If you happened upon the Huron Boat Basin on August 20, you couldn’t miss the laughs, smiles, and fun the Lake Erie Grady-White Club and Youth Challenge participants and volunteers had. For the second year in a row, YC participants and pros from the Lake Erie Grady-White Club took to the blue waters of Lake Erie in search of walleye and fun – and we found both!
At 10 am, all the boats were loaded up and headed out of the basin for the open water. Each boat carried a YC staff member, participant, and volunteer, along with generous volunteer captains and first mates. For three hours, participants had the chance to fish for walleye and other fish native to Lake Erie. Immediately, the lines were reeled in – catch after catch was measured and returned to the water.
Quickly, Alijah grabbed a decent-sized walleye for our first catch of the day; then, the fishing picked up speed. Bre snagged a 23-inch walleye, and Madde caught two large fish. Deegan finally caught his first fish about 30 minutes later – using a worm soaked in Mountain Dew. He named the fish “Jeff Bezos” in honor of the Blue Origin docking at the Huron Boat Basin. After so many catches on so many boats, we lost count of the total number of fish caught, and it was time to head in for lunch.
A wonderful group from Walleyes for Wounded heroes cooked hot dogs and burgers for the ravenous crews coming ashore. Smiles, stories from the water, and laughter abounded the lovely pavilion up the ramp from the boat launch.
After the burgers and dogs were scarfed down, it was time to announce the winners of the largest walleye caught, and largest fish caught. Measuring 24 inches, Brayden won the largest walleye caught! Koltyn took the crown for the largest fish caught with an impressive 28-inch catfish! All the YC kids were winners with goodie bags from Grady-White.
We are incredibly grateful to the Lake Erie Grady-White Club and Walleyes for Wounded Heroes for everything they did to make a fun day for YC participants and volunteers! Click here to watch a full video slideshow about the day. We can’t wait until the next time we hit the water.