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Big Fish, Big Cash Wins for Lucky Anglers | News, Sports, Jobs

Posted on by angelo

Family fishing fun for, from left: Tom Rizzo, Wyatt Simonick and Frank Simonick, with some nice Lake Erie walleyes caught last weekend. Photo courtesy of the Southtowns Walleye Association

The post-contest celebration for the 40th annual Southtowns Walleye Association Lake Erie Derby was held this past Sunday at the SWA clubhouse on Southwestern Boulevard in Hamburg.

Bad weather during the first three days of the nine-day derby kept early anglers in port, but in the end, 320 fish were weighed in for the adult walleye division and 24 fish for the juvenile division.

The biggest fish of the youth group was caught by Adam Goodberry, a 9.50-pound walleye that earned the youth a new rod and reel as well as the $250 Dave Goodberry Memorial Prize. Ten spots were awarded to young anglers, and the smallest fish in 10th place weighed 6.05 pounds, which was caught by Cole Hanlin, who received a new rod and reel rig.

In the adult division, Timothy Stone caught the largest walleye in the derby, weighing 10.7 pounds. In 10th place among adults was Frank Simonick with a 9.48-pound walleye. Like the casino’s lucky numbers, SWA offers a unique “777” prize for the closest fish to 7.77 pounds, and Kevin Coyle, with a 7.75-pound walleye, won that prize. Bob Rustowicz caught the biggest fish on the 40th Derby Lure painted by Kilam Custom Lures with a 7.08-pound walleye, good for $150. Adam Zwak caught the biggest walleye on the previous Kilam derby custom painted lure with a 9.95-pound beast, good for $100.

Above the usual winning places is the Calcutta Cash Winners’ Circle, an additional competition paid for by anglers who wish to participate. Timothy Stone took first place, with a 10.7-pound fish worth $7,803. Second place went to Joshua Pfeiffer with a 10.02-pound walleye, good for $6,503. Adam Zwak won third place with a 9.95-pound fish, good for $5,202; John Risau, weighing 9.76 pounds, took fourth place, for $3,902; and Rob Ebersole took fifth place with his 9.74-pound fish, good for $2,601.

Kelsey Mann caught a nice walleye catch in Dunkirk in the Southtowns youth walleye division. Photo courtesy of the Southtowns Walleye Association

As you can see, some of the winners doubled their winnings from the regular competition and added it to the Kolkata competitions. Some anglers can win well over $10,000 each by winning multiple categories if they enter. Visit the Southtowns Walleye Facebook page for a full rundown of winners and prizes.

Additional categories cost extra to enter, but overall, if you’re lucky (this is a one-off fish competition), the winnings are substantial. Additionally, there were daily individual winners for each of the nine days of the competition. Winning money and prizes in this competition can therefore be eye-opening.

The Southtowns Walleye Derby is perhaps the most popular and well-attended amateur walleye fishing contest in North America, and has been for 40 years now. Hats off to the derby committee members of this organization who work hard as volunteers. Polygraph results keep the clan of competitors honest, and there is nothing to fear when you tell the truth about how you caught your fish, where you caught it, what you used and the number of rods in the water. With recent cheating events across the country in fishing competitions of all kinds, the Southtowns Walleye Association is maintaining a high standard. Good for them.

I must love the outdoors.

CALENDAR

June 28: WNY Heroes Day, Dunkirk Harbor, visit https://wnyheroes.org/, sponsored by Eastern Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, president Jim Steel, 716-481-5348.

June 29-30: Bart’s Cove Walleye Duel-1 (Integrity Walleye Series), Lake Erie walleye tournament, Dunkirk Harbor, two days/three bags of fish/day, $500 entry, contact Bob Rustowicz, 716-830 -6394.

June 29 and 30: Free fishing days in New York State, no licenses required for residents and non-residents.

July 4: Firecracker Sporting Clay Shoot, Hanover Fish & Game, 780 Overhiser Road, Forestville. Cost of $50 for a session of 100 birds. Visit www.hanoverclays.com for more information.

July 9: Erie County Trappers, Potluck Family Picnic, 12580 Jennings Road, Patti Wattengal. Bring a dish to share.

July 11: WNY Walleye monthly meeting, 6:30 p.m., at the Knights of Columbus, 36 Pierce Ave., Hamburg.

July 19 and 20: Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout, $500 entry, $500,000 prizes, six bags of fish/one day, Info: Captain Don Ruppert, www.walleyeshootout.com.

July 27 and 28: Bart’s Cove Walleye Dual-2, Integrity Walleye Series (IWT-2), Dunkirk Harbor, three bags of fish/day, two days, Info: Mark Mohr, 716-998-9871.


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