MWC Bellevue June 11 2017

MWC Dubuque March 26 2017

MWC Geona April 23 2017

MWC Mudlake May 21 2017

Immediate Press Release

For more information, contact:

Jon Siembor-OWF Committee

(440)344-0145

fishowf@gmail.com

Booher/Burns “Bridge the Gap” at OWF Pymatuning Lake Tournament!

ANDOVER, Ohio -The Ohio Walleye Federation held its third tournament of the 2017 season on Sunday May 21^st at Pymatuning Lake.  Twenty five teams took the water looking for the big bag of walleye that would earn a share of $4200 in prize money.

Anglers reported little to no fish being caught prefishing.  Walleye were not yet set up in the shallow weed flats for their typical presummer bite.  Trolling efforts were also proving fruitless.   Over abundant schools of baitfish, leftover from the mild winter, continue to provide a smorgasbord for the finicky walleye.  Fisherman struggled to find any kind of bite pattern.

One team put the key pieces of the puzzle together on tournament day.  The team of Steve Booher of Wadsworth, Ohio and Donnie Burns of Austintown, Ohio claimed the 1st place finish with 4 fish at 12.40 lbs.   Their creel also included the Haines Marine Big Fish of the day at 7.65 lbs.  This is their second victory of the 2017 season.  The team once again vertically jigged ¼ oz. Vibes as the winning presentation.  At the weigh in, Steve Booher explained, “We were targeting mid lake bridge pillars in 16’ to 20’ feet of water where the current was forming an eddy.  We had the left the spot earlier in the day, as the wind made it too hard to hold the boat.  Around noon, the wind died down and I felt we could hold our position so we returned to the spot.  Between 12:30 to 1:30 pm, we caught the fish we needed, with the last fish being the biggest!”    Their efforts earned the team $1800 in prize money for the day.

Second place was awarded to the team of Chad Fenstermaker and Tom Brenkert with 7.53 lbs.  Third place went to Mark Drotar and Travis Bowen with one fish at 5.84 lbs., also earning the team 2nd Big Fish of the day.  The teams of Bob Honaker and Kevin Kalinowski with 4.21 lbs. and Erick Williams at 2.60 lbs. completed the top five.

The top five teams reported catching fish using Vibes, jigging, and trolling mixed crankbaits.  Clown, green flash, gold, black and chartreuse colors were used in their presentations.  Of the 25 teams fishing the event, only six teams recorded catching a fish and only twelve walleye were brought to the scales.

A picnic was held Saturday evening sponsored by the OWF Committee and volunteers.  40 fisherman and family members attended and talked fishing, ate good food, and relaxed.  The OWF promotes “Fishing, Family, Friends and Fun!”

The Ohio Walleye Federation will hold its fourth and final Inland Lake event of the season at Lake Milton Sunday June 25^th 2017. The OWF events are possible because of our sponsor support.  For more information please visit www.fishowf.club or e mail fishowf@gmail.com.  Check us out on FACEBOOK- Ohio Walleye Federation.

The general public is welcome to attend our weigh-in beginning at 3 pm the day of the event

Ohio Walleye Federation-Pymatuning Lake

1^st Place  $1600 Steve Booher and Donnie Burns              12.40 lbs

2^nd Place  $800   Chad Fenstermaker and Tom Brenkert   7.53 lbs

3^rd Place   $600  Mark Drotar and Travis Bowen                   5.84 lbs

4^th Place   $400  Bob Honaker and Kevin Kalinowski           4.21 lbs

5^th Place   $300  Erick Williams(A one man team!)               2.60 lbs

6^th Place   $150  Paul Kerr and Brian Davies                             1.28 lbs

Big Fish    $200   Steve Booher and Donnie Burns                                 7.65 lbs

Special Thanks to all of our sponsors:

Ravenna Marine-OWF’s ILC Title Sponsor

Vic’s Marine-OWF’s Lake Erie Title Sponsor

Haine’s Marine

Fin Feather & Fur

Worldwide Insurance

Warrior Lures

Domka Outdoors

Reef Runner

Kerr Automotive

Fish D Funk

Snakebite Snaps

Les’s Bait

Kames

Cisco

Fish USA

Church’s Tackle

Traxstech

These sponsors make our tournaments possible!!!!

Immediate Press Release

For more information, contact:

Jon Siembor-OWF Committee

(440)344-0145

fishowf@gmail.com

Shipman/Mulraney “Hit Rock Bottom” at Berlin Lake

BERLIN CENTER, Ohio -The Ohio Walleye Federation held its second tournament of the 2017 season on Sunday May 7^th at Berlin Lake.  Thirty teams took the water hoping to win their share of the $4500 in prize money.

The team of Mitch Shipman of Kent, Ohio and Rick Mulraney of Cleveland, Ohio had the five key bites needed to win the day.  The winning team weighed in five fish at 14.93 lbs. and also won Big Fish at 5.03 lbs.  Mitch Shipman stated that “The fish came off a transition of rock and mud.  We pulled into our key spot in the morning, and our sonar screen was blank, unlike the day before.   We motored around on the structure looking for fish, and caught our first keeper.  We moved back to our key spot and once again, the sonar was loaded with fish.  We hooked our biggest fish of the day at 5.03 lbs, and then caught two 21” fish back to back.  It took us until just after noon to catch the last keeper”.  Their persistence and patience paid off to the amount of $2000 in prize money.  Shipman and Mulraney were the only team to bag a full creel of five fish.

Second place honors were earned by Erick Williams and Todd Ishee with two fish at 6.64 lbs.  Williams and Ishee caught the 2^nd Big Fish of the day at 4.50 lbs.  Third place went to Collin Murphy and Pat Smith with one fish at 2.39 lbs.  The teams of Marion Erb and Robert Burkholder 2.25 lbs(one fish) and Mike Manfull and  Brian Hetrick 2.06 lbs(one fish) rounded out the top five.

Anglers experienced a difficult week of prefishing due to rising water, declining water temperatures, and an uncooperative weather pattern of cold, wind and rain.  In addition, the mild Ohio winter did not kill off the baitfish as expected.  Pods of baitfish are providing easy meals for non chasing walleyes.

The winning team reported catching their fish vertically jigging Vibes in 16’-20’ of water.  Their best colors were clown and blue and silver.  Other teams reported using orange jigs tipped with livebait and being fortunate enough to drop the jig right in front of the walleye triggering the much needed bite.

The Ohio Walleye Federation will hold its next event on Pymatuning Lake  May 21st at New Bowers Launch.   The OWF events are possible because of our sponsor support from Ravenna Marine, Vic’s Marine, Haine’s Marine, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Goschinski’s Fin Feather and Fur, and Warrior Lures along with many others.  For more information please visit www.fishowf.club or e mail fishowf@gmail.com.  Check us out on FACEBOOK- Ohio Walleye Federation.

The general public is welcome to attend our weigh-ins beginning at 3 pm the day of the event.  The OWF promotes “Fishing, Family, Friends and Fun!”

Ohio Walleye Federation-Berlin Lake Tournament:

1^st  Place $1800 Mitch Shipman and Rick Mulraney

2^nd Place $900    Erick Williams and Todd Ishee

3^rd Place $700    Collin Murphy and Pat Smith

4^th Place $500    Marion Erb and Robert Burkholder

5^th Place $300    Mike Manfull and Brian Hetrick

6^th Place $200    David Jenco and Mike Seesan

Big Fish  $200     Mitch Shipman and Rick Mulraney

Special Thanks to all of our sponsors:

Ravenna Marine-OWF’s ILC Title Sponsor

Vic’s Marine-OWF’s Lake Erie Title Sponsor

Haine’s Marine

Fin Feather & Fur

Worldwide Insurance

Warrior Lures

Domka Outdoors

Reef Runner

Kerr Automotive

Fish D Funk

Snakebite Snaps

Les’s Bait

Kames

Cisco

Fish USA

Church’s Tackle

Traxstech

These sponsors make our tournaments possible!!!!

Results