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April 23, 2002   TOURNAMENT ANGLERS IMPRESSED BY LAKE ERIE'S TROPHY WALLEYES .  Six   Professional Walleye Trail tournament records broken PORT CLINTON, OH  -- Top pro and amateur walleye anglers competing in the In-Fisherman   Professional Walleye Trail (PWT) tournament held on Lake Erie April 17-19 broke six tournament records, according to the Ohio Department  of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. The 300 tournament  anglers caught a total of 1,794 walleyes, weighing 7 tons.   "The walleye bite was incredible and the best I've ever seen," said Jim  Kalkofen, executive director of the tournament. "We definitely plan to   return to Lake Erie in 2003 for our tenth competition there."   Record after record fell during the three-day event as summer-like weather greeted tournament anglers.    "Our walleye and yellow perch fisheries have been strong this spring, and weather permitting, we should have good fishing throughout the rest of the year," said Roger Knight, ODNR's Lake Erie Fisheries program administrator.  Pro winner Tommy Skarlis, of Walker, Minnesota, set a new record for the heaviest three-day catch, 15 walleye, weighing a combined 138.28 pounds.   His catch broke the old record of 132.56 pounds for 18 walleyes set in  1992. The one-day record, 53.20 pounds, was set by pro Ted Takasaki of  Brainerd, Minnesota. Takasaki's five fish beat the previous one-day   weight record of 50.40 pounds (six fish) set in 1992 on Lake Erie.  Other tournament records included:  * Anglers landed 346 walleyes, each weighing more than 10 pounds,  shattering the previous record of 35 fish in excess of 10 pounds set   two years ago on Lake Erie. * PWT anglers averaged a 10-pound walleye  every fifth fish.  * The record for the average walleye weight in a tournament was also  broken at 7.90 pounds per fish, beating the old record of 7.26 pounds   per fish. * The average fish weight for the top 25 pros was 8.45 to   9.22 pounds.  * The record for the number of 12-pound walleyes caught in a PWT  tournament was easily broken at 21 fish. The previous record was six   12-pound walleyes.  * The number of most daily catches over 40 pounds was smashed with 150  daily catches topping the scales at over 40 pounds. The previous   record, set on Lake Erie in 1992, was 55 catches over 40 pounds.  Kalkafen noted that female walleyes had spawned earlier in the week,   otherwise these weights would have been even heavier. The largest fish  weighed in at 14.27 pounds, but did not break the previous PWT  tournament big fish record of 14.64. That catch dated from two years  ago on Lake Erie.   Fish caught during the tournament were donated to the Sea Gate Food Bank  of Toledo, Veterans Home of Sandusky, Victory Temple Soup Kitchen of  Sandusky, and Homeless Solutions of Mahoning Valley.   A total of nearly $250,000 in cash and merchandise was awarded to   contestants in the PWT's inaugural tournament for the 2002 season. The tour visits six additional sites in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South  Dakota and North Dakota this season.

April 18th, 2002       Huge Catches Dominate Realtree Eastern Pro-Am for PWT Anglers on Lake Erie Port Clinton, Ohio....Huge walleyes and summer weather greeted In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail contestants in the Realtree Eastern Pro-Am today. Records were shattered as monster walleyes came to the scales. Pro leader Carl Grunwalt, Green Bay, Wisconsin, set a new one-day PWT record with 52.85 pounds. The former record of 48.48 pounds by Norb Wallock, Conover, Wisconsin, was on the books for two years (also a Lake Erie catch). Grunwalt1s amateur partner, Lewis Feucht, St. Cloud, Wisconsin, leads the amateur field. Pros fish with amateurs, and the boat-weight format allows them to bring five walleyes to the scales. Second, third and fourth place partners also broke Wallock1s record. Pro Jay Janny, Eagle, Wisconsin, 52.15 pounds, is in second. Bill St. Peter, Bay City, Michigan, 49.52 pounds is in third, and Johnnie Candle, Devils Lake, North Dakota, 48.61 is in fourth. Their amateurs were Chuck Harmston, Andover, Minnesota, James Harkin, Lowell, Indiana, and Jeff Sproul, Kankakee, Illinois, respectively. The record for the most walleyes over 10 pounds was easily eclipsed. The past record, 35 walleyes in excess of 10 pounds, was set in 2000, but was for the entire three-day Lake Erie tournament. Today, 133 walleyes weighing more than 10 pounds hit the scales. The Miller High Life Big Fish was 14.27 pounds, caught by amateur Tim Fields, Clarendon, Pennsylvania. If it holds for the tournament, it will pay $3,000 cash. Eight walleyes over 12 pounds came to the scales; 32 in the 11 pound range; 92 from 10 to 11 pounds; 152 at nine pounds; and 111 walleyes at eight pounds were weighed. If Grunwalt2s and Feucht1s one day catch holds for three days, it will win the Gander Mountain Heavyweight Award of a $500 shopping spree for the pro and $300 for the amateur at any of Gander1s 50-plus stores. This is the first day of the first tournament of the 2002 PWT season. Following Lake Erie, the tour heads west to the Missouri River at Chamberlain and Oacoma, South Dakota, May 8-10. A total of six tournaments are set in Ohio, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Michigan. Amateur openings still exist in most events, and potential entrants may contact the PWT web site at www.in-fisherman.com, or call PWT headquarters at 218-829-0620. A Mercury Real-Time Score Board features results on the web site as soon as anglers weigh, and is a great way to follow each tournament. Photos of the giant walleyes will also be posted. The total purse is nearly $250,000, with the top 45 pros and amateurs winning cash and merchandise prizes. Both the winning pro and winning amateur win Lund boats with Mercury outboards on Eagle trailers. First place pro wins $50,000; top amateur1s prize value is $15,000. Day two and day three weigh-in festivities start about 3 p.m. at Water Works Park in downtown Port Clinton.

March 20, 2002:  HOT OFF THE PRESSES.  The Spring 2002 issue of Lake Erie Walleye Magazine is now available and has been mailed to the membership.  The ONLINE EDITION is also available 24/7 for subsribers.  Call 1-800-347-4519 or visit the Walleye.Com Shop to order your subscription.

January 15, 2002.  They're finally here.  Hot off the presses, the NEW CENTRAL BASIN Fishing Maps.  Order HERE