OWF Mosquito Lake Q1 Press Release

[OWF]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Ohio Walleye Federation – Mosquito Lake Results

Alliance, OH – May 1, 2012


Miserable weather conditions plagued anglers during the Ohio Walleye Federation’s (OWF) first qualifier at Mosquito Lake. High winds, rain, sleet and more high winds did not affect the 33-boat field when it came to catching walleyes. It proved to be record setting day with the highest weight ever recorded at Mosquito Lake for an OWF event.

Just after sendoff, team Nathan Arnold (Newton Falls, OH) and Mike Porter (Stow, OH) started trolling their number one spot. Shortly after setting their lines, they landed their first keeper and had their tournament limit by 9:30am. However, they realized these were not the right fish to win the tournament. The graph was not showing the marks they had seen in practice. So, around 10am Arnold/Porter moved to another area to search for better marks on the graph.

In the meantime, team Chad Hawley (Atwater, OH) and Clay Hawley (Atwater, OH) started the day trolling also but with different morning results than Arnold/Porter. Team Hawley/Hawley bellied up to their waypoints and immediately started catching fish. “We didn’t even have our second line set when the first rod went back.” said Chad Hawley. “It was a one of our biggest fish of the day and it didn’t stop there”. Hawley/Hawley had their tournament limit of bruisers by 10am and were culling 19 incher’s by 11am.

Arnold/Porter was still searching for better walleyes. At 11:30am, a rod goes back and it was a nice one. They worked a small area that held tournament-winning walleye. Their biggest fish (5.06 lbs) coming late in the afternoon. All of their fish were caught trolling leadcore with custom painted ripshads and shadraps in 16–19 feet of water.

Team Hawley/Hawley found their Glory Hole, dialed in their program, and continued to put on a walleye catching display throughout the day while trolling leadcore with flicker shads in 17–19 feet of water. Their biggest fish (5.7 lbs) was caught in the afternoon on a custom painted flicker shad.

Feeling confident with their fish, Arnold/Porter bring their tournament limit of 5 fish to the scales and weigh in an impressive 18.90 pounds putting them in first place for the moment. Next to weigh in was Hawley/Hawley. After seeing the weight of Arnold/Porter, Hawley/Hawley was anxious to weigh their fish. After the scale settled, it was official. Hawley/Hawley solidified the win with an OWF record for Mosquito Lake of a monumental weight of 20.02 pounds! This bag of bruisers consisted of a 4 pound average which is equivalent to a walleye measuring 23-24 inches.

“We had no idea we had 20 pounds!” said Chad Hawley. “We were so focused on catching fish all day, we didn’t have a chance to weigh any of them.” With the win, it puts Hawley/Hawley on top of the points leader-board and shows that they are a major contender for the 2012 season. Hawley/Hawley would like to send a special thanks to his wife Jennifer and sponsors Mark’s Bait & Tackle (Ravenna, OH), Safety Tech (Ravenna, OH), and Lakeside Sports Shop & Drive Thru Rite (Cortland, OH).

Team Hawley/Hawleytook 5 fish to the scales for a winning weight of 20.02 lbs. Rounding out the top honors was second place team Arnold/Porter weighing in 5 fish for 18.9 lbs. Third place went to Mitch Shipman/Chris Shipman weighing in 5 fish for 16.04 lbs. Fourth place was team Joe Wellner/David Rhodes with a 5 fish weight of 15.52 and also winning Big-Fish honors with a 7.28 lb bruiser. Fifth place went to Brian Davies/Paul Kerr with a tournament limit weighing 14.78 lbs.

The OWF is a 100% payback nonprofit organization run by walleye anglers, for walleye anglers. The OWF offers two circuits the Inland Lake Circuit (ILC) and the Central Basin/Lake Erie Circuit (CBC). It represents their commitment to walleye anglers and to their interests in fishing both inland lakes and Lake Erie by providing the most affordable and highest quality events possible. It all adds up to the most rewarding, fun, competitive and affordable team walleye circuit in Ohio.

The OWF would like to thank our sponsors Vic’s Sports Center, Fin, Feather & Fur Outfitters, Reef Runner, Rod Bender’s Tackle, Traxstech, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Special Eyes Charters, ATS Printing, Contender Trolling Lures, Big Fish Tuff Tackle, EGO S2 Slider Nets, Kames Sports, Land Big Fish, Cisco Fishing Systems, Rodmakers Shop, Erie Outfitters, Winking Lizard, JT Customs, Church Tackle, Fin-Tech Fishing Tackle, The Brew Kettle and Kerr Automotive for making the season opener a success. We also would like to thank Angie, Erica and Samantha for donating their Sunday afternoon to cook for us. We really appreciate it.

Find more information, results, registration forms or register via PayPal at www.fishowf.com or contact Ron Bradway at 330-704-0393, Steve Booher at 330-608-8161 or Mitch Shipman at 330-984-6595