Smaller and lighter 6-fish walleye coolers mean harder work for tourney anglers. Photo by Josh Larsen

With more than 120 million adult walleye thriving in Lake Erie and summer knocking on the door, it’s high time for Lake Erie anglers to dust off their lucky hats, sharpen hooks, and prepare their best “big fish” stories. Tournament season begins next weekend, and June is shaping up to be one busy month for walleye competitors across Chautauqua County and beyond. It’s time to register.

Starting with the annual Western New York Walleye Classic on June 5-7, anglers and families alike can expect a packed weekend of fishing and fun. Hosted alongside the Dunkirk Walleye Festival, the event transforms the Dunkirk Central Avenue pier into a hub of activity with food, games, live music, an outdoor show, and, of course, serious fishing competition. The WNY Walleye Classic and Dunkirk Walleye Festival will run Friday through Sunday, continuing the successful format from last year. Primitive Patriot Outdoors Executive Director Josh Larsen is planning for a record number of registered teams, and there is still time to sign up. Entry is $500, with online registration at https://www.primitivepatriotoutdoors.com/wny-walleye-classic, or anglers can call Josh Larsen directly at 716-490-4226 with questions. Like many premier Lake Erie tournaments, “Big Fish Friday” on June 5 kicks off the weekend with a pre-fish competition where cash prizes await the top three largest fish. Tournament competition follows on Saturday, June 7, when teams will aim to weigh in a six-fish bag for total weight bragging rights–and perhaps enough confidence to start offering unsolicited fishing advice at the dock.

The following weekend, June 12-14, there’s a new walleye tournament kid in town. The inaugural FISH716 Walleye Classic will launch from Barcelona Harbor near Westfield, giving anglers another chance to chase Lake Erie gold. The first-year tournament includes a $500 entry fee, Calcutta’s, Big Fish Friday, and more. Registration is available at https://www.FISH716.com, or anglers can contact Chairman Cody Allen directly at 716-352-0443 or 716-581-3054. Allen says, “Teams consist of 2-6 anglers who will depart from the pier heads and chase after Lake Erie GOLD. Teams will look to put together a box of the best 6 walleye they can manage to catch. Great memories, Great friends, and Great fishing awaits all that participate! We wish good luck and more importantly safety for all those on the water.” New tournaments are always exciting, especially when they arrive with enthusiasm and optimism–and hopefully enough fish to keep competitors smiling.

During that same weekend, one of the grand old traditions of Lake Erie walleye fishing gets underway. The 42nd annual 9-Day Southtowns Walleye Tournament begins Saturday, June 13 and runs through Sunday, June 21 from several ports along New York’s Lake Erie shoreline. This longtime event remains unique because anyone can win. Unlike big bag 6-fish tournaments, this is a one-fish competition: biggest fish takes the glory. Feeling lucky? Entry is $110, with an estimated $100,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs. Registration is available at https://www.southtownswalleye.com/.

June wraps up with another popular local favorite, the Walleye Duel in Dunkirk, now moved from July to June and scheduled for June 27-28. Festivities have shifted to the Dunkirk Pavilion, while Chairman Mark Mohr continues overseeing the popular two-day, three-fish bag tournament. Entry is $500, with cash and prizes available. To register, contact Mark Mohr directly at 716-998-9871.

Beyond tournament excitement, anglers are also noticing an interesting change in the fishery itself. While Lake Erie’s walleye population is booming, fish size has generally trended downward. Many tournament anglers in 2025 reported catches measuring between 18 and 25 inches–noticeably smaller than a decade ago. Why the change? Part of the answer appears to be dinner.

Years ago, rainbow smelt and round goby were the staple menu items for Lake Erie walleye. But with multiple highly successful spawn years creating more walleye than ever before, competition for available forage intensified. In the annual State of the Lake report, Lake Erie Fisheries biologist Jarrod M. Ludwig noted that summertime walleye diets have shifted dramatically, with invertebrates making up 82 percent of the diet during a large eastern basin mayfly hatch in 2025, with round goby and smelt accounted for only 5 percent and 13 percent, respectively. In simple terms, many walleyes are trading fish dinners for bug buffets.

That dietary shift, combined with many more hungry mouths competing for food, may explain why the lake holds more fish but fewer heavyweight bruisers. It may also mean anglers may need to adapt with new tactics, lures, and presentations. When walleyes start eating like picky kids at dinner, even with an all-you-can-eat insect buffet, fishermen may have to get creative to find bigger fish that will hammer a lure. Of course, the old spinner and worm rigs always seem to work wherever walleye live.

One thing is certain: June promises plenty of competition, camaraderie, surprises–and a few weigh-in stories that will likely grow, getting bigger every time they’re told. The month will kick off the start of the competitive walleye wars with fun, festivals, and a changing fishery.

Gotta love the outdoors.

CALENDAR

June 1: NYS Inland (Chautauqua Lake) Muskellunge/Tiger Musky opening day, minimum length-40″, daily limit-1, season ends Nov. 30. Great Lakes musky season opens June 15.

June 6: Take-A-Kid-Fishing Day, 9 a.m.-noon, Memorial Park at Dunkirk Yacht Club, ages 16 and under, life jackets required. Sign up at the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club, 1 N. Mullet St., Dunkirk; 716-366-8836.

June 6: Teach-Me-To-Fish, East Aurora Fish and Game, 1016 Luther Road, East Aurora, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., free, for kids 15 and younger, with parent or guardian. Info: Chris Bennett, 716-982-2342.