The eastern basin of Lake Erie along the Chautauqua County shoreline was a bustling hub of activity last week. Hotels, motels, rental cottages, campsites, bed-and-breakfast camps, and other lodging centers were fully booked and in operation. The high-fives were observed in all venues, reflecting the strong camaraderie among anglers. The jargon-filled evening hangouts with fishing venue secrets kept secret were helped with endless jokes, old fishing tales, new gear talk, and laughter. Beachside campfires were also a popular site, further fostering a growing and strong sense of national and international community among the participants.

The 2025 Lake Erie Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout fishing tournament event includes the pre-fish on Thursday, Big Fish Friday, and the Main Tournament Event on Saturday. Despite Mother Nature providing no help on Thursday, with wind gusts occasionally reaching 40 miles per hour and six-foot waves rambling across the Sunset Bay breakwall by mid-morning, the anglers showed remarkable perseverance. Many chose not to fish, but Big Fish Friday provided a glimmer of hope. By late morning, most angler teams went fishing in this one-fish contest anyway. The “Main Event” on Saturday (July 19) roared off to a shotgun start with 153 boats hitting the throttle at 7 a.m. The results of all three days of competition provided proof that this excellent walleye fishery is here to stay in 2025.

The strong wind on Thursday shifted the fishery, causing schools of walleye to scatter to new parts of the lake, which complicated the art of fishing and made it difficult for teams to find the big fish. As always, the goal is to locate where the largest walleyes are gathered, hoping they are schooled, and then pass over them repeatedly to fill a cooler with the biggest six fish. Fish of the same size usually stay together. So, all the anglers had to do was find that one school of swimming giant walleye — no easy task, of course.

The main Saturday competition event was busy and exciting. On the main stage at 5:30 p.m., tournament manager and organizer, Captain Don Rupert and his Team Wavetamer crew, kicked off the weigh-in event.

Submitted Photo Captain Thomas Both, with team members David Schwartz and Jason Davenport, said, “Big Fish Friday was a crazy day chasing big fish. We rescued a distressed boat during the tournament, then returned to fishing and still caught 30 fish after the four-hour rescue mission. My dad, Ron, missed the rescue fun on Friday, but made it to fish the main event.” Lake Erie walleye fishing is that good.

New York Senator George Borrello provided a warm welcome, thanking competitors and extending special thanks to the Ruppert team, with particular mention to Captain Jim Steel and his wife, Diane, for their technical support behind the scenes. The weigh-in was presented live and is available to watch on the Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout Facebook page.

The main stage weigh-in event was a thrilling and efficient affair. Despite the large number of teams bringing fish to the scales, the process was swift. In the exciting end, Rupert announced, “For the first time ever, folks, we have a consecutive repeat winner! Let’s hear it for Captain Don Skellie and Team Knee Deep, who win it with a six-fish bag weighing 36.80 pounds. This is a first.”

Second place, not far behind, was Team Lime Lake Marine, with Captain Ashton Laird weighing in at 36.46 pounds, and third place went to Captain Dan Hanley of Team Drag’N Lures, with 35.73 pounds. The top 15 places were paid.

The Big Wave-1 Calcutta, a popular side event, found Captain Don Skellie of Team Knee Deep winning first place with that heavy 36.80-pound bag. A ‘Calcutta’ is a form of gambling in which the competitors purchase the right to win a portion of the total prize pool by bidding on the outcome of an event. Captain Jesse Nussbaum of Team 5-Alive took second with 34.489 pounds, and Captain Ron Morcio took third with Team Who’s Your Uncle. Again, the payout went to the top three teams who registered for this Calcutta.

In the Big Wave-2 Calcutta, Captain Dan Hanley took first place with the six-fish bag of 35.73 pounds. Captain Colin Gawronski and Team Sweet Life took second with 34.99 pounds, and Captain Joe Kramer with Team Kramer was third with 33.80 pounds. The payout went to the top three teams that registered for this Calcutta.

Big Fish Friday is a popular fishing event with all the teams. Once again, this is a one-fish contest that awards big cash to the lucky team, bringing the largest walleye by weight, for the big money. For that prize, Rob Oram with Team EYE-CON took first with their 9.31-pound monster, Captain Ralph Eades with Team Rock’N Reel took second with an 8.30-pound walleye, and Captain Tom Miranda with his Team Pole Dancer took third place. The payout went only to the top three teams on Friday.

Big Fish Friday was a day of high stakes and unexpected turns for some teams. Captain Thomas Both, with Team EyeFishin, became a hero team as they became a rescue team. Thomas Both, along with team members David Schwartz and Jason Davenport, experienced the full spectrum of the tournament.

“It was a crazy day,” Captain Thomas Both recalls, “We rescued a distressed boat during the tournament, then returned to fishing and still caught 30 fish after the four-hour rescue mission.” Hats off to this team. Actions like this are a testament to the resilience and adaptability of the teams, as well as the unpredictable nature of Lake Erie when walleye fishing.

After the Main Stage weigh-in event, tournament officials shared that 10 anglers from the winners’ brackets of Big Fish Friday, the Main event, and the Calcutta’s were selected for polygraph testing. This testing is a standard procedure in many fishing tournaments, including the Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout, to ensure the integrity of the competition and maintain a fair playing field for all participants.

The Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout 2025 introduced new rules this year, defining the tournament as a trolling competition with a specific rule: the motor must be running, and the boat must be in motion. This rule essentially eliminates drift-fishing and forward-facing sonar (FFS), where anglers are given an advantage from a motionless boat by targeting specific fish while casting to them. Side-scan and down-scan sonar were still permitted.

Tournament Director Don Ruppert said, “Next year we expect the cash and prizes to grow even more.”

Ruppert also added, “that this event would not have been possible without the support of numerous major countrywide manufacturers and vendors, with special kudos to our many local dealers who are also a part of the sponsor group. Together, they make this all work.”

More to come as the week goes on, with tales of lures, colors, tactics and tales from this event. Stay tuned.

Gotta love the outdoors!

CALENDAR

July 24: Erie County Federation of Sportsmen, Monthly Meeting, 7PM, Niagara River Station, 355 East River Rd., Grand Island, Info: 716-775-5931.

July 26-27: NYS Archery Shooters Association (ASA) Federation Championship, Bear Lake Rod & Gun. Info: Rudy Abersold, 716-397-9717.

Aug. 1-3: Region 9 Youth Archery and Sportsman’s Camp, Elma Conservation Club, 600 Creek Road., Elma; for kids 12-15 years old. Info: Don Trzepacz, 716-863-4774.

Aug. 1-3: 20th annual Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club Walleye Tourney – Dunkirk Harbor; 3 fish bag/day-2 days; Contact Chris Surma: csurmy@yahoo.com. Captains meeting, July 31 at NCCC.