OBSERVER Photo by Gene Pauszek From left: Zach Reynolds, Captain Curtis Loveless and Dan Reynolds landed the first and third place walleye during the W.N.Y. Heroes fishing event on Friday.

The second annual Heroes, Inc. Fishing Day was a big success. There were twice as many participants this year and twice as many boats willing to take those Heroes fishing.

You might be wondering what WNY Heroes is and what does going fishing have to do with this organization? In brief, WNY Heroes goal is to support our Western New York Veterans. Their mission is to bring security, comfort and quality of life back into the lives of those who served our nation. There is a long list of services that the organization is able to provide, but for today, we will focus on the fishing program that was held on Friday.

Two college buddies actually got the current program up and running. Lynn Magistrale, the program coordinator of WNY Heroes saw her college buddy Diane Steel at an outdoor show and started talking about their program and how the fishing aspect had floundered at Barcelona and Buffalo. Steel and her husband, Captain Jim Steel of Innovative Outdoors, felt confident that with the assistance of the Eastern Lake Erie Charter Association, they could provide a safe and productive environment for the veterans. Last year, there were about 40 people who signed up with ten boats offering their services. This year there were 118 originally signed up with 35 boats available. The weather was perfect, and the captains were able to put the heroes on to the fish. Meeting at Chadwick Bay marina parking lot at 6 a.m., boats were assigned to the fishermen. By 7 a.m., they were underway, with instructions to return to the same area, for a fish weigh-in when they were done. Walleye only was the criteria. At 1 p.m., the cooler line was in business with most of the contestants bringing in their catch. Only one walleye per contestant, and they ranged anywhere from 17 inches up to trophy size. When the excitement slowed down, it was determined that Zach Reynolds had the largest walleye weighing in at 9.49 pounds. His brother, Dave Reynolds, had almost an identical walley — that weighed 8.89 pounds. That was good enough for third place. The brothers were fishing with Captain Curtis Loveless, who found those fish west in 70 to 80 feet of water. The fish were high and took stick baits. Second place was a 9.44 pound walleye taken by Sandra Zebetta. This was Zebetta’s first time fishing and she was with Captain Rick Polenski, fishing right out front using chatters sticks presented on five colors of lead core line.

After the weigh-in, all the veterans went to the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club for barbecue chicken dinner and roast beef sandwiches with side dishes and homemade cup cakes for dessert. The top three fish will receive trophies and the captains received a pile of fishing gear. Captain Steel and Diane commented that when they heard about WNY Heroes, Inc. they wanted to help, and seeking support for the program was “an easy sell!”

This years event was sponsored by Innovative Outdoors, Wendell’s Poultry Farm East Concord, Black Hat Chimney & fire Place (716) 674-0367, Costanza’s Bakery, Nickel Creek Cafe, Sleeman Design, and the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club. 70 veterans took part in the 2018 event.

Calendar:

The Southtowns Walleye Assoc. will also be holding their FREE Catch & Release Kid’s Fishing derby on July 14 at the Chestnut Ridge Park, Orchard Park, New York at Shelter No. 10. Open to kids 15 years of age and younger (register by July 1). Bring your own tackle. Sign in starts at 7 a.m. Fish from 8 – 11 a.m. with continuous weigh-in. At noon, there will be a Sahlens hot dog lunch with FREE soda anytime. Coffee, milk, donuts or juice from 7:30 -10 a.m. Presentation of awards and prizes and drawings start at noon. ALL kids will receive a FREE gift grab bag. For information contact the SWA office at 649-8202, Dennis at 861-5687, or Doug at 930-5858. eepurl.com/dp97JD or contact Chairman/ Captain Jim Steel at 716-481-5348.

The Hanover Fish & Game Club located on Overheiser Road in Forestville is hosting a 100 target sporting clay event on Wednesday, July 4. Registration is from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. The event is open to the public. Refreshments will be available at the club house. The club will also hold another event on September 3 that will be a memorial event for Don Mariani. For details or to donate for the event contact Bill Stelmach at kps@stny.rr.com.

July 7 is the next walleye tournament with the Lake Erie Big Dawg Walleye Tournament. This is a one day five walleye day. Optional Big Fish Friday is on July 6. Unlimited boat field with two to five anglers per boat. $500 entry fee. 100% pay back. Call Mark Mohr for details at 998-9871 or go to rayzorbigdawg.com. Deadline for sign-ups will be Thursday, July 5. The weigh-in will be at Rookies located at Lake Shore Drive East, across from the Clarion Hotel.

There will be a pistol training course at the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club on Sunday, July 8 from 2:30 – 7:30 p.m. There is a fee of $80 for this course. For information or registration contact Gary Dudek at 366-3397.

July 21 is the eighth annual Sunset Bay Shoot Out. This event is full. Contact Captain Don Ruppert at 435-4137 or go to walleyeshootout.com.

August 3, 4, and 5 are the dates for the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club walleye derby. A three day tourney, with three walleye per day allowed entry. Two to four angers per boat.

August 25 is the Innovative Outdoors walleye Challenge out of Dunkirk. A one day tournament with optional Big Fish Friday on August 24. Limited to 65 boats with the registration deadline on August 1. Contact Jim Steel at 481-5348 or go to lakeeriewalleyetournament.com.

The Children of the Stream Youth Fly Fishing Program will be starting its 18th year of providing weekly free fly tying and fly fishing classes to both youths and adults in our area. Note that classes will SWITCH from Wednesday evenings from 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. to Tuesday evenings at the Costello Community Room (P84) in the new addition to the Rockefeller Arts Center at SUNY Fredonia. You do not need any prior experience to attend these classes, and the course is geared towards ages 10 and older. For more information contact Alberto Rey at 410-7003 or alberto@albertorey.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, NY 14048, or call the sports department 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. or email sports@observertoday.com.