HAMBURG, N.Y., – June 25th, 2024 – Southtowns Walleye Association of Western New York Inc. (STWA) (www.southtownswalleye.com) held its 40th Annual Walleye Derby from June 8th through June 16th 2024, on the waters of Lake Erie and the Upper Niagara River, with more than $100,000 in cash and prizes at stake, anglers throughout Western New York and multiple states participated in the nine day event in search of a walleye worthy of the top prize.
The Derby concluded with an awards picnic held at the STWA Clubhouse on June 23rd at 12pm with close to 200 people in attendance, the main prizes were awarded to the top 109 fish that weighed in after the nine day event. Top honors for the winners went to the following top adult and youth participants within each division.
Adult Winners 2024: Youth Winners 2024:
1st – Timothy Stone – 10.70 lbs. 1st – Adam Goodberry – 9.50 lbs.
2nd – Joshua Pfeiffer – 10.02 lbs. 2nd – Lucas Dusenbury – 8.62 lbs.
3rd – Adam Zwack – 9.95 lbs. 3rd – Luke Goodberry – 7.45 lbs.
4th – Thomas Czechowicz – 9.85 lbs. 4th – Liam Klaus – 7.14 lbs.
5th – John Risau – 9.76 lbs. 5th – Charlie Rizzo – 6.65 lbs.
6th – Rob Ebersole – 9.74 lbs. 6th – Bently Geedy – 6.25 lbs.
7th – Thomas Shantler – 9.72 lbs. 7th – Wyatt Simonick – 6.22 lbs.
8th – Deniis Pillard – 9.62 lbs. 8th – Thomas Grogan – 6.21 lbs.
9th – Jeff Bognar – 9.61 lbs. 9th – Ryan Lewandowski – 6.06 lbs.
10th – Frank Simonick – 9.48 lbs. 10th – Cole Hanlin – 6.05 lbs.
2024 Daily Walleye Winners:
Day 1 – Ronald Stanopiewicz – 7.67 lbs.
Day 2 – Steven Ball – 9.42 lbs.
Day 3 – Thomas Huber – 8.18 lbs.
Day 4 – Robert Borden – 8.72 lbs.
Day 5 – Richard Kacmarski – 9.18 lbs.
Day 6 – John Woelfle – 8.56 lbs.
Day 7 – Randy Tyrell – 8.00 lbs.
Day 8 – Frank Simonick – 9.48 lbs.
Day 9 – Robert Slocum – 8.87 lbs.
Lakeshore Hardware Youth Lifetime License Winner: Adam Goodberry – 9.50 lbs.
World Wide Stone – First Fish Weighed In Winner: Liam Klaus – 7.14 lbs.
2024 40th Derby Lure Winner: Bob Rustowicz – 7.08 lbs.
Previous Year’s Derby Lure Winner: Adam Zwack – 9.95 lbs.
777 Winner: Kevin Coyle – 7.75 lbs.
2024 Joe Leonarczyk Jr. Memorial Award: Walter Slemkieczkz Jr. – 4.89 lbs.
Southtowns Walleye Association of Western New York, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving fishing opportunities in the region for all individuals. With a clear focus on kids, community, conservation and philanthropy, our various programs support these pillars for a strong future generation of outdoorsmen and women and our fishery. To learn more about the club, please visit us at www.southtownswalleye.com or stop by our facility located at 5895 Southwestern Boulevard, Hamburg, NY 14075, Tel.: 716.649.8202, meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 7:30pm and are open to the public