Heading into Friday — or Championship Day as the pros call it — John Hoyer led the pro side with a two-day total of 10 walleyes for a total of 70.60 pounds.

“I don’t plan on changing up my program, except that there is one area I want to try if the weather cooperates,” said Hoyer before the 7 a.m. send-off. “Hopefully, we reach the area and return safely, because I know there are good fish there, as long as I get them.”

Collin Martin left the scales on Day Two with 63.18 pounds, putting him barely in first place for the co-anglers.

Pro-angler John Hoyer, left, and co-angler Collin Martin show off some of their catches. OBSERVER Photo by Craig Robbins

“As luck would have it, I will be fishing with Hoyer again on Championship Day,” said Martin, noting the pair fished together on Day 1. “The winner of either co- or pro- side is a life changing event and I hope we can experience that.”

“The excitement of hosting the NWT Championship on the totally redesigned Dunkirk Pier on the waterfront here is exciting for the City of Dunkirk,” stated Mayor Wilfred Rosas. “To be able to showcase to the anglers and world with the coming TV program being filmed for the Pursuit Channel is a great deal for the City of Dunkirk.”

Going into the final day of competition a few of the pros knew what they needed to do to get to the top of the leaderboard and take home a new Ranger Boat and Mercury 300 motor worth $90,000.

“I have had a great time at the NWT Championship and this week has been really good for me,” pro-angler Drake Herd shared. “Now, if I can find the big fish bite is the secret for us on the Championship Day.”

The largest crowd for the three-day tournament had gathered on Dunkirk Pier in front of the NWT stage, the anglers all made it back and were tied up to the dock, and Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel, said, “We are excited to see all the folks out today on this beautiful day in Dunkirk and, after speaking with some of the NWT staff and anglers, we know what it takes to host more of these major fishing tournaments. We have some of the best walleye fishing anywhere and a super lakeshore and pier here in Dunkirk. The future looks bright for these types of events.”

NWT’s Anthony Wright brought Day Two leaders Hoyer and Martin to the stage and introduced them to the crowd.

Duane Hjelm, who has had the hot hand on the NWT circuit this season and was leading the championship with a three-day total of 90.87 pounds, was standing on the stage with co-angler Timothy Berg, who had three-day total of 92.33 pounds. There was only one team left to weigh-in. That was the team of John Hoyer and Collin Martin.

Wright had all four anglers stand on the stage together as they received a round of applause from the hundreds of spectators that gathered for this very moment. On the line was three brand-new Ranger Deep V fishing boats. The winner on the pro-angler side would receive a new Ranger 621FS Pro with Mercury 300 XL, plus cash and prizes; second place pro will receive a Ranger 620FS with Mercury 250XL Pro and cash and prizes; and the top co-angler would receive a new Ranger VS1882 Angler plus $6,000. Wright noted that out of the four anglers on the stage, three of them would be leaving with brand-new Ranger Boats valued at more than $200,000.

The stage was set as Hoyer and Martin placed their bag of five walleyes on the scales. For what seemed like hours, but was only seconds thanks to the state-of-art weigh-in system NWT uses, the scales finally locked at 31.73 pounds, for a three-day total of 102.33 for Hoyer, the 2022 NWT champion. As high-fives were exchanged on stage, Wright announced that the team’s weight gave Martin the 2022 NWT Co-Angler championship with a total three-day weight of 94.91.

As both Hoyer and Martin were awarded their championship trophies, media and family members crowded the stage in an attempt to capture the moments that changed two young men’s lives forever.

Second place for the Pro-Angler went to Duane Hjelm; third-place honors went to Jason Przekurat with 81.37 pounds for three days; fourth place went to Keith Kavajecz with final weight of 81.12 pounds, and rounding out the top five was Austin Ragotzkie with 80.14 pounds.

On the Co-Angler side, Timothy Berg took second place, with third place going to Chris Rhinehardt with 82.11, fourth place going to Kolebe Ferguson with 81.92 pounds and fifth place going to Drake McCarthy with 81.43 pounds.

From the smiles on the faces of the winning anglers and spectators, the city of Dunkirk hosted a first-class event, with a sure sign of more major fishing tournaments to come.