As fishing teams awaited the final winner from the scales on the main stage, first place at the Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge was won by a familiar face — walleye pro Dylan Nussbaum, right, from nearby St. Marys, Pa., fishing with his lifelong partner, his dad, Jesse. Their impressive six-fish bag weighed 38.26 pounds. Photo courtesy of Forrest Fisher

The hummingbirds may have started their southern journey back, but the walleyes here have been very cooperative. Anglers from all over the country have been in awe of the Lake Erie walleye fishing near Dunkirk. It has been a great year for professional and local walleye anglers, too.

Walleye tournament action has been seemingly endless, mainly from the Dunkirk area for the largest organized fishing contests, but local anglers accessing Lake Erie from Buffalo, Sturgeon Point and Sunset Bay have filled their freezers regularly.

Last weekend, headquarters for the Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge was at Chadwick Bay (Dunkirk) in the Clarion Hotel Pavilion. Nearly 50 teams competed in this well-run one-day Big Fish Friday, followed by a one-day, six-fish bag event where the heaviest bag wins.

On Big Fish Friday, local walleye expert Ashton Laird scored big with his team from Lime Lake Marine, bringing in an 8.99-pound walleye for first place. They ran from Dunkirk toward Buffalo to fish the deep-water structure off Point Abino using Forward-Facing Sonar and simple tungsten-head jigs with nightcrawlers, and jigging Rapalas. These techniques, along with the use of modern equipment, allowed them to find some huge fish and would have scored a 45-pound plus six-fish bag if the main event of the contest had been held on Big Fish Friday.

The next day, the six-fish event brought changes in wind direction, and the forage and the walleye moved. After the final big stage weigh-in, first place was a familiar walleye pro angler from nearby St. Marys, Pennsylvania, Dylan Nussbaum, fishing with his lifelong partner, his dad, Jesse, with their six-fish bag of 38.26 pounds.

Second place was Brian Rankin with 36.16 pounds; and third was the affable walleye expert, Rob Oram, with 35.67 pounds.

The event paid the top nine places, showcasing the camaraderie and friendly competition among the anglers. In fourth was Tim Stone with 33.45 pounds; fifth was Chris McKeever with 33.39 pounds; sixth was Lime Lake Marine with Ashton Laird with 32.54 pounds; seventh was David Salvalzo with 32.50 pounds; eighth was Ron Duliba with 31.97 pounds; and ninth was Bernie Turner with 31.84 pounds.

The final day event also recognized the biggest fish caught. George Knopf, with his 8.35-pound walleye took top honors. Second place was again the Nussbaum father-son team, with 7.72 pounds and third was Chris McKeever with 7.28 pounds.

Dylan Nussbaum’s account of the tournament is a testament to the dedication and passion of these anglers.

“We started west and caught a nice 8-pound fish, but then the bite went off a bit. The whole school was somewhat negative,” he said. “We decided to make a move to run east. It was a gamble, but we ran about 20 miles to get near Sturgeon Point. We started looking for new fish and got on a pod quickly. We were casting VMC jig heads and a crawler, Z-man jerk shads, and jigging raps. We used FFS to stay on the fish with jigs weighted a half-ounce and three-quarters ounce, for the most part. The head color didn’t seem to matter. We fished in 70 feet of water up there, and the fish were scattered from 30 feet down to the bottom. They were all over. We caught about 75 fish, keeping the biggest six for the weigh-in. This Innovative tournament is great, the people running it do a great job, they put a lot of work into it.”

The competition was fierce, with all the participants showcasing their skills in pursuit of the prized Innovative Outdoors Walleye title. Congratulations to the winners and all participants for making the 2025 Innovative Outdoors tournament a memorable event. Dylan Nussbaum will compete next in the National Walleye Tour championship event set for Green Bay, Wisconsin. Watch that event live on the NWT streaming channel.

In case you haven’t noticed, the cicadas are chirping away, and the leaves have started to change color. It seems too early! That beautiful, red-colored quarter-crescent moon last weekend and the start of the early morning chill this week are a reminder that the highly anticipated early archery deer season is not too far away. The excitement is building up for these upcoming season-change events. We still have some time to enjoy this beautiful weather.

Gotta love the outdoors.

CALENDAR

Aug. 22-23: WNY Walleye Association; Lake Erie Walleye Tournament; $250 entry, Fish Donkey format, Rick Malik, 716-548-8219 or Ron Kucinski, 716-545-5925.

Aug. 30: Labor Day Shoot, Hanover Fish & Game, sporting and 5-Stand, NSCA registered, 780 Overhiser Road, Forestville; 716-934-4028.

Aug. 31: Hanover Fish & Game, Invitation from the Fredonia Trap Team, clay shooting open house. Students from grades 7-12 are invited to learn about trap shooting. Cost is $10. Club is at 780 Overhiser Road, Forestville. Info: https://www.hanoverclays.com/.