The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Walleye tournament almost here
Anglers already scouting Lake Erie
Lorain is about to become walleye central for anglers from around the country.
The Cabela’s National Team Championship walleye fishing tournament will runs from June 8-10.
“Your National Team Championship is a big deal, a big tournament,” said tournament co-director Jack Baker. “You’ve got a lot of guys looking forward to, this may be their year.”
In June 2016, the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit tournament had 57 teams sign up.
This year, there are 251 teams, heading to Lorain, “so you’ve got a lot of out-of-towners coming,” Baker said.
“It’s exciting,” said Lorain Port Authority Executive Director Tom Brown. “It’s a national tournament that gives us the opportunity to showcase Lorain, the Port Authority facilities and Lake Erie.”
Brown also thanked the Lorain County Commission, through Visit Lorain County, for sponsoring the tournament.
The county commissioners have stepped up to show Lorain is at the forefront of superior fishing, he said.
“Without their generosity, this event wouldn’t be here,” Brown said.
The top team will go home with a prize package worth more than $95,000. The total payout is estimated to be worth more than $256,000, according to tournament figures.
“It’s cash and prizes,” Baker said. “It’s why they’ve been in Lorain prefishing a bit. It’s what pushes them to get there.”
Many of the anglers already are in town and have been for the last week or two, getting to know Lake Erie and the region’s hot spots, he said.
Brown and charter Capt. Tony Sambunjak agreed.
“There’s been a lot of professionals in town scouting,” Brown said.
Sambunjak said the tournament anglers and boats may be recognizable due to boats and jerseys covered with sponsor stickers and patches, similar to NASCAR racers.
“You go, ‘these guys aren’t from around here,’” he said with a laugh.
As for the tournament, teams of two anglers per boat will launch from Black River Wharf, the Lorain Port Authority’s 14th Street boat ramp, starting at 7 a.m., June 8 and 9.
On those days, when boats return starting at 3 p.m., weigh-in will take place at Black River Landing. The teams can bring in up to five fish per day; the walleye are measured by weight, not length, so the goal is to catch and keep the heaviest fish.
“If your team’s five outweigh my five, you win,” Baker said.
The top 25 finishers will advance for a final competition June 10.
The field will be some of the best of the best walleye stalkers from around the country.
Every team qualified to be in the tournament, either through Cabela’s contests or regional clubs affiliated with The Walleye Federation, Baker said.
The tournament only works if the fish cooperate — and that is entirely possible this week, said Sambunjak, who operates Lorain-based Reel Thrill charters.
He also is a veteran of walleye fishing tournaments, but will not participate in the Cabela’s National Team Championship.
“The fishing, it’s great out there,” Sambunjak said.
It’s possible that some teams will come back with five walleye each weighing 10 pounds or more, “which on any other lake is unheard of,” he said.
“I really think that there’s going to be a 50-pound bag that’s going to take it, no question,” Sambunjak said. “There’s some really big fish in the system.”
In the first week of June, directly off Lorain, the walleye have been a mixed bag with a variety of sizes, he said.
Sambunjak predicted some of the tournament anglers will head east, possibly as far as Eastlake, to seek out the largest fish.
Seeing fishing tournaments on television, it’s easy to imagine the anglers are in some place really special.
“Well, they are,” Brown said. “They’re in Lake Erie, in Lorain.
“We just have to hope for some good weather.”