Kids fishing day at the Dunkirk Pier starts on Sunday at 8 a.m. with National Walleye Tour angler, Craig Sleeman. Submitted Photo

Fishing tournament events and fun activities focus on Dunkirk Harbor and the Central Avenue Pier this weekend.

The events are part of the Western New York Walleye Classic fishing tournament, which is combined as part of the Dunkirk Walleye Festival. Dunkirk City event planners and tournament organizer Josh Larsen of Primitive Patriot Outdoors, LLC., have brought together a three-day event that will interest anglers, their families, and visitors from near and far.

The WNY Walleye Classic is a professional walleye tournament fishing event, running from yesterday, through Sunday. The Friday portion of this tournament was a “Big Fish Friday” fun pre-fish event for registered competitors of the WNY Walleye Classic. Today’s portion of the WNY Walleye Classic event is the competition day event, with the option for Sunday rollover if the weather is nasty.

On each competitor fishing day, a professional weigh-in event on the giant stage is open for the public to watch and enjoy, beginning at about 5 p.m. Total cash and prize awards in this competition may exceed $50,000 in cash total, depending on the number of registered competitors. Note that cabana tent-style vendors and live music will entertain visitors of every age. In addition, as anglers weigh in their fish, and if they are registered in the 41st Southtowns Walleye Association of Western New York (SWA), the SWA weigh station will be located right next to the stage on the pier. More than $100,000 in cash and prizes are in the SWA event that runs June 7-15. What an incredible experience for local anglers and visitors. This event is a true testament to the strong community spirit and involvement in promoting the Lake Erie walleye fishery, our youth, Chautauqua County, and the City of Dunkirk.

If you are a parent, grandparent, or neighbor with a next-door youngster, you should know this is a youth fishing weekend for everyone to visit Dunkirk Harbor. Two consecutive days of educational fishing events and fun are on deck for the kids.

Today, from 9-11 a.m., the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club (NCCC) will host its annual Take-A-Kid-Fishing Day. This educational and fun event, which was the foster child of my late fishing buddy, outdoor columnist Gene Pauszek, and Zen Olow, current president of the Chautauqua County Federation of Sportsmen and delegate to the New York State Conservation Council, is designed to teach kids about fishing in a safe and enjoyable environment.

“The NCCC event is for kids aged 16 and under; adults must accompany all the kids,” said event chairman Jack Forbes. “Fishing gear can be acquired at the NCCC clubhouse at the foot of Mullet Street, nearby, between 8-9 a.m. Event festivities begin at the gate of the Dunkirk Yacht Club in Memorial Park at approximately 9 a.m. After fishing, activities will continue at the NCCC clubhouse from about 11 a.m. through noon. Life jackets are required; a limited number of loaners are on hand, so if you have one for your child, bring one.”

Last year, thanks to Jack Forbes, the NCCC Ladies Auxiliary, and many volunteers, the kids enjoyed a great time, a safe and fun time, catching largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, crappie, and many colorful rock bass of good size.

Then, on Sunday, the last day of the Dunkirk Walleye Festival, it is Kids Fishing Day on the Central Avenue pier starting at 8 a.m. The kids’ fishing event will start with a fun clinic on how to fish, what to use, and more, presented by Craig Sleeman. Sleeman is a highly successful, soft-spoken, humble, professional walleye angler who has competed on the National Walleye Pro tournament circuit and many local high-powered walleye tournaments, including the Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout and the Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge. He and his team have won in several of these highly spirited fishing events. The kids fishing clinic will be followed by a fishing tournament for the kids right from the pier, where the winner will receive a guided fishing trip on Lake Erie with Sleeman. That’s quite a prize. Kids in attendance will go home with amazing fishing gear, courtesy of Doc’s Tackle. It just can’t get better than this if you are a kid! Dunkirk Harbor is the place to be this weekend.

Gotta love the outdoors.

CALENDAR

June 6-8: WNY Walleye Classic / Dunkirk Walleye Festival 2025, $600 entry, Josh Larsen, 716-490-4226; https://www.primitivepatriotoutdoors.com/wny-walleye-classic.

June 7: Take-A-Kid-Fishing Day, Northern Chautauqua Con Club, 9 a.m.-noon, kids thru 16 years, must be accompanied by an adult, activities at Dunkirk Yacht Club, Memorial Park, life jacket required, limited loaners on site. Sign up at the club.

June 7: Clay Shoot, 50 bird trap and skeet event, side-by-side shotguns only, $50 entry, cash for top-three scores, raffle for CZ Bobwhite 20 gauge side-by-side, Evans Rod/Gun, 864 Cain Road, Angola; Info: Fred Lima, 716-479-4833.

June 7-15: WALLEYE. 41st annual Nine-Day Southtowns Walleye Tournament, $100 entry, $100k prizes; Jim Skoczylas, 716-796-5372; https://www.southtownswalleye.com/.

June 8: Kids Fishing Clinic, FREE, Dunkirk city pier, part of the WNY Walleye Classic/Dunkirk Festival event. 8 a.m. start.