The last weekend of April brought more cold temperatures and wind for the Crown Battery, Sharpnack Direct, Lake Erie Walleye Trail (LEWT) season opener hosted by Hi-Way Bait, Tackle and Lodging.

The sold-out field of 60 teams departed from West Harbor under cloudy skies and 12-15 mph NW winds “It seems like we have a cold front every Friday night before an event, but fortunately this front is mild enough to allow us to still go fishing” said LEWT Tournament Director Jeff Lash. “I am expecting some good weights to come in today”.

At the end of the day, the big bags came in, and the team of Jerome Dorlack of Northville MI, and Nick Meisner of Swanton OH, used Reef Runner lures for the win, collecting $3300 with five walleye weighing in at 35.03 pounds.

Second place and $1760 went to Dan Debenedictis of Montville OH, and Eric Fraiser of Newbury OH, with five fish at 30.97 pounds. Bob Barnhart of Perrysburg OH, and Erik Vandenk of Luckey OH, grabbed the third spot worth $1350 with five fish weighing in at 27.40 pounds.

The first place Big Fish plaques and $612 went to third place finishers Bob Barnhart and Erik Vandenk for landing the largest fish of the tournament at 9.88 pounds. First place finishers Jerome Dorlack and Nick Meisner had the second largest walleye of the day weighing in at 8.46 pounds, worth $408.

Long time LEWT supporter Sharpnack Direct in Willard Ohio offers a cash prize to the highest finishing LEWT angler at each event who owns a used or new vehicle purchased from Sharpnack. Dan Langdon of Sandusky OH, won the $150 cash award.

Medina Plating sponsors our Early Bird contingency that goes to the top finishing team that entered all four events before the Early Bird deadline. Jerome Dorlack and Nick Meisner added this $150 prize for a total take on the day of $3858!

Big thank you to Dwight Ritchie from Hi-Way Bait, Tackle and Lodging for hosting our event, and Catawba Island Township for allowing us to use their West Harbor facility.

Most of the LEWT anglers donated their walleye catch, which will be cleaned by Lake Fish in Sandusky. These filets are donated to the Victory Temple Soup Kitchen in Sandusky who uses this resource to feed people in our community who need assistance.

The remaining 2018 LEWT schedule is as follows: May 19 – Sandusky – City Ramp “Ole Pete Memorial LEWT” June 8/9 –Huron- City Ramp – “Erie Outfitters LEWT Championship”

The Western Basin Sportfishing Association (WBSA) is a social based club for anglers that fish in the Western and Central Basins of Lake Erie and its tributaries. The WBSA operates the popular LEWT tournament series on Lake Erie. Membership is open to anyone interested in fishing, no matter their location or skill level. Our goal is to present information in a manner that will help sustain and improve fishing in one of the greatest inland sport fisheries in the world. Scientific information, fishing techniques, locations and presentations are presented at our meetings by expert and knowledgeable speakers and tournament anglers from our group. These anglers are very open with techniques, and will help any member that is trying to learn new methods.

For a complete list of the tournament results, or for more information about the LEWT please visit www.wbsa.us You can also find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wbsalewt
Please support our 2018 LEWT sponsors, without whom we could not operate the circuit. Crown Battery Systems, Sharpnack Direct in Willard, Medina Plating, Magee East Campground and Marina, Ranger Boats, Waldo Peppers Restaurant, Smooth Moves, Worldwide Marine Underwriters, Reef Runner Lures, Vic’s Sports Center, Erie Outfitters, Rednek Outfitters, Hi-Way Bait Tackle and Lodging, and Domka Outdoor.

West Harbor 2018

Big Fish West Harbor 2018

Cold temperatures and a one-day postponement due to weather couldn’t stop the Crown Battery, Sharpnack Direct, Lake Erie Walleye Trail (LEWT) season opener hosted by Magee East Marina and Campground.

The sold-out field of 60 two-person teams headed out under sunny skies, freezing temperatures, and a 12-15 knot northwest wind on Sunday morning. “We had strong winds forecast overnight on Friday, along with a low water warning for the west end of the lake,” said LEWT Tournament Director Jeff Lash. “we decided the best thing to do was call it early and hold the event on Sunday. It was still a bit choppy Sunday morning, but overall it ended up being a fairly decent day on Lake Erie.”

When the final results were tallied, the team of Richard Wright of Ashville, and Tim Gunckel of Greenville, took the big win and $3300 with five large walleye weighing in at 36.93 pounds.

Second place and $1760 went to Jeff Oliver of Piqua, and Kyle Griesdorn of New Weston with five fish at 35.58 pounds. Bob Barnhart from Perrysburg, and Erik Van Denk of Luckey took the third spot worth $1350 with five fish weighing 35.47 pounds

The first place Big Fish plaques and cash award of $612 went to third place finishers Bob Barnhart and Eric Van Denk for landing the largest fish of the tournament weighing in at 10.83 pounds. Sixth place finishers Mike Robertson and Steve Summerly recorded the second largest walleye weighing 9.71 pounds, worth $408.

Richard Wright will receive $500 from Ranger Boats for his teams win at Magee East. Richard is a qualified Ranger Boat owner under the Ranger Cup program.

Long time LEWT supporter Sharpnack Direct in Willard Ohio offers a cash prize to the highest finishing LEWT angler at each event who owns a new or used vehicle purchased from Sharpnack. Randy Eyre (partner Corey Miller) won the $150 cash award with a thirteenth place finish.

Medina Plating sponsors our Early Bird contingency that goes to the top finishing team that entered all four events before the Early Bird deadline. Wright and Gunckel added to their take with this $150 prize.

Both members of the first team out-of-the-money in 10th place won free six-month subscriptions to the Domka Outdoors Lure of the Month club. Chris Morris and Thomas Nordyke will be enjoying this prize.

Huge thank you to Ted Thomas, and his friendly staff at “Magee East” for once again being a fantastic host. We had a great crowd present at the weigh-in to cheer on their favorite anglers.

Most of the LEWT anglers donated their walleye catch, which will be cleaned by Lake Fish in Sandusky. These filets will be donated to the Victory Temple Soup Kitchen in Sandusky, who uses this resource to assist people in need within our own community.

The remaining 2018 LEWT schedule is as follows: April 28 – Port Clinton – West Harbor “Hi-Way Bait, Tackle and Lodging LEWT” May 19 – Sandusky – City Ramp “Ole Pete Memorial Tournament” June 8/9 –Huron- City Ramp – “Erie Outfitters LEWT Championship”

The Western Basin Sportfishing Association (WBSA) is a social based club for anglers that fish in the Western and Central Basins of Lake Erie and its tributaries. The WBSA operates the popular LEWT tournament series on Lake Erie. Membership is open to anyone interested in fishing, no matter their location or skill level. Our goal is to present information in a manner that will help sustain and improve fishing in one of the greatest inland sport fisheries in the world. Scientific information, fishing techniques, locations and presentations are presented at our meetings by expert and knowledgeable speakers and tournament anglers from our group. These anglers are very open with techniques, and will help any member that is trying to learn new methods.

For a complete list of the tournament results, or for more information about the LEWT, please visit www.wbsa.us you can also find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wbsalewt #wbsalewt
Please support our 2018 LEWT sponsors: Crown Battery Systems, Sharpnack Direct in Willard, Medina Plating, Magee East Campground and Marina, Ranger Boats, Waldo Peppers Restaurant, Smooth Moves, Worldwide Marine Underwriters, Reef Runner Lures, Vic’s Sports Center, Erie Outfitters, Rednek Outfitters, Hi-Way Bait Tackle and Lodging, and Domka Outdoor.

2018 Big Fish Magee

2018 Magee East

For Immediate Release
For more information, contact:
Jon Siembor
OWF Committee
(440)344-0145
fishowf@gmail.com

CORTLAND, Ohio-The Ohio Walleye Federation held its first tournament of the 2018 season on Sunday April 22nd at Mosquito Lake.  Thirty nine teams took to the water to compete for over $6000 in prize money.

Mosquito Lake walleye were persnickety.  The Walleye were in a post-spawn transition and could be found in deep water south of the cemetery or up in north in the muddy water.  Sonars showed the fish, but actively biting fish could be hard to come by.  Fishing reports indicated that the walleye were biting better than last year, but it would be a grind to get a full five fish creel.  Sunday brought temperatures near 60 with a sunny outlook for eager and hopeful competitors.

The team of Jim Leigh of Tallmadge, Ohio and Ronny Stoll of Orrville, Ohio claimed victory with a 1^st place finish with 5 fish at 13.97 lbs.   The team caught their fish in 16’ to 21’ feet of water trolling leadcore at 2.2 mph.  Jim Leigh stated that “We pulled a total of twelve fish all day.  Eight were caught in the morning and four were in the afternoon.  Our big fish (4.35 lbs.) came about 10:30 am on a size five chartreuse flicker shad in 16’ of water”.   The team’s top lures were Berkley Flicker Shads in Slick Sunset, Firetiger and Perch color patterns.

Second place went to Mitch Shipman and Rick Mulraney with 13.39 lbs.  They trolled leadcore and flicker shads at 2.2 – 2.3 mph in the south end of Mosquito Lake.  Third place went to PJ Kerr and Brian Davies with a bag of 13.32 lbs.  Kerr and Davies trolled leadcore and mono with boards in the north end of the lake targeting 10’ to 14’ of water.   Their lure choice was a Flicker Shad.  Their big fish of 5.14 lbs. was netted in deep water on the south end of the lake near the cemetery.  The father and daughter team of Chris and Grace Shipman 12.90 lbs. took fourth trolling lead as well.  Local angler Terry Hovance and John Rubesich 12.70lbs rounded out the top five.  Big fish weighed in at 7.39lbs and belonged to Chuck McManos and Arthur Abott, who caught the fish trolling leadcore in deep water on the south end.

Teams reported catching fish leadcore trolling, trolling suspended, jigging livebait, and vibing.

The Ohio Walleye Federation will hold its next event on Berlin Lake May 6th.    The OWF events are made possible because of our sponsor support from Ravenna Marine, Vic’s Marine, Haine’s Marine, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Warrior Lures, and Goschinski’s Fin Feather and Fur along with many others.  For more information please visit www.fishowf.club or e mail fishowf@gmail.com

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-Mosquito Lake Tournament:

1^st  Place $2400  Jim Leigh and Ronny Stoll

2^nd Place $1200  Mitch Shipman and Rick Mulraney

3^rd Place $800     PJ Kerr and Brian Davies

4^th Place $600     Chris Shipman and Grace Shipman

5^th Place $400     Terry Hovance and John Rubesich

6^th Place $200     Dennis Sharonne and Robin Lance

Big Fish  $250      Chuck McManos and Arthur Abbott

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

KMDA

Snakebite Snaps

Les’s Bait

Cisco

Fish USA

Dutch Fork

Church’s Tackle

Traxstech

Bay Rat

These sponsors make our tournaments possible!!!!