Joanne Williams
Editor

(Courtesy photo – Michigan walleye tournament winners [from left] Shane Loney of Charlotte, Evan Alder and Austin Crum celebrate their victory.)

This is no tall tale, but rather an almost whisker of a win in a Michigan walleye tournament.

Shane Loney, a Realtor with RE/MAX Hometown in Charlotte, was part of a three-man team that won the Michigan Walleye tour championship, Aug. 7 and 8 at Lake Charlevoix.

He, along with Evan Adler and Austin Crum ended with a combined two-day catch of 38.73, beating out the second place team, which had a 38.02 pound total.

“It was a dramatic ending,” Loney said. “On day two we were the last to weigh in.” He and his partners did not weigh their five fish limit catch, but eye-balled the fish to weigh at least 18 pounds and more. When tournament Emcee Lance Valentine announced to the crowd they would need 18.6 pounds to win, Loney said, “I knew we would be close.” 

“Austin put the basket on the scale, and we couldn’t see the numbers, but we heard the crowd start cheering,” Loney said, “that’s when we knew we had done it, and the celebration began.”

Competition for the tourney is a yearlong race, with teams accumulating points to qualify. There are four tournaments in the regular season, ending with the championship.

Loney said he has been “fishing all of his life.” He said his dad got him into it. “He is no longer with us, but he’d be proud,” Loney said.

Known to try his luck at Duck Lake, he and other fishermen of walleye know where to find them, and that is usually the Great Lakes, Erie and Huron, which are favorites. The fish can live for 20 years, and weigh between 5 to 8 pounds typically, but can exceed weights upwards of 15 pounds in rare instances. 

Loney said he and his friends, whom he met through similar events and social media, also fish for salmon and bass.

Every tournament runs differently, and here, live fish can be released and those fish that die are donated to the locals who bring coolers each tournament. With this tournament in particular, fish that did not make it were harvested by a local church group who prepared the fish for those in need.

Loney said he enjoys the sportsmanship at these events. “We are all supportive of one another,” he said. “Everybody wants to win really bad, but the level of sportsmanship from fellow competitors after we had won was truly incredible and humbling.”