Boatloads of business as National Walleye Tour opens competition season in Port Clinton
PORT CLINTON ― The boats started pulling out at 7 a.m. Thursday for the start of the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s National Walleye Tour, officially beginning the Outdoor Team Works professional competitive walleye fishing season.
For the first time, Port Clinton is the site for the opening event for the professional national tour, which ends in September.
Jim Barton, owner of Lake Donuts, on Jefferson Street, just off the water, almost didn’t take the bait when asked what doughnuts were catching anglers.
“Apple fritters are always a favorite, and they were probably also the favorite with the anglers,” Barton said. “There is definitely a lot of traffic that you wouldn’t normally see, which is awesome.”
Mayor Mike Snider echoed the significance of the opening contest of the tour taking place in Port Clinton.
“It reinforces the fact that we are the walleye capital of the world, if this many professional fishermen want to come and ply our waters here. Economically, it’s fantastic. This is obviously the beginning of the summer season with the fishing population coming into town. The exposure we’re getting, as a community, is spectacular,” Snider said. “As I’ve gone around town, to the different restaurants, gas stations, and whatnot, you see these folks everywhere. You see it’s a tremendous boost to our local economy. It’s bringing in extra money by the boatload, multiple boatloads.”
The National Walleye Tour has 141 boats competing in Port Clinton Thursday and Friday in a pro-co format. Each two-person team features a professional angler and co-angler.
Fans lined up on the Jefferson Street pier to see off the boats.
“We live here and we’ve been watching everything and following everything all week,” said Kim Palmer, who lives in Port Clinton. “We didn’t want to miss the start of the competition. We’re really intrigued by it.”
She was excited to see the competition boats, but also the anglers and their support teams in the city where she lives.
“This is so good for the community, it really is. We’ve been watching all the fishermen visiting all the local restaurants and all the hotels, besides the fact that it’s drawing national attention to our town. It’s so cool,” Palmer said.
City Councilwoman Beth Gillman explained the lead-up to the competition.
“They have been here for as much as 10 days. They come into the area and stay and scout it out. Then there have been people who come ahead of that, so this is a big deal for Port Clinton. It’s a great press opportunity. They’ve been in our restaurants and our businesses,“ Gillman said. “They’ve been looking at the waters and getting a feel for the lake. Every body of water is different to fish. Then they talk about the size of our fish. Lake Erie has bigger fish. It’s going to be a great tournament and it’s a great way to kick off the season.”
The first prize for professional winner is $15,000 and a 2024 Ranger 620 FS Pro boat and motor package, valued at $99,550. The co-angler first prize is $7,500.
The top 25 places will get a cash prize, and many will receive additional prizes from the various sponsors.
The total weight of both days’ fish determines the winner.
Chamber of Commerce President Nicole Kochensparger commented on the haul of prizes.
“There is over $300,000 in cash and prizes to the winning teams. They have prizes for everything, from the sponsors on their boats, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Progressive, whether or not they have a certain motor in their boat, and many other things,” Kochensparger said.
This is also an unusual type of tournament, at least for Ottawa County.
“I’ve hosted other tournaments with this tournament director, so I’m very familiar with how tournaments work, but this is on a much bigger scale. You’ve got Bass Pro. You’ve got Cabela’s and Progressive here. So this is a much stricter tournament, and the pro-co is different. The not knowing who you are fishing with is different,” she explained.
The professional is assigned a co-angler each day.
“The pro got a text message last night, of who their partner is, and they will get another text message tonight, telling them who their partner is tomorrow. So there’s a professional and a co-angler, who is not a professional. That is the only thing different, that I’ve never seen in a tournament before,” Kochensparger said.
The Chamber of Commerce and Main Street board have worked on bringing the event to the city for more than a year.
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This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Port Clinton OH catches Bass Pro, Cabela's walleye anglers' money
