OBSERVER Photo by Gene Pauszek Ray Pauszek (left) and Ann Tofil display some nice walleye caught fishing on Wednesday evening in front of Dunkirk in 64 feet of water.

No tournaments this week, so now is a good time to stock the freezer with walleye. There have been good reports coming from Lake Erie from Barcelona to Seneca Shoals, with lots of smaller sized walleye reported from the Barcelona area and east towards the prison ball.

Jason Robinson from the Department of Environmental Conservation Fisheries office in Dunkirk reports that the creel census personnel noted that the 65-foot mark seems to be the hot spot all across the board, except towards the shoals, where the 50-foot mark is reported better.

Worm harnesses and stick bait will get the job done with successful anglers reporting taking fish up high, on the bottom and in between. Copper blades with orange tape is a good starting point. Make sure you have an accurate measuring board along, as there are a lot of walleye in the 12 to 16 inch range this year. Those short fish could be keepers by this fall, so release them carefully.

Rick Miller, in Irving, reported one angler had a limit of walleye while trolling and hooked up with over a dozen yellow perch while fishing out of Cattaraugus Creek recently. Otherwise the yellow perch bite has been elusive locally. Miller also commented that kayakers have been doing well on black bass fishing with live crayfish in the 20-25 foot zone.

Chautauqua Lake continues to be decent with bass anglers targeting docks and shore line structure with surface baits for large mouth bass. Skip Bianco at Hogan’s Hut in Stow commented that the muskie fishing has been up and down and walleye still are hitting along the weed lines.

Bianco did comment that there seemed to be a carp die-off near the area where they sprayed a herbicide recently. Locally one beachcomber reported finding a number of dead catfish washed up on the first ward beach too. Keep on looking for breaks in the weather to get in some offshore angling, as the fish are out there for the taking.

Calendar:

Here is a summer fishing tournament for the weekend warrior or the veteran angler called the NYS Summer Classic Tournament. For details, rules and regulations go to: info@fksportfishing.com or call the tournament director, Tim Thomas, at (585) 330-0494.

There will be a pistol course at the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club on Thursday, July 20, from 5:30 until 10:30 p.m. There is a $75 fee for this course. For information and registration call Gary Dudek at 366-3397.

The Bear Lake Rod & Gun Club will host a .22 caliber pistol or rifle “spinner target” course on July 15, Aug. 5 and Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Cost is $10 per person and includes a hot dog or hamburger, chips and a non-alcoholic beverage. Open to the public. The Bear Lake Club will also host a 3-D archery shoot on July 30 from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m..

On Saturday Aug. 19, the BLR&G Club will host Chappy Outdoors, a 3-D benefit shoot with a 9 a.m. shotgun start. Contact Rudy Abersold at 397-9717 for information. All shoots are open to the public contact Rob at 485-3773, Tom at 680-0209 or the Club at 595-3334. The Bear Lake Club is located at 4391 Cassadaga-Stockton Road, Stockton 14784.

The seventh annual Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout is July 22 with an optional Big Fish Friday on July 21. For details call Don Ruppert at 498-7770 or Bob Rustowitz at 830-6394.

The Northern Chautauqua three-day walleye tournament will be held Aug. 4-6. For details contact Zen Olow at 640-2776.

The Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge from Chadwick Bay Marina is Aug. 26, with optional Big Fish Friday. For details contact Jim Steel at 983-7867 or visit https://lakeeriewalleyetournament.com.

If your club or organization is holding a hunter safety training/trapping course or a turkey shoot or any other outdoors event, and would like to see it posted in the calendar, send information to the OBSERVER, 10 East Second Street, Dunkirk, N.Y. 14048, or call the sports dept. at 366-3000 ext. 5 after 6 p.m.

Note: If you have a big-game fishing or trapping success story you would like to share, call 366-1772, or 467-2079 and leave a name, phone number and a time you can be reached. You can also call 366-3000, ext. 5, after 6 p.m.

Gene Pauszek is an OBSERVER outdoors columnist. Send comments to sports@observertoday.com