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“The bite’s back on!”

That was the predominant word from fishermen as they weighed in their catches at the 2009 Wal-Mart / Bay deNoc Great Lakes Sport Fishermen Club (BDN/GLSF), Bays Classic Walleye Tournament last Sunday.

The two members per team event originally had 23 pair signed, but two dropped out with a dreary weather forecast. Fishermen faced strong south-eastern winds and high waves. The teams that dropped our did not achieve credit points used by the club for all three summer tournaments.

In the 21 teams reporting, all but three caught five of the slot limited fish, many having the opportunity to stay out until deadline to try for a larger “Big Fish” part of the prize package being offered for the day.

The average aggregate weight of fish caught per boat was 23.38 pounds and 4.68 pounds per fish. The winning big fish caught by team #9, Bruce Crookham and Neil Armalti, weighed 9.8 pounds with the average weight of the top five registered coming in at 9.48 pounds each, making competition very close.

The top five fish came in at a tie between the teams of #11 Hanisko / Porath and #19 Chenier / Chenier, each with a combined weight of 29.65 pounds. Their winnings came to $525.00 per team. The top team of the tournament is usually given a slot in the Cabela’s Fishing Tournament, but this year it took a toss of a coin to award Glen and Carol Chenier the team position.

The tournament committee paid out prize money to the top five teams. The sixth and seventh place finishers each received checks for $50.00 from proceeds of the first annual GLSF Flea Market held last spring. That even, by the way, will again take place in the spring of 2010 and will be located in doors at the Gladstone Middle School.

Most of the tournament participants related they caught fish on crawler harnesses and/or crank baits by either trawling or drift fishing in eight to thirty feet of water. Every person who fished stated that the bite had greatly improved from the slow season so far. Keith Wils from Walleye’s Choice Lures also fished the tournament and said he “sure hopes this will hold up for the rest of the summer. It just may turn out to be an okay season!”

The boundaries for the Wal-Mart Classic were move further south this year, between the tip of Stonington and Seagull Point, and most fishing took place near the southern line.

There were a total of 99 fish caught with an average of 4.68 pounds each. All the fish were donated back to the club, part of which was used for a fish fry held at the end of the event.

In addition to the adult action, the BDN/GLSF also held the annual Kids Fishing Derby that is held prior to the adult weigh-in.

There were two categories with ages ranging from 0-8 years old and 9-16 years old. There were 90 kids registered this year, a new record for the club. In addition, there were a good many parents, grand parents, aunts, uncles and adult friends who brought the kids to the free derby.

Each youth fisherman that participated was given a bag of “goodies” and the top five places for each age category received special prizes including a fishing pole with reel and a tackle box with tackle. First place finishers also received a new bicycle donated by Wal-Mart and the Delta County Credit Union.

Kendra Bouchard took honors in the 0-8 year old class, bringing in two pounds of fish. Alex Jack won the 9-16 year old class with a total catch weight of 7.35 pounds. His lone fish happened to be a 31.5 inch northern pike that took held from another participant to land.

Jack also took honors for biggest fish, receiving a $10.00 gift card from Wal-Mart and a $30 Bike & Ski Tune-up certificate from Mr. Bike & Ski. The other fisherman who helped Jack land his fish, Dylan Plourde, won the Sportsmanship Award and a $5.00 gift certificate from Bay View Bait & Tackle as well as a $30 Bike & Ski Tune-up.

Larry Johnson, who has chaired the Wal-Mart Bays Classic for quite some time was very pleased with the turnout, especially with all the adult participation. He noted the wonderful donated prizes and help from sponsors, committee and club members really adding to the success. Johnson also stated that the friendly family atmosphere helped make this one of smoothest running events he has seen.

The third and last tournament in the BDN/GLSF membership series, is slated for September.

ADULT TOURNAMENT RESULTS:

1^st Hanisko/Porath and Chenier/Chenier each with five fish @29.65 pounds

2^nd Crookham/Armalti with five fish @29.3 pounds

3^rd Bowden/Corbett with five fish @27.35 pounds

4^th LeBoeuf/LeBoeuf with five fish @26.15 pounds

Consolation 5^th Myers/Iverson with five fish @25.8 pounds

Consolation 6^th Alimenti/Tourangeau with five fish @25.75 pounds

YOUTH DERBY RESULTS:

1^st 0-8 Kendra Bouchard @ 2 pounds

9-16 Alex Jack @ 7.35 pounds

2^nd 0-8 Quentin Johnson @1.95 pounds

9-16 Shannon Timler @3.95 pounds

3^rd 0-8 Mariette Schantz @1.9 pounds

9-16 Emma Horton @3.60 pounds

4^th 0-8 Varilya Pryal @1.7 pounds

9-16 Ryan Timler @3.10 pounds

5^th 0-8 Erin Timler @1.65 pounds

9-16 Chad Newton @2.90 pounds