Submitted Photo
Fishing northwest of Dunkirk Harbor, Captain Don Skellie and his team “Knee-Deep” took home $47,405 in winnings at the 2024 Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout. In total, more than $500,000 in total cash and gear prizes were presented to participants.
The largest amateur walleye tournament in the USA has drawn to a cheerful close, with a 200-angler team limit drawing walleye fishing teams from 26 states across the country. The eastern basin of Lake Erie along the Chautauqua County shoreline was a bustling hub of activity last week. Hotels, rental cottages, campsites, bed and breakfast spots, and other lodging centers were booked and alive with the shared passion and camaraderie of the anglers, evident in their jargon-filled hallways and lively campfires.
The 2024 Lake Erie Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout fishing tournament consisted of the pre-fish Pre-Pot Thursday, Big Fish Friday, and the Main Tournament Event on Saturday, the latter where anglers vied to fill their coolers with six big fish that would weigh more than their competitors.
The Main Event on Saturday roared off with a shotgun start at 7 a.m., as 148 fully equipped fishing teams zoomed away from the mouth of Cattaraugus Creek near Sunset Bay Beach. “Some teams dropped out due to medical issues, gear breakdowns, and a host of travel-related reasons,” Don Ruppert, tournament director, said.
Surprisingly, from day to day, the shifting winds from southwest to north and then northwest caused the hundreds of walleye schools to move their locations, complicating the fish to be caught by anglers. The key was to find the school where the largest walleyes were gathered. It is typical for fish of the same size to stay together — a good thing for anglers if you can find that one school of swimming giant walleye.
That was the case for Captain Don Skellie of team Knee-Deep.
Photo by Forrest Fisher
Each member of “Knee-Deep,” the winning walleye team, was awarded with a Super Bowl-style Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout gold ring.
“We had been fishing this school of fish for about five days,” Skellie said. “We returned to the area to find they moved a bit from day to day, but only a few miles. We fished between 92 to 108 feet, about 3 miles from the International Lake Erie boundary, and just slightly west-northwest of Dunkirk.”
Team members Shad Jewel and brothers Hunter and Colby Ostricker added that they only caught between 18 and 20 fish for the Main Event contest, but they were all pretty good sizes.
“The fish were spitting up smelt and alewives as soon as we brought them aboard,” Skellie said. “We found the ‘fish zone’ to focus on with our Fish Hawk to locate a vertical thermal layer. Once we found that, we removed the Fish Hawk and turned around with the wind at our back. Just then, a butterfly landed on our boat and our luck suddenly got better. I think it was my dad, for some reason. He passed away 8 years ago now, but we always used to fish together. I think he came to visit.
“Reversing the boat direction changed the lure action and added some stealth to our delivery. We used three dipsy divers and six lead core rigs of six to eight colors of 18# Tuffline lead-core trailing 50-foot leaders of 12-pound fluorocarbon,” Skellie added. “At 2.4 mph on my GPS, our best lures were Long-A Bombers and Michigan Stinger spoons. The Bombers were a color we named ‘purple wonderbread,’ not really sure of the exact name, and the spoons were purple/silver on one side and chartreuse on the other side. It’s the ugliest spoon in my box. So glad I had it.”
Catching the heaviest six-fish bag of 40.14 pounds, including the biggest fish of the tournament at 8.38 pounds, and finishing in second place on Big Fish Friday with a fish of 8.34 pounds tallied up to 56.86 pounds. Team Knee-Deep, No. 118, won the big money. Counting the optional Calcutta’s, Knee-Deep took home $47,405. Wow.
Photo courtesy of FishUSA
Long-A Bomber-style fishing lures were among the most successful smelt-imitation lures at the 2024 Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout that took place this weekend in Hanover.
In the main event, Captain Joe Selapack of team One Blind Eye won second place with 53.56 pounds, while Captain Scott Bielanin of team Renegade took third place with 51.04 pounds. Similar cash rewards were presented.
Master Captain Tom Miranda of team Pole Dancer Sportfishing and his team landed a 29 ½-inch walleye monster to win the Pre-Pot Thursday event to collect the $1,750 top prize. Captain Mike Russel and team Erie Obsession took second place for the $1,050 prize, while Captain Scott Addison and team Fishtician took third place for $700 cash. The pre-fish event was a one-fish contest using the “Fish Donkey” app and was successful with angler participation. Good news for future catch, photo, and release possibilities with walleye tournaments.
Big Fish Friday is a popular fishing event with all the teams. Once again, this was a one-fish contest that awarded big cash to the lucky team, bringing the largest walleye by weight, 8.48 pounds, to the main stage. Jason Marsh, team Ginger Breeze, with team members Becky (Jason’s wife), son Emery, and best friend Rob Kroh, took home big money there. Fishing off Dunkirk in 90-92 feet of water using 27# lead core lines of 7, 8, and 10 colors and dipsy
divers with 20-foot P-line leaders, the big fish was fooled by a black/chrome Long-A Bomber. Don Skellie and the team Knee-Deep was second with an 8.34-pound fish, and Tom Miranda with team Pole Dancer was third with 8.18 pounds.
The cash and prize awards were presented at the Breakfast of Champions on Sunday at noon at Cabana Sam’s Beach Restaurant. This event, a tradition in the Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout, is a celebratory gathering where the winners are officially recognized and rewarded. The event had about 100 happy angler faces ready to accept cash and prizes.
“Next year will be the 15th annual Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout,” Ruppert said. “We expect the cash and prizes to double to become a $1,000,000 local event.”
Ruppert added that this event would not be possible without the support of so many major countrywide manufacturers and vendors, with special kudos to Skeeter Boats and Yamaha Motors.
“They are our two title elite sponsors. Olson Brothers is the local dealer for Skeeter and Yamaha,” Ruppert said. “Many other local dealers are also a part of the local sponsor group, which makes this all work.”
Gotta love the outdoors.
CALENDAR
July 27-28: Bart’s Cove Walleye Dual-2, Integrity Walleye Series (IWT-2), Dunkirk Harbor, three fish bag/per day, two days, $500 entry/team; three fish per day, two days; Info: Mark Mohr, 716-998-9871.
Aug. 2-4: 20th annual Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club Walleye Tourney, $300 entry/team, Dunkirk Harbor, NCCC club weigh-in each day; three fish bag/per day, three days; Info and registration, contact Zen Olow, 716-640-2776.
Aug. 16-17: Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge, Dunkirk Harbor from HQ at the Clarion Hotel Gazebo, $500 entry/team; info, contact Jim Steel at 716-481-5348 or visit https://innovative-outdoors.com.