years is Tom Slawatyki, who came in with 27-9 for 44th place. Ron Kozub from Hamburg brought in 20-2 for 67th place. Second-place finisher after Day 1 is Tom Huynh from Wolverton, Minnesota, with 34-2. That means Hoisington has a 2-pound, 14-ounce lead, and that’s huge in tournaments like this where there are millions of cookie-cutter-sized walleye, with many fish averaging between 5 and 6 pounds for anglers who know how to fool fish and bring them to the boat. Finding the big ones is the problem.

During the pre-competition days, some of the pros at morning breakfast shared that they use specific lures that mimic wounded forage to trigger reaction strikes in suspended schools of walleye. Drew Schutz, from Pierre, South Dakota, and in 45th place before the start of fishing today, is hoping to move up five places to reach the championship round (top 40 places).

“I generally have several rods rigged and ready to go,” Schutz shared. “Jigging Rapala’s, heavy jigs — one rigged with a plastic and another with a natural bait, and spoons, and spinner rigs — they all work at times.”

Effective options, when tailored to specific depth and action, could also be in the hands of the angler, allowing them to tailor the lure’s movement. Surprisingly, several anglers admitted that trolling might be an effective way to target fish school locations here. Given the recent thermal shift of the lake and walleye schools’ movement behavior the last few days, the winning anglers are likely to be smart about mapping out the thermocline and baitfish concentrations early in the day using sonar, then adjusting presentations vertically to where the fish concentrate. After Day 1 in Dunkirk, Schutz brought in 26-6 with his 54th-place finish. He will need to get a boost on a new pocket of bigger fish today.

With the new NWT rules that limit anglers to New York waters with the NO CULLING rule (replacing a fish in the live well with a better one at midday — not allowed), the importance of consistently targeting high-quality fish from the start is crucial. Something that trolling cannot do. To someone who is not a pro, like most of us, that means using vertical presentations and FFS, catching the biggest fish and moving on to find other pockets of big fish. GPS electronics will be essential, along with the ability to hold position over the noted pockets of fish.

One thing is for sure: there are pockets of giant walleye out there, and a 40-pound-plus, five-fish bag is undoubtedly possible. In that sense, anyone in the top 10 right now could take home the big prize. The potential for a surprise winner adds an extra layer of intrigue to the competition. Today will be thrilling.

For more on the National Walleye Tour competition tomorrow, tune in to watch the live stream weigh-in from the stage on the Central Avenue pier in Dunkirk. Visit https://www.nationalwalleyetour.com.

Gotta love the outdoors.

CALENDAR

Aug. 7-8: Cabela’s National Walleye Tour Qualifier event, Dunkirk Harbor. Professional angler TV event. Weigh-in events are open to the public. Visit www.outdoorteamworks.com.

Aug. 15-16: Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge (Dunkirk), $500 entry, Jim Steel, 716-481-5348; https://innovative-outdoors.com/.