Former Dryden local, Troy Norman and his fishing buddy Andrew Carlson hit the jackpot at the Sturgeon Bay Open Bass Tournament last month after setting a new tournament record for biggest fish.
The two, currently living in Fort Frances, traveled to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and joined the other 199 boats for the two-day event. After enduring some rough weather in the pre-fish, the guys headed out to catch the big one.
Day one of fishing, the two brought in a good weight of 26.29 lbs after catching a fair amount of fish over the course of the day. The excitement, however, came on day two.
Norman says he was up at the front of the boat when he saw the fish swim by and told his partner not to move.
“The fish cruised out of sight so I casted out in front of it and walked to the back of the boat and let the bait dropped slow and it hit. I’m like ‘Yep! I got it! I got it, man! I got ‘er!”
Norman says his partner was looking out for the fish as he reeled it in and asked if it was a big fish. No sooner were the words out of his mouth, the fish came out of the water and Carlson jumped and lost his rod.
“He let out this little girlish scream, grabbed the net and he netted the fish and brought it into the boat. We were just screaming, just pumped up. I told him ‘Let’s do it man, let’s win this thing.”
The fish, a 7 lb. smallmouth, was the largest bass ever brought in to the weigh-in in the 20 years the tournament has been running.
Norman says the team knew they needed another big bass to seal the deal and earn a win so they casted again but they encountered a small problem.
“I started casting and Andy starts looking around and he’s like ‘Uh, where’s my rod?’ When he saw the fish come out, he was so excited, he threw his rod right into the lake. So we went back to the spot where we were and we ended finding the rod in about seven ft. of water.”
The two kept fishing and Norman brought in another bass just under 6 lbs. The team headed to weigh-in with a whopping 29.69 lbs worth of bass.
The team won top spot of a new bass boat, $10,000, $2,000 for big fish of the tournament and they each received 14 karat gold diamond bass tournament rings valued at $7,000 each. The retail value of the grand prize was set at $52,500.

“The goal is to bring back the Walleye Masters tournament to a level it was at in years past.  There has been a bit of decline in the past few years, and we’re really working hard to inject new life into it and make it a fun event,” says Don Bruner, Chamber of Commerce representative for the Dryden Walleye Masters.

Dates for the event are June 19 and 20 this year, with the main venue being the Dryden arena.  There was some previous controversy after a request to City council was rejected to waive the fees of the arena rental for the event.

Don Ames, Chamber Manager for the Dryden Chamber of Commerce says, “We received some support from the community in that regard, and the Dryden Marketing Association came on to help us with the sponsorship for that.  They came with a $1000 sponsorship so we’re all okay for the venue.”

Prize amounts will not be a predetermined set amount this year, as they have been in the past.  The goal of the Walleye Masters committee is to pay out more, to more teams this year, while still maintaining a very large grand prize.

“We’re hoping to structure the payouts based on the number of registrants we get in.  If we get 75 registrants, we’ll have a different payout versus 100 teams,” reports Ames.

Morning checks will continue to take place at Government dock, with the weigh-ins taking place at the Duke Street dock.  Beer gardens and a proposed trade show will take place in the arena, as well as the awards event.

There are currently 46 registrants, with an ideal goal of 100 entrants to celebrate the 100th year.  Ames says the current registration numbers are above par at this point from previous years.

“The tournament will go on no matter what, but it looks like the public demand will put us right back into our normal numbers for the past couple years,” confirms Ames.

All key positions for volunteers have now been filled, but the committee will accept names of anyone who wishes to participate.

As with previous years, the tournament will be based on a catch and release system, with live bait encouraged and barbless hooks .  As the centennial year, there are some proposed extra events taking place in the arena, but the tournament itself will remain the same.

With a dinner provided for anglers and their guests on Saturday evening, there is no scheduled late night entertainment, as the anglers have an early morning start again on Sunday.  The committee is currently securing food vendors to be onsite during the festivities, which will attract more spectators out during the day, and their continued presence.

More information, including online registration, can be found at www.drydenwalleyemasters.ca or by calling the Chamber office.

- Ally Dunham

This was a remarkable year for the ice to be out, with it leaving up to four weeks early on some lakes.  While this was great for those who were still doing winter fishing from a boat, this is going to cause some major changes in spring fishing normality’s.

“This year, being about a month ahead, a lot of people are going to caught get fishing where they would normally fish for the opener.” says John Butts, Pro fisherman and sportsman.  “The fish are weeks ahead this year, so you want to fish now, where you would normally be in the middle of June.”

With the differences in water levels, this will affect how we fish, and where the fish are living.  The water on most lakes is down substantially this year, and in areas where you may have previously fished that were “hotspots” may not be now.

Butts predicts that the fish populations shouldn’t fluctuate too much this year, unless a typical spawning area is in a deep water location.  This year, with the water levels being drastically lower in some lakes, the fish will not return to their usual spawning location as they no longer feel safe with the lower water levels.

The ones who do take the risk and continue to their spawning areas, are then at risk of predators from above the waves.  They become a target for birds, bears, and other fish-eating creatures that can now see them below the water surface.

According to Butts, shallow fishing is best for walleye, and minnows tend to dominate in the early spring season, due to the transition of how the bait fish work.  Leaches and worms are effective, but not until later into the season when the water temperatures are warmer.

One benefit that the more seasoned fishermen have is locators with temperature monitors built in.  Butts says this is a very effective tool as you can monitor the temperature of your chosen fishing spots.  Walleye tend to migrate to warmer pockets, where you will find the minnows and small bait fish, along with the flies that have hatched.

“If it’s 4 or 5 degrees warmer in a bay, it can make a huge difference in the fish populations” says Butts.  “That can change from one day to the next mind you.  If the wind switches and blows cold water in, the fish will move to a warmer location.”

When it comes to lures, due to the water having warmed earlier this year, Butts says the traditional spinners and jig with minnows are the best choices for lures.  He also comments that slip bobbers are very effective, but very under-utilized in this area.

When asked about colors, Butts says that glow in the dark jigs are great, and he uses them a lot.  Where most people tend to choose the brighter, more florescent colors, Butts recommends the use of the darker jig heads in the murkier waters.

“A darker color in the type of water we have, will show up better.  A color like chartreuse will blend out much quicker than a black or dark red,” say Butts.

Butts, feeling very hopeful about this years fishing says, “Things are falling into place, and could be one of the better openers that we’ve ever had in this area.”

- Ally Dunham