Walleye tourneys launch from Port Clinton

The Masters Walleye Circuit and the Lake Erie Walleye Trail will combine efforts at early-season tournaments this weekend in Port Clinton, and both tourney directors are expecting heavy bags of fish at the weigh-ins. "If you're going to fish walleyes on a competitive level, you have to do it right here," said MWC tournament director Jeff Kelm. "This event can be a lucrative place to start." The MWC, a national circuit that holds seven events leading up to its season championship, will fish Friday and Saturday. The LEWT tourney will be Saturday only. "The advantage for us is we can expand our tournament to anglers from other states," said LEWT tourney director Jason Fischer. "Guys get to fish in both events. Combined, we're at about 150 boats, so the payouts are huge." Fischer said that if a team wins both tourneys and uses a Ranger, Nitro or Triton boat (which earns a $14,000 bonus for first place), the top payout would be around $40,000. Anglers will head out at 7 a.m. each day and weigh-ins begin at 3:30 p.m. at Water Works Park near the Jefferson Street Pier. The public is welcome to attend the weigh-ins. Teams can weigh five fish per day and all walleyes must be 15 inches or longer. The LEWT tourney has about 80 teams signed up for the Saturday-only event. Fischer, who lives in Chagrin Falls, bought the LEWT series at the end of last season. He operates under the Big Water Walleye Championships umbrella. "The location is great, the time of year is great and the weather has been shaping up to be favorable," Fischer said. "Now it's just a matter of finding five good ones." He said anglers are reporting big catches this week. "They've been catching big ones here and there, but you need five big ones to win it." Fischer estimated that the two-day winning total (10 fish) will be more than 60 pounds. To win the one-day LEWT tourney, which features $19,900 in prize money, Fischer figures 35 pounds is a good target. Fischer ran four LEWT events last year before buying the series. "It's just fun," he said. "We have the best walleye fishing in the world and have no tournament circuits on Lake Erie. I have as much fun watching my friends win than if I did. It's a blast." LEWT's first 2021 tourney was held March 27 at Magee East. David Kraut and Sam Downing won with a five-fish total of 35.96 pounds. The husband-wife team of Edgar and Vicky Trent brought in the day's biggest walleye at 10.53 pounds. LEWT also held a cast-and-jig event last Saturday at Catawba Island. David Miller's winning team weighed five fish totaling 25.42 pounds. The series' next event will be May 15 in Huron before heading to Lorain on June 5. This will be the second of seven MWC tournaments that lead up to the circuit's championship. The first event was held last month in Spring Valley, Illinois, on the Illinois River. The team of Tyler Johnson and Cade Ploch won with a total weight of 25 pounds, 7 ounces. That was 1 ounce more than the total catch of Michael and Joe Perez. The walleyes caught on Lake Erie will be substantially heavier. "There is a lot of fish in the system and we should be near these large schools at the right time to see something magical," said Kelm.