Fall Brawl winner weighs top walleye in Sandusky

SANDUSKY — The Sandusky Bait Company was a popular spot for anglers during the recently completed big-money Lake Erie Fall Brawl. The bait shop on Shelby Street was where most of the top competitors in the six-week event weighed their big walleyes. "Ninety percent of the fish caught from Lorain to the islands were weighed here," said Steve Hammer, who owns the bait shop with his wife, Tammy. "It was convenient. They could pull up with their boats, weigh them and head back out. We did 40 in a day at times." The Fall Brawl began October 15 and wrapped up last Sunday. The top finishers are in the process of taking polygraph tests at attorney's office in Cleveland. Those should be completed this week. Last year's Fall Brawl was marred by the disqualification of Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominsky, the same anglers who landed in the national spotlight after being accused of cheating at a Lake Erie Walleye Trail event this fall. The Fall Brawl and Lake Erie Walleye Trail are both owned by Jason Fischer. "It was great this year. There were a lot of positive attitudes," Fischer said about his first year running the Fall Brawl. "People wanted an honest event; it almost cleared up the air from last year. "They appreciate that they feel like they have an honest chance to win." Barring any surprises, the winner of the Fall Brawl will be Jim Holton from Holly, Michigan. Holton, 71, was fishing with Tim McKinney from Flint, Michigan, last Tuesday near Lorain when he landed a walleye that weighed 13.62 pounds. He weighed the 31.5-inch fish in Sandusky. Holton will win a 2023 Ranger 622 FS Pro fishing boat with a 400-horsepower Mercury outboard motor. The boat is valued at $135,000. Tammy Stanton, from Hartville, Ohio, in Stark County, finished second in the Brawl. She caught a 13.44-pound walleye that measured 32.25 inches on November 14. She is in line to win a fishing boat valued at $120,000. Three other anglers caught walleyes that tipped the scales at more than 12 pounds: Shannon James, Powell, Ohio, 12.72 pounds; James Trent, Amherst, 12.22 pounds; and Ray Withers, Streetsboro, 12.10 pounds. Those three will win between $45,000 and $65,000 in the Fall Brawl, which led to a lot of activity on Lake Erie in recent weeks. "A lot of places stayed open because our guys were out there fishing," Fischer said. "It's making an impact on our economy on the lakeshore of Erie and in the towns that survive off lake-related income." The top five finishers also won lucrative prizes in the Fall Walleye Slam based in Sheffield Lake. That tournament was run concurrently with the Fall Brawl. James, the Brawl's third-place finisher, used a Hammertime Custom Bandit "Mantis" to land his big walleye last Friday. "He came in and bought the lure that morning and went out and caught that fish," said Hammer, who spent many hours painting the official Fall Brawl lure. "There were days I was painting till 11 o'clock at night to try to keep up," he said. Hammer said he enjoyed watching Fall Brawl competitors weigh their fish, especially kids. "Seeing the look on their faces ... I had a kid come in with a 10-pounder. They're not used to catching that big of a fish and this tournament gives everyone the same chance," he said. "You go out and fish and hope to be one of the lucky five." Luke Gowitzka won the Youth Division with a 10.37-pound walleye. He won $2,000. More than $500,000 in cash and prizes were awarded. Seventeen Fall Brawl fish weighed more than 11 pounds and the top 27 fish were caught in the month of November. This was the first year that the Sandusky Bait Company was an official weigh station for the Fall Brawl. Hammer said he fished with anglers from as far away as Colorado, Wisconsin and Illinois. The other two weigh stations were located in Maumee and in Lake County east of Cleveland. "This is a big deal, having this in Sandusky," Hammer said. "It attracts more people to the area than just about anything other than Cedar Point. Its impact is incredible on our community. Hotels, gas, restaurants, this helped businesses everywhere in the area. "We need to push our greatest resource and that lake puts a spotlight on Sandusky."