For the past few days the wind has blown out of the West-Northwest at gale force speeds, sending away a lot of water out of the West end of Lake Erie, making it impossible to launch. Yesterday afternoon, as the winds started to subside, the water levels began to return, and by this morning the launch site at Bolle Harbor Marina in Monroe, MI was at normal level again.
The Championship field is made up of 40 teams that qualified through last year’s regular season events. Not all teams showed up, however. I’ll have to find out the exact number of teams that are still fishing and report on that later. Some were here, but decided to head home last night, or early this morning, for whatever reason.
Those that did launch this morning, were hoping they could find some clean water to fish. After this big blow that passed through, the water on the West end of the lake has turned the color of chocolate milk.
All the teams that I had chatted with this morning were all planning on a long run, of approximately 40 miles, and were hoping that the lake wasn’t still too rough to make a smooth run of it.
The boundaries for this event are as follows:
Detroit River (MI & Canadian waters North to Pesche Isl. South to Celeron Isl.) and Lake Erie (MI, OH, & Canadian waters) to Point Pelee Isl. (about 9 miles East of Kelly’s Isl.) North/South boundary line is: W82.30.00
Foul Weather is the river only.
Fish 15″ or larger are allowed. Culling is allowed on Lake Erie, and there is no slot limit.
Teams are allowed 6 fish in their livewells, and will weigh their best 5.
The teams launched at 8AM Eastern Time this morning from Bolles Harbor Marina, and are due back at the launch at 3:30PM, where their fish will be bumped dead or alive. Then, when they are out of the water, they will trailer their fish to the Cabelas Store in Dundee, MI. (About a 45 minute drive from the launch).
The weigh in will be in the parking lot of the Cabelas Store in Dundee, MI and is expected to begin at 4PM or 4:30PM Eastern Time.
Walleye Central is on site to bring you live coverage of the weigh in through a webstream and chat that you can access from the links on the Live Leader Board at www.liveleaderboard.com. Just click on the “Lake Erie-Detroit River” link to take you to the results page where you will find the video feed and chat. The feed should begin by 3:30PM if all goes as planned. 
Join us as we find out who is able to find the fish and get them to bite in these less than favorable conditions.
Speaking of conditions, here is the forecast for today, tomorrow, and Saturday:
Today: Rain after 2pm. High near 60. West southwest wind between 13 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. waves 1-3 feet.
Tonight: Rain. Low around 49. South wind 7 to 14 mph becoming east northeast. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
Friday: Showers. High near 59. North northeast wind between 9 and 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Waves 2-4 feet.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. North northwest wind between 7 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. North wind 9 to 11 mph becoming east. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph.
