Sheldon Hatch

The opening tournament of the Quinte Fishing Series 2010 season took place at the George St. ramps in Belleville on Sunday, May 30th with the only walleye event of the season. 50 teams were registered for the event which started with calm winds and waters at the 7:00 a.m. blast-off time. Anglers fished from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and were allowed to bring in their best four (4) walleye caught during the day.

Early on, the leading weight hovered at just over the 13 lb. mark and tournament officials thought that this might hold up. This was not the case though as two thirds of the way into the weigh-in, Sheldon Hatch from Perth and partner, Gord Schultz of Smith Falls, took a commanding lead and it was never challenged. With a great four fish weight of 18.65 lbs, they blew the rest of the field away by three pounds! For their win, Hatch and Schultz took home a cheque for $3,000.00 plus two gift bags compliments of Mark’s Work Warehouse and a $50.00 Gift Certificate from Kelsey’s/Montana’s, Belleville. These two anglers, who only fish the walleye circuits in both Canada and the northern U.S., also had the “big fish” of the day. Their walleye of 8.05 lbs. earned them the Canadian Tire “Big Fish” Award which included two $75.00 gift cards compliments of Canadian Tire – Belleville and the “pool” money of $960.00 cash! Our thanks to the McCullough’s at Canadian Tire for taking on the Big Fish Prize for 2010.