Bill Hilts Jr.: Last-minute salmon catch yields a $15K payoff (2024)

It was only fitting that the Spring Lake Ontario Counties Trout, Salmon, and Walleye Derby came down to the wire on the final day of the popular contest, especially on the heels of photo finishes this month at the Kentucky Derby and a NASCAR race in Kansas.

George Prentice of Smicksburg, Pa., caught a 25-pound salmon at 11:30 a.m. May 12 and needed to rush his prize catch to the Boat Doctors in Olcott to beat the 1 p.m. weigh-in deadline and cash in on the $15,000 grand prize.

Last-minute heroics have become a regular occurrence in the derby.

It was a little after 11 a.m. when a braid diver rod, set back 170 feet on a No. 3 setting over 333 feet of water off Olcott, went off.

Fishing with Jesse Zier of Natrona Heights, Pa., who owned the 26-foot boat named Evil Eyes, Jaden Zier, also of Natrona Heights, and Joe Benton of Rockton, Pa., a big fish hit the blue/glow ladderback Moonshine spoon and started screaming out line as Prentice grabbed the rod.

“We knew it was a big fish and it was all hands on deck to not only get the fish to the boat, but to get the boat ready to take off back to port,” Prentice said at the awards ceremony at Riley’s Bar & Grill in North Rose. “First we had to get it in the boat. It wrapped itself around the downrigger cable and we missed the fish the first swipe with the net. It was nerve-wracking.”

When the fish finally hit the floor of the boat, it was time to pack everything up and get in as quickly as possible. On the scale at the Boat Doctors, it was an even 25 pounds – making Prentice the new leader with minutes to spare. The fish equaled his personal best from a previous derby.

One bonus for Prentice was being a member of the Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association. He attended the Salmon School at the Greater Niagara Fishing Expo in February and became registered in the club. By catching the largest salmon weighed in by a Lake Ontario Trout & Salmon Association (LOTSA) member, Prentice picked up an extra check for $1,000.

Probably the most disappointed angler was Rylee Rodland of Harbor Creek, Pa. She was leading the derby with a 23-pound, 10-ounce personal-best salmon fish that she caught her first time fishing in Lake Ontario. She was part of a Harbor Creek crew consisting of her father, Ken, stepmother, Rhonda, Tony Gerg and John “JB” Bielanin aboard a 27-foot Tiara named Poker Face II.

At noon May 9, they were fishing in 120 feet of water west of Wilson using a K-Rod custom spoon that was mostly orange behind seven colors of lead core line and an in-line board. The king salmon hit the lure and screamed out nearly 700 feet of line. It took Rylee some 45 minutes to bring the fish in, causing her arms to feel like rubber.

It was worth it though. She still ended up in first place for the division.

The second-place salmon in the division was a 22-pound, 13-ounce king salmon reeled in by Capt. Tim Condes of Wilson that he caught the first weekend of the derby while fishing with his father, Capt. Hank Condes of Wilson, and Steve Marchetti of Lockport. The trio was fishing aboard Hank’s 31-foot Tiara named Blade Runner, which is also the name of the Condes' charter service.

“We were fishing out of Wilson running our normal spring three-rigger, two-diver spread,” said the younger Condes. “Less is more. Around 10 a.m., the 35-foot rigger went off, biting a Moonshine Pox spoon. We were between 60 and 70 feet of water in front of Wilson and the fish took the longest run of the day. We knew it was a good one.”

They were fishing just inside the pack of boats off Wilson and they had a good day – hooking up with multiple doubles and one triple header. This was the one that counted the most.

The first-place brown trout weighed in at 19-pounds, 5-ounces and was reeled in by Jeff Wawrzasrek of Rochester. He was fishing with his brother Justin, of Rochester, and Eric Bolthouse of Albion. Fishing out of Justin’s 18-foot Lund 1800 Tyee named Polish Moments, they were out in Irondequoit Bay on the first day of the derby.

The trio was trolling an in-line board 110 feet back in 25 feet of water, running a Bay Rat green frog stickbait. At 9:30 a.m. the big fish grabbed the lure and took off. Just 15 minutes later, Jeff landed his personal best brown trout. It had its moments, too. At one point the hook from the lure got tangled in the net and they almost lost it. They were not to be denied.

The Lake Trout Division battle was an impressive one. On May 11, the top two fish were weighed – one in the east and one in the west. The east won this one when Salvatore Cappuccetti of Theresa caught a 27-pound, 5-ounce laker while working the waters near Henderson Harbor aboard the C-Gypsy with Sunken Treasure Charters, a 26-foot JC Custom captained by Gene Bolton and first mate Capt. Silas Amlaw of Ashore Thing Fishing Charters. Sal was fishing with Jacob, Edward and Josh Lawton, all of Theresa.

Cappuccetti was on the rod at 9:30 a.m. reeling in the first lake trout of his life, a fish that hit a custom green spin-n-glow rigged by Bolton behind a set of cowbells in 165 feet of water. The excitement was increased when the net fell in the water, but was retrieved at the last second to complete the massive catch.

The second-place lake trout was hauled in by Ed Klejdys of North Tonawanda while fishing the Niagara Bar in 100 feet of water with his son, Steve, aboard their 20-foot Monarch boat. It was around 6:30 in the morning when the big lake trout hit Steve’s homemade mixed-color spoon. The fish weighed 24 pounds, 4 ounces. Steve Klejdys, also of North Tonawanda, managed a fourth-place finish with a 19-pound, 9-ounce laker.

The first-place walleye also came on the final day of the derby when Michael Stange of Athol, Mass., reeled in a personal best 10-pound, 5-ounce fish from the Oswego River. His wife, Stephanie, was also on board with Capt. Josh Denny of Full Moon Outdoors Sportfishing and his dad, Ray Denny, both of Oswego. They were aboard the Madd Kenzy, a 30-foot Penn Yan.

Stange has been coming to Lake Ontario for nearly 30 years but for salmon and trout. They decided to try for walleye last year and he liked the taste of those fish more. Denny talked them into registering for the derby this year because he was on some big fish. A customer caught a bigger one than Stange’s winner, but they weren’t entered in the derby. That was good news for Stange. He caught the winner on a black and silver J-13 Rapala, flatlining off boards 30 to 50 feet back.

The next LOC Derby is June 29-July 28. For a complete leaderboard of the spring contest, visitloc.org.