Fishing contest finale — the winning tactics

Everyone can learn things from each competition if the winners share their fishing process and methods. With the SWA, there is a long list of winners and many optional categories for winning cash and prizes. Reporting on who, what and where required some time for the interviews, so forgive this slight delay in reporting.

The big overall contest winner, Tim Stone, demonstrated unwavering dedication by fishing seven of the nine days, despite rough waters on several days. His use of advanced technology, such as the Garmin side-scan, to locate suspended walleye fish schools in 40 to 60 feet of water near the International Boundary of Canada and the United States, and his strategic use of lead-core line with 50-foot Seaguar fluorocarbon leaders to present stickbaits, is a testament to his commitment to the sport. Stone and his partner found that fishing just before daylight (4:30 a.m.) through 8 a.m. or so was the best fish-catching period. Their use of planer boards and Bay Rat and Yaleye hard-body lures in a predominant baby blue color (Cracked Coral Sea) led them to a total of $13,553 in cash winnings.

Third-place winner Adam Zwack and his two-person team of Mike Russell and Patrick Bohen fished five of the nine days to score a winning tally of $12,500 in cash. They fished from 5:30 a.m. to noon on each of their trips using mini-planer boards and 3, 4, and 5 colors lead core lines tethered to 50 feet of Seaguar fluorocarbon leader to the lures. They caught 50% of their fish using a Yaleye Mooneye Minnow in Oil Slick, Jalapeno and Olive Frog colors (green head, black dots). They ran from Zwacks 1989 24-foot PennYan Contender with a 305 horsepower I-O Mercury engine. They did not use side-scan, simply Lowrance down scan to find their schools of fish in 50 feet of water and less. They used Okuma rods and reels (Convector high-speed reels).

“The SWA weigh stations were well run, no issues, just quick and efficient folks there,” Zwack said.

Rods, reels, lines and leaders can make a difference when fishing for thermally suspended Lake Erie walleye. Okuma and Shimano brands are among the most popular angler fishing rig systems that average about $200-$250 cost per rig.
Photo by Forrest Fisher

He credits fishing with Herb Schultz as his teacher and mentor, who helped them find fish over the years and catch some good ones.

First-place youth winner Adam Goodberry and his brother, Luke Goodberry, who won third place in the youth category, fished with their dad, Dave Goodberry, to find good fish. Adam’s 9.50-pound walleye was worth $250, and a new rod/reel rig; Luke’s fish won him a new rod/reel rig. They fished for eight of the nine days.

“It took us three days to find good fish,” Dave Goodberry said. “We scored well from 5:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.”

Their 27-pound lead core in three and four colors with 40-feet of fluorocarbon leader to run hard body baits that included Bandits, Rapala Scatter-Raps, and Long-A Bombers in clown, chartreuse and yellow pigmented color patterns. They caught six other walleyes in the 8-pound range.

Several of the winners were polygraphed with no issues. The 2024 Adult Winners (in pounds): 1st – Timothy Stone – 10.70, 2nd – Joshua Pfeiffer – 10.02, 3rd – Adam Zwack – 9.95, 4th – Thomas Czechowicz – 9.85, 5th – John Risau – 9.76, 6th – Rob Ebersole – 9.74, 7th – Thomas Shantler – 9.72, 8th – Deniis Pillard – 9.62, 9th – Jeff Bognar – 9.61, 10th – Frank Simonick – 9.48.

The 2024 Youth Winners (in pounds): 1st – Adam Goodberry – 9.50, 2nd – Lucas Dusenbury – 8.62, 3rd – Luke Goodberry – 7.45, 4th – Liam Klaus – 7.14, 5th – Charlie Rizzo – 6.65, 6th – Bently Geedy – 6.25, 7th – Wyatt Simonick – 6.22, 8th – Thomas Grogan – 6.21, 9th – Ryan Lewandowski – 6.06, 10th – Cole Hanlin – 6.05.

2024 Daily Walleye Winners were: Day 1 – Ronald Stanopiewicz – 7.67, Day 2 – Steven Ball – 9.42, Day 3 – Thomas Huber – 8.18, Day 4 – Robert Borden – 8.72, Day 5 – Richard Kacmarski – 9.18, Day 6 – John Woelfle – 8.56, Day 7 – Randy Tyrell – 8.00, Day 8 – Frank Simonick – 9.48, Day 9 – Robert Slocum – 8.87. The Lakeshore Hardware Youth Lifetime License Winner was Adam Goodberry – 9.50; The World Wide Stone – First Fish Weighed-In Winner: Liam Klaus – 7.14; the 2024 40th Derby Lure Winner: Bob Rustowicz – 7.08; Previous Year Derby Lure Winner: Adam Zwack – 9.95; The 777 Winner: Kevin Coyle – 7.75; The 2023 Joe Leonarczyk Jr. Memorial Award: Walter Slemkieczkz – 4.89.

The Southtowns Walleye Association of Western New York Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving fishing opportunities in the region for all individuals. With a clear focus on kids, community, conservation and philanthropy. Their various programs support these pillars of community leadership for a strong future generation of outdoorsmen and women in support of the Lake Erie fishery. To learn more about SWA, visit www.southtownswalleye.com or stop by their clubhouse facility located at 5895 Southwestern Blvd., Hamburg, or call 716-649-8202. Meetings are held every third Thursday of the month at 7:30 p.m. and are open to the public.

I hope you all enjoyed a fun and safe Independence Day.

CALENDAR

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., Knights of Columbus, 36 Pierce Ave., Hamburg.

July 19-20: Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout, $500 entry, $500K prizes, six fish per bag/one day, Info: Captain Don Ruppert, www.walleyeshootout.com.

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