LEWT event Saturday in Huron will feature 91 boats

The weather is warmer and the walleye fishing is still hot. That's the forecast from Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament director Jason Fischer, whose annual fishing tour sets up shop in Huron on Saturday. "It's still really good, and with the weather stabilizing this week the guys will be able to nail down their patterns and stay on them," Fischer said. "It should be another competitive tournament." The Huron event, which begins launching from the city's boat basin on the Huron River at 6:30 a.m., is the third LEWT qualifier in advance of the season championship in Cleveland on September 30 and October 1. Fischer said 91 boats are entered, up from 80 last year. The weigh-in will begin at 2:30 p.m. and the festivities also will include a pig roast and signups for the big-money Lake Erie Fall Brawl, which begins October 15. "We always do cookouts but have not done a pig roast at a fishing event," said Fischer, who bought the Fall Brawl. "Huron's always a good venue and can handle a lot of boats. It's also a central location for a lot of our anglers. "It's not just about 'hurry up and get our fish weighed and get out.' " Tyler Berthold and Jeremy Lisy won last year's LEWT event at Huron, weighing five fish that totaled 44.81 pounds. Their biggest fish came in at 11.33 pounds. The winners' total payout was $15,840. Berthold and Lisy return to defend their title. Also in the field are the winners in the first two qualifiers: Lucas Hahn and Russ Hannu (April 2 at Magee East) and Joe Gibson and Bryan Beck (April 22-23 at Sandusky). Also in the field are Gary and Alex Kisel. The father-son team from Macedonia caught the biggest walleye (11-9) at the Sandusky event in April and was crowned LEWT Team of the Year in the 2019 season championship in Huron. The fourth of six qualifiers is scheduled for June 11 in Lorain.