Lake Erie Tournament Scheduled for Saturday, July 16 at Lorain, Ohio
By Steve Weisman
GNWC Publicity Director
The fourth and final regular season tournament for the walleye teams
fishing the Ohio Region of the Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC) will be
held on Saturday, July 16 on Lake Erie and will be hosted by Lorain, OH. In
case of bad weather, Sunday, July 17 will be the alternate date.
According to GNWC Executive Bernie Barringer, the weekend promises to be
an exciting one for both anglers and the general public. The weekend is the
Lorain Port Fest, and the Lorain Port Authority is making the Lake Erie
Tournament part of Lorain celebration.
Vanessa C. Volak, Marketing Manager for the Lorain Port Authority had
this to say about the addition of the Lake Erie Tournament. “The Lorain Port
Authority is very excited to host the GNWC this July during our 15th annual
Port Fest weekend. We look forward to welcoming the GNWC to our community
and offering superior facilities and services for the tournament. We
encourage the participants to bring their families and enjoy an entertaining
summer weekend in Lorain!”
Barringer added, “I think it will make for a great tournament atmosphere
with food and beverages, fireworks and live music on Saturday night,
following the GNWC Lake Erie Tournament that day.”
Also on the line will be the Yamaha Outboards Team of the Year honors.
Currently, the team of Mike Defibaugh and Tom Defibaugh from Bellefontaine,
OH lead the race with 20 points followed by John Allen from Mansfield, OH
and Greg Wasilewski from Shelby, OH with 29 points.
According to Gary Carpenter, owner of Sara J. Tackle Shop, July walleye
fishing should be excellent out of Lorain. Carpenter, who has also been a
charter boat captain for 18 years and owns three charter vessels, shared his
thoughts about the tournament. “In July, walleyes will be on the sand bar in
44-48 feet of water. At a walleye tournament a year ago in July, the winning
weight was taken right near Lorain.”
Carpenter noted that many of the tournament teams will pull crankbaits,
and they often trigger the larger fish, but fewer fish. The presentation
many of the local anglers use is trolling Dipsy Divers and spoons.
The tournament director will have the trailer at the Black River Wharf
boat launch – Broadway & E. 14th St. from 6-8 p.m. the evening before the
tournament to take late entries and answer questions. Take-off is at 7 a.m.
with the weigh-in commencing at 3 p.m. sharp at the Black River boat launch.
“I look for some huge weights come in at Saturday’s weigh-in. The
weigh-in should be really exciting with all of the people around for the
Lorain Port Fest. These weigh-ins are free to the public, fun and
educational. The weigh-in is a great place to find out from the teams what
presentations and tactics worked to trigger the fish,” added Barringer.
For those interested in entering this final tournament on the Ohio
Region, the entry fee remains at $210 per team. Barringer encourages
interested anglers to contact him at 1-800-890-FISH (3474), or email the
GNWC at [email protected]. “I also encourage people to check out our
website at http://www.walleyecup.com and see what the results are in each of our
seven regions,” added Barringer.
Major national sponsors for the GNWC include Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
Outboards, Lowrance Electronics, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, Aqua-VU,
Aqua Innovations, Cabela’s and UpNorthOutdoors.com. National championship
sponsors are Towtector Shield and the FoodSource Lure Corporation.