Two teams that sat in sixth place after the first day of action, came back to win the 22nd Annual Skip Hartman Memorial Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team Tournament last weekend out of the ports of Wilson and Olcott.

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Seenty-nine teams were registered. This year’s headline sponsor was Health Imaging, Inc. out of Rochester which donated cash and a PET Scan to each tournament. For the Niagara event, the Scan is being donated to the Niagara County Department of Social Services and will be presented later in the year when a recipient is found.

In the Professional Division, it was the Stalker Team led by Capt. Kurt Driscoll of Lockport that came storming back with a huge 11-fish catch that scored better than 220 points (based on 10 points per fish and a point per pound) to give him a total score of 417.40 points for the two days and his first tournament win.

Other team members included Jeff Herman, Matt Yablonsky and Tim Tuccio. They won a $10,000 prize package that included a check for $6,200, Maui Jim sunglasses, a top-of-the-line Lowrance Electronics unit, Northern King spoons, Michigan Stinger spoons, Dreamweaver spoons, a $500 Jack Pulah print and four Walker Downrigger rod and reel combos.

Second place in the pros also staged a huge comeback, but fell short. Runnerup Prime Time/A-Tom-Mik led by Capt. Kevin Jerge of Gasport reeled in the single biggest day catch of the tournament (238.65) on the second day of action to leap from 14th place with a two-day score of 408.21 points.

They won a $5,000 prize package that included $4,250 in cash, Fish 307 rods, N&D Tackle and a gas card from Reid Petroleum. The Prime Time team also came up short representing their home port as Wilson Town Supervisor Joe Jastremski challenged Newfane Supervisor Tim Horanburg to produce the top boat in the tournament. The top boat came out of Olcott.

Third place went to the Maui Jim Fishing Team led by Mike Gustin, the “eye guy” of Webster with a score of 398.61. They won a $3,500 prize package. Fourth place was a $3,000 package that included a check for $2,600 and that went to the Hot Reels team lead by Dave Sullivan of Canada. Fifth place went to Vision Quest led by Capt. Pete Alex of Erie, with a score of 378.09 points. They won a check for $2,500.

Rounding out the top 10 for $2,000 checks were: Sixth place — Thrillseeker, Capt. Vince Pierleoni of Newfane with 373.67 points. Seventh place — Top Gun, Capt. Greg Gehrig of Oswego with 368.74 points; Eighth place — On The Rocks II, Capt. Mike Johannes of Ransomville with 355.04 points. Ninth place — Shirley B, Capt. John Bogdan of Medina, Ohio, with 335.26 points. Tenth place — Rebel Charters, Capt. Jerry Felluca of Hilton with 324.42 points.

Big fish prizes were worth $100 from Lighthouse Grill and Spirits in Olcott. In the Pro Division it was a 25.63-pound king salmon caught by Lord of the Kings. On Sunday, it was a 25.34-pound king caught by Royal Flush. Top steelhead, worth $350 in the pro division from Hunter Insulation and Alex Roofing, was Top Gun on Saturday with a 9.39-pound trout; Prime Time and Clueless tied with an 8.99-pound fish Sunday.

In the Amateur Division, Cold Water Affair led by Jeff Zimmer of Ontario, scored a two-day total of 280.68 points to take their first title on Lake Ontario. The team was in sixth place after the first day, but when it came in with virtually the same catch on day two, it made the jump into first. They won a $5,400 prize package that included $2,100 in cash.

Second place was Double Play II led by Tom Letcher of Newfane with 265.34 points. They won a $2,900 package. Third place went to the Twister Team led by Chris Fisher of E. Arlington, Vt., with 263.40 points. They won a $2,000 package. Fourth place was the Screamer/Atomik squad led by Dave Antenori of Peckville, Pa., with 254.84 points and earning a $1,600 package. Fifth place was Team Spoonfed led by Glen Gervais of West Springfield, Mass., with 254.82 points and winning a $1,600 total . Rounding out the top 10 for $300 each were: Sixth — Silver Fox, Scott Bengsch of Webster with 246.76 points; Seventh — Wizzard, Larry Goehring of New Brighton, Pa., with 219.70 points; Eighth — Triple J, John Jankowski, Sloan with 216.70 points; Ninth — Team Fish Chopper, Kevin Keller of Liverpool with 199.07 points; and 10th — Aquaholics, Matt Piatt of Canonsburg, Pa., with 172.96 points.

Hawg wins Johannes Derby

The one-day Don Johannes Memorial Derby on Friday as a primer for the main Pro-Am was won by the Hawg boat out of Olcott and led by Jim Taylor of Lyndonville. Taylor and his team boated a 30-pound, 6-ounce king salmon — the largest fish ever entered in this derby. He bested 37 other boats and earned $342 for his efforts. Second place went to Mike Gustin of Webster while fishing with the Maui Jim Fishing Team. They caught a 24-pound, 13-ounce king salmon and earned $205. Third place went to Tony Sambunjah of Olcott with a 24-pound king, winning $137 in the process.

Taylor also won the weekly Olcott Fishing Derby with his 30-pound king and won the trout division with a 13.16-pound steelhead