Pictured are the winning anglers in the “King of Spring” yellow perch contest at Cayuga Lake. From left to right are Craig Sleeman, Fischer Sleeman and Ethan Sleeman. The family fishing team took home first prize cash of $4,000. The tournament was sponsored and managed by Doc’s Tackle. Submitted photo

Not many lakes have large yellow perch to compare with our local Lake Erie.

The immensely popular “King of Spring” yellow perch tournament on fish-filled Cayuga Lake last Saturday showed they come close. The Finger Lakes event kicked off at the Long Point State Park boat launch in Union Springs.

Doc’s Tackle announced that the 80-boat field expanded this year to 100 boats and was filled well before the tournament started. The tournament kicks off the fun of spring team tournament fishing in Western New York. With 3-man teams or solo, only three lines are allowed in the water per boat, with live bait or artificial baits allowed. The goal is to catch the five heaviest perch with payouts to 15th place, including a $4,000 first prize. Similar to a Lake Erie walleye tournament, a mandatory live well and cooler check was conducted for each tournament boat with lines in the water allowed between 7:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

The winning team was someone very familiar to Chautauqua County fishing tournaments, as the 3-man team of Craig Sleeman and “Team Midnight Express” with their 5-fish bag of 6.86 pounds edged out the Travis Lisena team with 6.47 pounds, Destin DeMarion team with 6.12, Dan Jackson team with 6.07 and Jake Pollack team with 6.04 pounds. The last payout at 15th place was Anthony Privitera with 5.58 pounds. Single big fish “lunker” honors went to Travis Lisena with a 2.16-pound perch, Craig Sleeman with 1.64, Dan Jackson with 1.61, Kevin Williams with 1.60, and Mike Manos with 1.48 pounds.

Captain Craig Sleeman said, “What a way to kick off 2025 here in the Finger Lakes!” He added, “So many people to thank here at Doc’s Tackle for throwing the largest yellow perch tournament in New York State history, bringing back memories of the great tournaments hosted by Ron Boyce in the early 2000s known as Perchmasters.”

Captain Destin DeMarion of Team “Perch-Jerkers” said, “We had a great first experience perching at Cayuga Lake at the Doc’s Tackle King of Spring. Congrats to the Sleeman’s on the win! We ended up 3rd out of 100 teams. The new Daiwa reels from Doc’s spooled with the Daiwa X8 sinking braid on the Douglas X-Matrix fishing rods were key to wrangling with these ring backs. A huge shout out to the Doc’s crew for all the hospitality this week. Those guys make this and other events they run as great as they are. I got to see a lot of the behind-the-scenes work, and we should all be grateful to David, Drake, Jose, Ian, Caleb, Mark and the rest of the crew for all they do to make these big events run so smoothly.”

Doc’s co-manager (Drake Lortscher) says, “The perch were located everywhere between six and 50-foot depths, with 10-20 feet most common. Fathead and Rosie minnows, and mixed soft plastic paddle tails were among most popular baits.

This sense of community and shared appreciation for the organizers is what makes such events so special. Visit Doc’s Tackle at https://229bass.com or call 585-229-2277; they are located in Honeoye, New York.

Sleeman now kicks off some lengthy travel as he starts out on the 2025 National Walleye Tour schedule out west. Good luck, Team Midnight Express.

Gotta love the outdoors.

Outdoor Calendar:

Apr. 9-10: NYS Hunter Education, Bear Lake Rod & Gun, 4391 Cassadaga-Stockton Rd., Stockton, NY, 5:30-9:30 PM each night, register https://www.register-ed.com/events/view/226045. Info NYSDEC: 585-226-5463.

Apr. 12: Erie County Federation of Sportsmen, Annual Banquet, $45. Info: 716-674-5944. Kloc’s Grove, 1245 Seneca Creek Rd., West Seneca.

Apr. 12: Niagara Musky Awards Banquet, Pearl Street Grill, $70, Contact Scott McKee, 716-225-3816, email: scotthenrymckee@yahoo.com.

Apr. 12: WNY Walleye, monthly meeting, 9AM, Knights of Columbus Hamburg. NOTE: Send Calendar info or related outdoor news to forrestfisher35@yahoo.com.