OUTDOORS NIAGARA
"It's yours, use it, protect it, share it"
"Niagara's Premier Outdoors Website" 

  "Most informative and up to date outdoors website on the planet"

Cassel Wins Grand Prize in 2008 Fish Oydssey.

The 32nd AES/Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey Derby went off without a hitch from Sept. 20-28. It all culminated with another very successful New York Power Authority Wildlife Festival, an event that helps to celebrate National Hunting and Fishing Day weekend. The Wildlife Festival was the final weigh in station on Sunday and it was also the site of the Awards Ceremony. It was onl y appropriate that this year’s fishing event was also an opportunity to remember the late Pete DeAngelo of Lockport, a person who meant much to the sportfishing community. Lots of little stories all entwining themselves to make memories for the present and the future while remembering the past.
Each year, the first place winners are placing into a hat at the awards ceremony to determine the Grand Prize winner. The philosophy for that was simple – each of the winning fish is a trophy in its own right and some pretty impressive catches came to the scales all the way around this year for smallmouth bass, salmon, walleye, carp, lake trout and rainbow/brown trout. The drawing – conducted by one of Carmen Presti’s monkeys on center stage (which is also how Carmen decides what he’s going to wear on any given day) – produced the Rainbow/Brown Trout at the Grand Prize winner. Ray Cassel of East Aurora was the lucky winner of the $2,500 check by catching a 14.15 pound steelhead while fishing deep off Wilson with a Pirate 55 spoon. As a result of the drawing, everyone else in the division moved up one place, making Bob Petro of Latrobe, PA the $500 winner with a 12.39 pound Olcott steelhead.

Other first place winners included:

- In the Salmon Division, Wilfred Wittcop, Jr. of Barker was top dog with a 31.33 pound king salmon caught from “the hole” in Olcott Harbor – fishing at night with a Cleo spoon.
- Brendan Walsh of Niagara Falls was the top Smallmouth bass catcher with a 6.02 pound fish caught in Lake Erie with a tube jig.
- In the walleye division, it was Charles Hoy of Niagara Falls with a monster 13.39 pound fish he hauled in from the Niagara Bar on a worm harness.
- The Horse Nuts Fishing Team crew continued to dominate the carp division with Dan Kelsey leading the way this year with a 29.97 pound fish caught at Point Breeze near the public parking area. Homemade boilees, more of a glorified dough ball made with egg was the secret to catching the big one.
-   ; Bob Turton of Sanborn was the top laker taker with another lunker fish that weighed in at 22.39 pounds. It was Bob’s biggest laker of his life and it came at a good time. He was fishing with his father, Roger (who also place third) on the Niagara Bar with cowbells and a peanut.

And while it was certainly exciting for the adults, it was probably more exciting for the kids. For starters, there was a special drawing similar to the adult division with all the first place leaders – thanks to Mark Cerrone Construction. All the first place kids were placed into a hat and one of Carmen’s primates grabbed a winning bobber to win a $200 Gander Mountain gift card. The winner this time around was Teresa Hall of Batavia who caught the first place carp – a 25.36 pound fish from Point Breeze. As a result, everyone in the division moved up one place and Jacob Kelsey, Daniel’s son, ended up with the first place fish at 21.71 pounds – again from Point Breeze. Other winners were:

- Albert Bodolus III of Athens, PA was the top salmon fisherman with a 26.54 pound Olcott fish enticed by a Rat-L-Trap.
- Top bass youngster was Nino Figueroa of Niagara Falls who hauled in a 5.15 pound smallmouth from Lake Erie on a minnow.
- Zachary Whitmer of Niagara Falls caught a 1.23 pound silver bass off the NYPA fishing platform to pace the panfish division.
- Jordan Barr of Lewiston used a jig to catch the top walleye, a 6.43 pound fish caught off Fort Niagara.

All in all, it was another great contest and nearly everyone who walked away from the awards ceremony was carrying a prize thanks to some of the great sponsors such as AES Somerset, AkzoNobel, Shakespeare/Pflueger, Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation, Newfane Business Association and The Boat Doctors in Olcott who helps run the website. Thanks to all the weigh stations who stuck it out for the nine day event and weighed the fish to make this all happen.

Walleye Contest Kicks off Odyssey; Wildlife Festival Sept. 27-28

       The 32nd Annual Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey Derby had a different kind of kick-off this year when A-1 Bait Supply and Outdoors Niagara.com teamed up to co-host the first annual Lower Niagara River Walleye Classic last Saturday. More than 60 anglers were registered in the event, allowing anglers to catch two fish for the contest. Best weight with those two fish wins the cash. First place in the inaugural event Ron Mrzygut of Niagara Falls with two fish totaling 12 pounds, three ounces. His big fish was six pounds, three ounces. Second place went to Lewiston’s Jamie Brolinski at 10 pounds, 15 ounces. His big fish was six pounds, 13 ounces. Third place when to Capt. Jim “surf and turf” Gordon of Appleton with an identical two-fish, 10 pound, 15 ounce score, with a big fish of five pounds, 11 ounces. However, the tie-breaker is the time weighed in and Brolinski beat him by 11 minutes. Jim Tomasine of Niagara Falls managed to catch the big fish for the lunker award, a seven pound, 12 ounce walleye. However, he paired that with the smallest fish of the tournament, a two pound, 11 ounce ‘eye. A total of 19 fish were weighed in at Fort Niagara State Park by weigh master Richard Fortier.

Complete details on Walleye Contest and results HERE ............Fish Odyssey leader board HERE

Friday September 5 2008

Ramming, Double Play Win Big Events -
By Bill Hilts Jr.

         Some big money was chalked up by Niagara County fishermen this past holiday weekend as they managed to catch some pretty impressive fish. At the top of the list is the 35 pound, 12 ounce salmon caught by Gary Ramming, Jr. of Appleton in the Fall Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derby. [SEE PHOTO ON THIS PAGE BELOW] He was trolling the Niagara Bar with fellow anglers Mike and Shawn Pinkham of Sanborn on the opening weekend of the derby to take the early lead and hold on right until the end to win the $20,000 Grand Prize. For the full story see Tuesday's outdoor column. They were fishing with a black Spin Doctor and a green Northern King fly 57 feet down over 70 feet of water.

         First place in the Salmon Division was George Burkholder with a 33 pound, 9 ounce king. First place brown was a 17 pound, 7 ounce fish caught by Matt French of Hilton. Top lake trout was a 20 pound, 10 ounce fork tail reeled in by Jason Franz of Hilton. Steve Weiner of Fairport was atop the Steelhead Division with an 18 pound, 9 ounce fish. Tim Condes of Wilson was the top youth angler for both the salmon and steelhead divisions. His 31 pound, 7 ounce salmon placed 17th overall. His steelhead was 13 pounds, 7 ounces, just out of the money but still the biggest caught by a youth 15 years of age and under.

       Another big event that was held this past weekend was the Scotty King of the Lake Tournament held out of St. Catharines, Ontario. The Double Play II team of Tom Letcher of Burt, Dave Hoffman of Newfane, Dan Phipps of Newfane and Freddie Lockwood of Connecticut won the first place prize of $25,000 plus some other prizes along the way to earn some big bucks. Congratulations! They reeled in 142 pounds of fish - five fish each day for two days - plus an extra 10 points per fish for a total score of 242 points. They bested the tournament field that was limited to 50 boats. The first day they worked the waters off Port Dalhousie. The second day, it was fish from the Niagara Bar that put them over the top.

       Mixed reports on salmon and trout right now. Jim Gordon of Appleton picked up some nice kings in 60 to 80 feet of water over the weekend first thing in the morning on green with crushed white Spin Doctors and green-gold flies. "Karen Special" spoons also did well. The same program also worked out deep for steelhead.

        The trio of Tom Danaher, Dave Ray and Dick Conley did well out deep for steelhead and salmon, as well, straight out from Olcott between the 28 and 30 line. A green-silver NK and a watermelon magnum spoon caught the most fish. Capt. Mike Johannes of Wilson ran out 12 miles from his home port to take a limit of steelhead and salmon. Included in his catch was an 18-pound Coho salmon. Most of the fish came 40 to 55 feet below the surface on orange-silver or orange-copper spoons. Speaking of big cohos, a 34-plus pound coho was weighed in down Oswego way and it is currently being tested by DEC to make sure it truly is a Coho.

Gasport Woman Wins Summer Derby
with 31 pound 14 ounce King Salmon

Carrie Choate of Gasport,  a 10th Grade math teacher at Wilson High School in Niagara County, pictured with Husband Todd and Son Tyler won the $7,500 Grand Prize check in the Second Annual Summer Lake Ontario Counties (LOC) Trout and Salmon Derby with a 31 pound, 14 ounce king salmon. Choate was fishing with her husband, Todd, and their four children off the red barn between Wilson and Olcott, a favorite fish hangout. They were trolling a chartreuse Bechold Flasher and a Familiarbite Alewife with a chartreuse baithead behind a wire dipsy diver 220 feet back on a No. 1 setting over 200 feet of water. They estimated the bait to be down about 65 feet down when the trophy hit.
 
“I fought the fish a good 45 minutes before we finally got it into our boat,” said Choate before a packed house at Abe’s Waterfront in Sodus Point. When they netted the fish and pulled it into “Lit L Bit Cra Z,” a 28 foot Baha that they run out of McDonough Marina in Olcott, the first words out of her mouth were: “Holy Crap! That’s a big one!” No question, when asked at the awards ceremony, she said that it was the biggest king of her life. It came at a great time for her, but not a good time for Tom Allen of Oswego.

Allen led the derby for the better part of three weeks with a 29 pound, nine ounce king that hit a green E-Chip flasher and a No. 23 Green Crinkle A-tom-Mik fly. He was fishing with Capt. Tom Germain of Oswego out of their home port, trolling their preferred bait 125 feet down over 270 feet of water. Allen, who owns A-Tom-Mik Flies, fought the fish 25 minutes before he landed the lunker.
 
Top youth was a 28 pound, eight ounce king salmon reeled in by 12 year old Ryan Bobzin of Rochester. He was fishing with captains Bob Holden and his son, Bill, while fishing out of Sandy Creek aboard “Fishing Fanatic.” They caught the fish just west of Braddock’s Bay 70 feet down over 134 feet of water with a Mountain Dew Stinger spoon. The fish ended up in third place overall.

First place brown trout was a 15 pound, 10 ounce fish reeled in by Mike Engle of Hamlin. He was fishing with Joe Bianchi of Gates and they were trying their luck out of Sandy Creek on July 13th. At 8:30 a.m., they were trolling a Silver Streak spoon 45 feet down over 50 feet of water when the brownie hit. The spoon color was a gold spook pattern. Engle’s “Coyote Ugly” boat also produced a 12th place brown trout the same day when Bianchi hauled in a 13 pound, six ounce brown.
 
In the lake trout division, it was the Battle at the Bar between the Barber boat, the Klejdys clan and the Turton twosome – the Niagara Bar, that is. By the time the smoke had cleared, it was Richard Barber of Niagara Falls standing at the top of the hill with 21 pound, seven ounce laker he hauled in from the Bar while trolling Hammerhead cowbells and a chartreuse Spin-N-Glo. “I was fishing with my brother, Pat, and we had just trolled past our spot,” said Barber, a machinist. We were turning around when one rod went off and there was nothing there. The next rod went off and this winner was on the line, boating it at 7:30 a.m.”

Their 17-1/2 foot Crestliner, known affectionately as “The Killer B’s” on the Bar, also produced a third place fish with Diane Barber and a seventh place fish with Patrick. Ed Klejdys of North Tonawanda came up just an ounce short of beating the Barbers, hauling in a 21 pound, six ounce fish from the same area. His son, Steve, ended up in fourth. Roger Turton of Sanborn finished in fifth with a 19 pounder and his son, Robert, ended up in eighth place. That makes seven of the top eight lake trout from the same general area from three different families. The battle continues during the Fall Derby, set for August 15-September 1.

The first place steelhead was caught by mark Chybinski of Altmar with a 15 pound, 15 ounce fish manhandled off Oswego. He was fishing with Tom Wojslaw of Central Square and Fred Schneider of Central Square in over 600 feet of water with their Fish Hawk team. They were trolling 400 feet of copper wire with a Spin Doctor and an A-Tom-Mik Mirage Glow Fly when the steelie hit and it almost spooled them out.

Top youth in the Steelhead Division was Cody Osborne of Albion, weighing in a 12 pound, 12 ounce trout while fishing out of Point Breeze. He was using a Northern King spoon and finished in 11th place.
Empire State-Lake Ontario Promotions will be bringing you “The Return of the King” – the Fall Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derby – August 15 to September 1. Grand Prize is a whopping $20,000. For more information, log on to www.loc.org or call (888) REEL-2-IN.

Junior Big Game Hunting License Bill Needs Support –

Probably the most important piece of legislation as it relates to the future of hunting in the Empire State is now on Gov. David Paterson’s desk. Assembly bill A-11033 and S-8228 – the Junior Hunting/Trapper Mentor Bill – would establish a junior big game hunting license, allowing 14 and 15 year olds to hunt big game with a shotgun. They must be under the supervision of a parent, guardian or youth mentor who is at least 21 years of age with at least three years of hunting experience.
 
“I don’t need to tell you the importance a junior big game license will have in promoting the sport of hunting, conservation and hunter safety to a new generation of sportsmen,” said Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte, one of the sponsors of the bill in the Assembly. Thanks to her hard work, 65 of her colleagues in the Assembly supported this legislation, something that’s been talked about for decades. Previously, this would always stall in committee in the Assembly and timing has never been better for this bill to pass the final hurdle – the governor’s signature.
At the time of this writing, the bill still hadn’t been signed so make the extra effort to fax a letter off to Albany as soon as possible. Faxes should be sent to 518-486-9652 and 518-486-9693. We need your support NOW. We’ve said it before many times in this column, New York is the most restrictive state in the country when it comes to minimum age requirements for big game hunters. This bill would bring us a little more in line with some other states and give junior hunters an opportunity to hunt big game here.
 
Many thanks go out to Assemblywoman DelMonte for all her hard work in the Assembly and to Senator George Maziarz for all his efforts in the Senate for the same cause. From a sportsman’s issue standpoint, there isn’t a better one-two punch in
Albany from any area in the state. Now get writing and faxing!

Picture is of the winning pro team is Gary Begy, Andy Sykut, Guy Witkiewitz, Roy Letcher and Andy Kupferschmid (left to right). The guy on the far right was an observer for the tournament, but not really a team member.

The “Candy” Fishing Team out of Rochester made the right move by targeting numbers of fish and chased brown trout just west of Sodus Bay to take the fishing trifecta and win the Professional Division of the AES Somerset/Maui Jim Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team Tournament out of Sodus Bay (Wayne County), the East Challenge Cup (combining Oswego and Wayne tournaments) and the overall Lake Ontario Challenge Cup (Niagara, Orleans, Oswego and Wayne counties) last Sunday. The team was led by Capt. Andy Sykut of Webster, owner of Andy’s Candies. Brown, like chocolate, was the lucky color all the way around for the team.

In the Amateur Division, it was the Five More Minutes/Sigg’s Riggs team that won the Sodus Bay tournament July 19-20, also giving them enough points to take the East Challenge Cup (between Wayne and Oswego tournaments). However, it was the Dodger team, led by Jim Skolny and his son, Dave, of Manchester that took the overall Lake Ontario Challenge Cup title for their first time ever.

The “Candy” team, in addition to Sykut, was made up of Gary Begy of Rochester; Guy Witkiewitz of Ontario; Andy Kupferschmid of Kendall; and Roy Letcher of Olcott. They headed four to six miles west of Sodus Bay and never broke 70 feet in two days of fishing, concentrating with spoons in the 60 to 70 foot range. A mix of Dreamweaver, Northern King and Michigan Stinger spoons – including superslim wonder bread and chicken wing patterns – did the trick. They ran their baits between 40 feet down and the bottom. They were one of five pro teams that limited out on the first day; catching nine the second day to take the title with a score of 351.23 points. Scoring is based on 10 points per fish and a point per pound. No pro limits were caught the second day.

Identical fish totals were also recorded by Randy Calas’ Sure Strike Team out of Webster and their total wasn’t far off the mark, recording 344.74 points over the two days. They finished in second place among 37 professional teams. Third place went to Fishin’ Magician with 287.15 points. Fourth was Rebel Charters led by Jerry Felluca of Hilton with 275.41 points. Team Savant Spoon/Fishing Fantasy was fifth with 249.26 points. To see the total rankings, check out www.lakeontarioproam.net

Consistency paid off for the 5 More Minutes team as they were the only amateur squad among 27 teams to score six fish limits both days of the Sodus event. Their two day total was 198.94 points, besting the Lucky Enuff team with 166.93 points. The Lucky Enuff squad ran out of luck after the first day when they led all comers with a score of 126.72 points. Third place went to Oh Baby with 164.98 points. Fourth place went to Thompson Contender with 162.72 points; Cold Water Affair was fifth with 150.54 points.

Niagara Outdoors Tuesday  July 15  2008 
by Bill Hilts Jr.                    
Be sure to vote in our NEWEST  Mini-Poll HERE   NEW QUESTION!  

Red Line, Team Sparks Win Oswego Pro-Am

             A total of 62 teams were on hand to see two new fishing squads emerge as victors in the Maui Jim/AES Somerset Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team Tournament out of Oswego , their 14^th annual event held July 12-13. Day one saw near perfect conditions on the lake; day two saw the skies open up with heavy rains, but the winds staying from the south and not become a factor. The big problem was getting fish to hit as many teams struggled to catch numbers of fish the second day. At the end of the two days of action, it was the Red Line team led by Patrick Thayer of Milton , Vermont winning the Professional Division with a score of 381.25 points (based on 10 points per fish and a point per pound). In the Amateur Division is was Team Sparks, led by Larry Williams of Wharton , New Jersey with a two-day total of 223.01 points.

            The first day saw High Voltage (Mark DeSantis of Rochester ) take the early lead with a 12 fish limit and a score of 247.45 points. They were one of five pro teams that scored limits the first day. One of those five teams was Red Line, who opted to fish salmon out deep until mid-morning. If they weren’t turning any fish, their strategy was to move into shallower water and target brown trout. Thayer charters out of the Little Salmon and was fishing a favorite Mexico Bay brown trout spot using Michigan Stinger spoons in 75 to 82 feet of water. “Speed control is important with browns,” said Thayer, who also fished with Dan and Glen Peschler of Port Ontario and Tim Sherwood of Camden . “We tried to keep our baits moving at 1.9 miles per hour, which translated into 2.2 mph on the surface going one way, 2.7 on the surface going the other way.

            Day two there was a concern that weather was going to be an issue. Thunderstorms were in the forecast. The Red Line team opted to focus immediately on browns and their intuition paid off. Another 12 fish limit – the only pro limit on day two – was all they needed to take their first title.

            Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it. In the Amateur class, it was the Horsin’ Around team led by Louis Calabrese, Jr. of Taberg taking the early lead with a score of 107.59 points, one of two teams with limits among Amateurs. Only one team caught a limit on day two. Team Sparks was in third place, just like the Red Line team among the pros, after the first day. Five nice fish, including a 26.98 pound salmon and another 22 pounder, helped vault their team to the victory lane. But there was a catch.

            Team Sparks leader Williams had said that he’d get his head shaved if they ever get lucky enough to beat Dave Antenori’s Screamer/A-Tom-Mik team, a frequent winner in Oswego . Someone had an electric hair clipper on hand and Williams was called to the stage – with Antenori the first to trim Williams’ curly locks.

            Back to the fishing: the Team Sparks crew, which also included Scott Wagner and Lester Zimmerman, targeted big kings 15 miles east of Oswego off Port Bay . They fished 84 to 155 feet down over 180 to 250 foot depths with Spin Doctors, E-chips and A-Tom-Mik flies to take all their fish.

            For a complete rundown of the tournament, check out www.lakeontarioproam.net. The tournament series concludes next weekend when the action shifts to Wayne County and Sodus Bay for the fourth and final event for the year. We’ll have a full report for you next week.

Crazy Fishing Week Ends with Successful Pro-Am Tourney

        It was a week like no other week when it comes to fishing competitions and fishing fun on Lake Ontario. And, the fishing was good – scary good – as local anglers competed in the friendly Spring Salmon Spectacular Buffalo Sabres Alumni fishing outing last Thursday. Friday it was the Don Johannes and Pete DeAngelo Memorial fishing derbies keeping some 80 teams busy during the day. And the intense angling action was culminated with the 24th Annual Skip Hartman Memorial Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team Tournament out of Wilson and Olcott, presented by Maui Jim sunglasses and AES Somerset on Saturday and Sunday. 

       The Pro-Am tournament went off without a hitch as 88 teams from around the northeast, Canada, Michigan and even one from England (no, they didn’t bring their own boat with them) competed for the two day extravaganza. Cold Steel/A-Tom-Mik Fly was the team to beat in the Professional Division after day one and they held on to win the tourney with a two day total of 494.49 points based on 10 points a fish and a point a pound. Pros were allowed to keep up to 12 fish for weigh in. 

      The team was led by Capt. Tom Burke of Altmar. Also on his team was A-Tom-Mik fly owner Tom Allen, one of the sponsors for the tournament. Second place went to the A-Tom-Mik Meatheads team led by Bill Hawkins of Orangeville, Ontario with a score of 468.88 points. In the Amateur Division, it was a new team on the scene that accomplished the same rare feat that Cold Steel did – win the Division after leading the first day. Rock-N-Reel, a team from Pennsylvania led by Ralph Eades of Northeast, set the pace among the amateurs with a total score of 247.39 points. They beat out runnerup Ball Draggers led by Jeremy Botting of Lockport by less than 17 points. Amateurs were allowed to weigh in six fish each day. 

       As we mentioned, the fishing was good. It was good all week. In fact, it forced the tournament committee to change their normal weigh-in procedure and open the scales up at 10 a.m. instead of noon. And many of the teams actually arrived earlier to get in line to weigh fish at the 10 a.m. mark. Weigh master Connie Adams-Meesig of Lewiston, filling the shoes of long time weigh master Tom Danaher, had her work cut out for her but she came through in fine fashion. 

       So how good was the fishing? The total catch in 2007 was 5,795 pounds of salmon and trout. That total this past weekend was 9,392 pounds! Pretty impressive to say the least and it helped to show that the many pen projects along the lakeshore must be working. We mentioned that there was a team from England and they had a great showing by placing 16th overall, fishing with Capt. Mike Waterhouse of Waterport. Gerry and Ray Davies, frequent visitors to these states, put together a team of able-bodied anglers to compete in both the Niagara and Orleans County Pro-Ams (Orleans County’s event is June 7-8). Included in their team was Jon Watson and his seven year old son Kenny; Wayne Hunt and his 15 year old son, Connor; and Andy Priest. What an experience for the kids as they get to see some of the finest fishing competitions on the Great Lakes, competing for some great prizes. All told, there was over $70,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs in events associated with the tournament. 

       Back to the tournament to recognize some more of the winners. Third place went to Reel Pleasure led by Don Harris of Middleport with a score of 444.95; fourth was Cortland Machine/A-Tom-Mik, with James Samia of Cortland leading the way at 239.71; fifth place was Salmon Bound and Bob Buck of Sodus with 438.09; sixth place was King Fisher and Shaun Curry of Rochester with 427.88; Rich Hajecki of Rochester and his Yankee Troller team placed seventh; eighth place was Sunrise II, led by Bob Stevens of Medina with 422.86; ninth place went to Kevin Jerge of Gasport and his Primetime/A-Tom-Mik team out of Wilson with 422.83; tenth place was the Striker squad led by Eric Marcinkowski of Syracuse with 419.23 points. 

      In the Amateur Division, third place went to the Wizzard team led by Larry Goehring of Spraggs, PA with 228.33; fourth was Lit-L Bit Cra-Z and Todd Choate of Gasport with 227.95; fifth place was Trophy Teasers and the Bill Heller contingent from Hopewell, NJ with 226.77; Screamer/A-Tom-Mik led by Joe Nogick of Peckville, PA was sixth with 224.40; seventh went to Team Spoonfed and Glen Gervais of West Springfield, MA; eighth was Lucky Strike and Nick Shelden of Horseheads with 222.65; ninth was the This Is It team (named after team leader Mike Geiger of Wellsboro, PA after his wife told him that this was the last boat he would ever purchase) with 218.51; tenth place was My Turn and Pete Kelly of Akron with 218.27 points. 

      Big fish for the tournament was a 25.68 pound king reeled in by the Ol' Jammer team led by Jim Evarts of Olcott. Next up on the tournament circuit is the Orleans County event this coming weekend. We’ll have a full report for you next week. If you want to follow along, you can do so at www.lakeontarioproam.com .

Johannes/DeAngelo Tourney A Winner –

       For the last seven years, the Don Johannes Memorial Fishing Derby was a friendly competition that a handful of boats used to get in as they practiced for the Pro-Am fishing competition. Money went for prizes and a Ransomville Ambulance Fund. 

     This year, that competition was taken up to the next level by adding the Pete DeAngelo Memorial Three-fish Tournament to the mix and upping the ante to $100 per boat. And in addition to the Ransomville Fire Company ambulance pot, the Olcott Fire Company was also added to the list of benefactors. The total competition became a huge success this year, with 80 teams competing for nearly $10,000 in cash and prizes. 

      There were several ways to win: biggest fish or the best three fish for the day, plain and simple. The rules were simple, too. First place big fish went to Shaun Curry and the King Fisher team out of Rochester, with a 24.02 pound king salmon. They also placed second overall in the three fish contest, earning $2,250 in the process. Second place big fish was Dave Siegfried of Holley and his Tracker team. Third place went to Mike Engle of Hilton with his Reel Drag team. Engle’s team also placed third in the three fish contest. 

      Winner in the three fish event was Bud Marsh and his Alibi team won with a total weigh of 57.80 pounds. It could have been the team from England, 7 Brits and a Gerry, however. Capt. Mike Waterhouse, who was fishing with the Englishmen, failed to register the team into the one day event. They ended up catching three fish that weighed over 57 pounds on their hand-held scale. The memory is usually the second thing that goes – I don’t remember what the first thing is.

Shreve Wins LOC Derby in 
Spectacular Fashion with 28 Pound Salmon

See updated pictures on this website's 2008 LOC derby page HERE

        Todd Shreve of Dover, Pennsylvania, a construction estimator by trade, won the 12th Annual Spring Lake Ontario Counties (LOC) Trout and Salmon Derby in spectacular fashion by reeling in a 28 pound, 11 ounce king salmon on the final day of the contest to earn a check for $12,500 and the Grand Prize trophy. He was fishing out of Point Breeze in Orleans County with his fishing partners Mike Geiger of Wellsboro, PA and Steve Gerloff of Douglassville, PA. 

        The derby was held May 2-11. After spending some time fishing in Wilson, Geiger took his 22 foot Wellcraft (aptly named “This Is It” after his wife told him it was his final boat purchase) to a favorite spot off Johnson Creek west of Point Breeze. Terry Williams, owner of North of the Ridge Campground in Orleans County, was credited with the “secret” location. When they reached the honey hole, they placed a black and purple Pro King spoon 35 feet down over 160 feet of water. At 6:30 a.m. they experienced a hard hit off the downrigger and they immediately knew it was a good fish. They pulled in all the other rods and slowed things down. The fish put up a valiant fight as it pulled the lure to the bottom four times with Shreve battling the fish all the way. A half-hour later, he had his derby winning fish. They were at the Point Breeze weigh station, Narby’s Superette and Tackle, when the scales opened at 9 a.m. and proprietor Sharon Narburgh was wide eyed when she shouted out an enthusiastic “wow.” This was a huge spring king, big enough to make the board in last fall’s LOC competition. “It is our honor and privilege to fish a world class fishery like Lake Ontario,” said Geiger at the awards ceremony at Abe’s Waterfront in Sodus Point, Wayne County. “It truly is a great place to fish.” 

       Shreve had no plans for the prize money other than they were going to be splitting it up among the team. While Shreve and his fish partners were celebrating, there was another celebration of sorts going on in Youngstown, Niagara County. Brian Brehm of Erie, Colorado had been fishing his first LOC Derby on the Niagara Bar with derby veterans David Levan of North Collins and 78 year old Jerry Levan of Cheektowaga when a big fish hit the Forrest Gump Fishlander magnum spoon behind a dipsy diver at 5 a.m. They had been targeting lake trout, but they recognized that this was a big fish. Just how big wouldn’t be revealed until they arrived at Petroy Marina in Youngstown, an official weigh station for the derby. A half hour fight on the water saw a massive lake trout hit the net – the BIG net. The scale read 26 pound, 12 ounces – big enough to take over the lead. Little did they know that Shreve was weighing in his huge king, so their celebration was short lived. 

       First place was worth $1,000. Still, the lake trout was an impressive catch … as was the king. The prior Grand Prize leader had been Duane Knapp of Addison with a 26 pound, three ounce fish he boated out of Olcott, Niagara County. He had been fishing with Paul Pasko of Troy, PA and Del Knapp of Gillett, PA when the weather got rough on the lake. Right next to them in the Town of Newfane Marina was Capt. Chris LoPresti and his father, Mike in their 10 Meter Trojan named “Maverick.” They agreed to give it a go aboard LoPresti’s boat and began trolling northwest of the harbor off the Red Barn. The first place salmon hit a Northern King 28 Frog spoon 200 feet back on a dipsy diver set at No. 2. They, too, earned $1,000. 

        The first place brown trout was quite a story, too. Robert Briggs of Belle Mead, NJ was fishing with his friend, Len Garriques of Belvidere, NJ while trolling out of Sandy Pond, Oswego County aboard Len’s 24-foot Grady White named “Heartbeat.” On Tuesday, they snagged a lure off the bottom that they would later find out was a Renosky firetiger stickbait. They put it down in the water and immediately caught an 8-1/2 pound brown trout. The next day, fishing the same area, they put the newly-acquired bait into 11 feet of water. At 9:30 a.m., they boated a 13 pound, eight ounce fish – a brown that would hold on to be a $1,000 winner. 

       The first place steelhead was another winning fish that almost wasn’t. Larry Daggett of Guilford, Maine was fishing with Allen Cole, Jr. of Brewer, ME and Capt. Frank Peckham of Hampden, ME. Trolling out of Point Breeze aboard Peckham’s 22-foot Starcraft Islander named “Ahab,” they were working 120 feet of water with a dipsy diver on Tuesday morning when a fish hit their Northern King blue dolphin spoon 125 feet back on a No. 2 setting. They figured it was a king salmon that weighed between 16 and 17 pounds, not big enough to make the board. When they showed up at the fish cleaning station, someone there told them that it was a nice steelhead, so they took it down to Captain’s Cove to check it out. The fish weighed in at 16 pounds, nine ounces – 10 hours after they caught it. Yes, it was a steelhead! This was Daggett’s first time fishing the LOC Derby, but it wasn’t the first time for his fishing partners. Daggett is $1,000 richer and he’ll be back. 

     Not too many youth weighed in fish this year. Bobby Lorentz of Rochester did manage to place 20th in the Lake Trout Division with a 15 pound, four ounce fish he caught while fishing off Wilson. The Summer LOC Derby kicks off on May 23rd and runs through July 20th. The Fall LOC Derby is set for August 15th through Sept. 1st. For more information on the LOC derbies or to see the full leaderboard for the May 2-11 Spring event, log on to www.loc.org.

Derby Notes: Of the top 21 salmon caught in the derby, 18 of the winning catches came from off Niagara County waters. All top 20 lake trout came from Niagara County ports, as well. Four of the top nine steelhead came from Niagara, as well.

First Steelhead Challenge A Success for CF

       The First Annual Lower Niagara Steelhead Challenge was held out of Lewiston last Thursday. A total of 17 boats were on hand to see Dave Gleason of Greensboro, NC (formerly of LaSalle) earn the Grand Champion Angler achievement for the inaugural event. He caught seven salmon and trout with Capt. Bob Cinelli to score 350 points. But this fishing contest wasn’t about who was catching the most or the biggest fish, it was about raising money for Cystic Fibrosis – an inherited disease that affects breathing and digestion. From that standpoint alone, the Challenge was a huge success, raising over $60,000 towards much needed research for CF. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the people of Western New York are some of the most giving people in the world. 

      It started with the Village of Lewiston and the Barton Hill Hotel and Spa, opening their arms and doors to this event – helping to raise the level of awareness for CF, as well as the tremendous fishery that we have on our dock steps. The event was co-sponsored by Waste Technology Services, led by Gary Hall of Niagara Falls as chairman of the event. Along with the help of his sons, Brian and Gary, and fishing guru Mike Oliver, they promoted the fishing contest through their network of business associates. Capt. Frank Campbell of Niagara Falls was pulled into the mix to help coordinate the charter captains. All 17 boats donated their time and money to make this thing happen. 

     Time and time again, these captains go out of their way to assist with these types of fundraisers – from fishing contests to donations of charter trips as prizes for raffles, drawings and auctions. Time is money for these ambassadors of the water. This time, though, the realization of what CF is all about and what the money is used for opened the eyes of many. “I’m always willing to donate my boat and time for worthy causes like this,” said Doug Stein of Grand Island. “This time, though, we had Justin Juliano of Buffalo on board my boat. Justin has CF and recently went through a lung transplant. He had the good fortune of catching a few trout and they were the biggest fish he has ever caught in his life – he was ecstatic! It made every minute of everything I’ve ever donated for charity causes worthwhile. It also makes me more appreciative for my health. It feels good to give something back.” 

      Of course there were many more people donating time and money, from the reception attendees at Barton Hill on Wednesday to the people and companies that were purchasing boats to fish the river. Every came together like a perfect plan as Kelly Kopra and company from CF ran the function like a well-oiled machine. Anglers from all over New York came to participate, as did people from Florida, Illinois and Michigan. We mentioned that Gleason was the Grand Champion. He was also a member of the Grand Champion Team, fishing alongside Gary Hall and Randy Cline of Wilson – amassing 700 points aboard Cinelli’s Hotline. Cline also caught the largest salmon, a 36-1/4 inch king caught on the Niagara Bar. 

       Largest steelhead was a 34 inch bullet reeled in by Chris Dresso while fishing the river with Capt. Gord LaPorte of Youngstown. Biggest lake trout when to Brian Hall when he hauled in a 37-1/2 inch fork tail while trolling with Capt. Jim Gordon of Appleton. As I mentioned earlier, it wasn’t about the awards as far as who caught what – other than what Juliano reeled in aboard Stein’s Blue Goose. That was an achievement. After the awards ceremony was held and the pictures were taken with the winning anglers, I watched Gleason slip over to Juliano and in the ultimate gesture of the day, present him with his Grand Champion Angler plaque. “This is for you,” said Gleason. He shook his hand and walked away.

       Challenge Notes: There is not truth to the rumor being spread that I had the first ever triple-double in Redbone Series history – 10 cans of pop, 11 bags of chips and an even dozen pieces of fruit (apples and oranges) while motoring around in the media boat …Don’t believe that bananas are bad luck on a boat? Capt. Joe Marra had been consistently catching fish while drifting Devil’s Hole when one of his fishermen snagged a banana peel – probably the most unusual catch for the Challenge. They never caught another fish for the day. Then again, Mike Oliver was on the boat so it could have something to do with that, too…Another unusual catch during the contest was a rod and reel, still intact and in working order.

Larson Wins Niagara River Steelhead Contest

        Capt. Roy Larson of North Tonawanda did something last Saturday he’s been trying to do for a long time – win the Niagara River Anglers Association’s steelhead contest. While drifting a pink egg sack in the tail end of the Stella drift, the retired school teacher managed to out-duel at 14 pound, four ounce steelhead to best 76 other anglers in the one day contest. A guide in these waters, Larson was fishing with friend and fellow captain John DeLorenzo of Niagara Falls. “It was kind of a fluke I even fished it,” said Larson. “John was supposed to have a charter fishing trip and his customer cancelled last minute with the flu. He called me up to fish it and I didn’t like the cold weather in the forecast. He actually talked me into it and I’m glad he did!” 

        Fishing conditions have been tough this year. With Lake Erie not freezing over and lots of wind and rain muddying the waters up, the trout fishing in the lower Niagara has been inconsistent at best. The anglers received a bit of a reprieve on Saturday, with good enough conditions to catch some fish and keep anglers happy. “We caught fish in Devil’s Hole, Artpark, Queenston and Jackson before catching the winning fish on Stella. Egg sacks worked for us all day and I know some boats caught fish on Kwikfish, too. We probably caught a dozen fish for the morning.” Larson wasn’t sure what the key to his success was other than pounding the water and trying out different areas. “We seemed to catch the same size fish on most drifts, so we moved around to seek out some bigger fish. It worked.” 

       Larson prefers a seven foot, nine inch G. Loomis steelhead rod equipped with a Fin-Nor spinning reel. While running a three-way rig, his egg sack was trailing a seven foot lead of eight pound fluorocarbon line. “You want as natural a presentation as possible,” said the avid waterfowler and 3-F Club skeet shooter. He won just under $400 for his efforts. Mike Sullivan and Dan Covell tied for second place with each catching a 12 pound, six ounce steelhead. However, Sullivan claimed the second place prize by weighing his catch in first at Lewiston Landing. According to Larson, Sullivan hauled his catch from Artpark while fishing from shore. Then again, Larson is the guy that followed the wrong car in an attempt to follow his guide while out goose hunting in the Finger Lakes this past goose season, so who knows for sure. Anyway, nice job, Roy! You did good!!