Oak Harbor, Ohio April 5, 2009

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Familiar Winners at LEWT Starcraft Marine Season Opener

The Western Basin Sportfishing Association (WBSA) and Lake Erie Walleye Trail (LEWT) hosted the first event of the 2009 Starcraft Marine, Crown Battery tournament series Sunday April 5th at Fenwick Marina. After inclement weather on Saturday led to the event being delayed until Sunday the 44 teams were greeted by muddy waters and light easterly winds that built throughout the day.

“The fact that we had the same number of teams on the blow date as originally were signed up is a testament to the quality of anglers we have on the LEWT” commented LEWT Tournament Director Matt Davis. “Even though the teams knew the water was going to be muddy and the bite was going to be tough they were ready to go this morning to test their skills.”

Leading the way was the father and son team of Tommy Sibert of Sandusky and Tom Sibert of Castalia. Their winning weight of 23.44 lbs was enough to secure the win. They made the decision to go out past the shipping channel in search of cleaner water to troll up the winning bag. Rick LaCourse of Oak Harbor and Dan Stier of Pierre SD finished in 2nd with a limit weighing 20.90 lbs. In third with 20.42 lbs was the team of Ron Newmister of Genoa and Marty Muse of Fremont IN. Rounding out the top five were Mike Solomey of Demotte IN and Shane Solomey of Wheatfield IN in fourth and Scott Wilson of Grafton and Rick Wilson of Olmstead Falls in fifth.

In the battle for the Cranberry Creek Marina Big Fish award the Solomey’s came out on top with a walleye weighing 9.68 lbs. “I drug a bottom bouncer all day while we were jigging and towards the end of the day I thought it was snagged. I picked it up and realized it was actually a big fish” commented Mike Solomey. In second for the cash payout was a 7.00 lb walleye caught by the Wilson’s.

Long time LEWT supporter Medina Plating stepped up this year to sponsor the Early Bird award. Number 13 turned out to be lucky for the team of Mark Brumbaugh and Jim Stedke as their boat number, 13, was drawn as the winner of the Medina Plating Early Bird Award of $500.

With the tough water conditions many teams decided to jig fish the shallow water and a lot of them reported using Cyclops Lures Hair Jigs to do this. The winning team talked about catching 3 of their fish on Purple Demon Reef Runners. In total there were 86 fish brought to the scales averaging 3.65 lbs.

The balance of the 2009 schedule is as follows and openings exist for all except Lakeside:

May 9 – Lakeside - Lakevue Marina “Sharpnack Ford LEWT” (Blow Date May 10)
June 6 – Sandusky – City Ramp “Crown Battery LEWT” (Blow Date June 7)
June 27 – Geneva – “Migration Open” (Blow Date June 28 )
July 25 – Championship Sheffield Lake – Sheffield Lake City Ramp (Blow Date July 26)

The WBSA is a Social based Club for fishermen and women that fish in the Western & Central Basins of Lake Erie and its tributaries. Membership is open to all fisher people no matter what their location. Our goal is to present information in a manner that will help sustain and improve fishing in one of the greatest inland sport fisheries in the world. Scientific information, fishing techniques, locations and presentations will be presented at our monthly meetings by expert and knowledgeable speakers and tournament anglers in our group. These anglers are very open with techniques and methods and will help any member that is trying to learn new methods.

For more information about the LEWT you can visit www.wbsa.us Listed below are the 2009 LEWT sponsors: Starcraft Marine, Crown Battery, Medina Plating, Tom Sharpnack Chevrolet, Buick and Pontiac in Willard, South Shore Marine, Reef Runner Lures, Cranberry Creek Marina, Vics Sports Center, Sharpnack Ford, Denny Braun, Erie Outfitters, Ole Pete's Tackle, Yant Beef Jerky, Navionics, OhioGamefishing.com, Cyclops Lures, Bad Boys Tackle, Catch Em Trolling Sinkers, Michigan Stinger Spoons, Jim’s Taxidermy, Cisco Fishing Systems, LPG Fishing Systems and Huron Drive Thru and Tackle Shop.

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