May Madness Results

In our first online muskie tournament of the year, the May Madness, we had 28 anglers competing all across Ohio.  The real madness for most of this weekend was battling fierce winds across much of the state and some highly unstable weather systems.  The challenging weather made for extremely tough fishing this weekend and many tournament entrants were blanked.

 

We did however have 5 anglers  that were able to put a combined total of nine muskies on the board!  Much respect to all who competed through a tough weekend, and a big congrats to those who put a fish on the board!  The champion from our first ever online tournament, Kyle, got on the board again with a 35 inch, 9 point fish to earn 5th place, and Joe placed 4th with his 37 inch, 11 point catch.  Now, to reveal our top three winners who will each be receiving their trophy and new muskie bait.  Taking third place and landing the biggest fish of the tournament is Randy with a 44 inch Huskie Muskie worth 18 points.  In second place with a 43 and 38.25 inch fish scoring 29.25 points is Rick.  Finally, our champion of the May Madness statewide online muskie tournament is , Derek with four fish measuring in at a combined150.5 inches and scoring 46.5 points!  Derek battled the wind and muskies all weekend from his kayak!   MADNESS indeed!  A big congratulations to the May Madness Champion, Derek, our other trophy winners and all wo were able to get fish on the board during a tough weekend!  Thank you to all who participated in this event where a portion of proceeds will benefit the Minnow Fund.

 

Our first two online events have seen anglers win trophies fishing by boat, on shore, and now in a kayak!  Truly all can compete in these statewide online muskie tournaments, and we hope you will all join in the fun for our next online event, the BATTLE FOR OHIO, being held Oct. 10 – 12!  Save the date now!  We also can’t wait to see everyone again in person at our MAIN EVENT on West Branch and Milton, June 21 – 22!  We will have more details on that shortly.

 

May Madness

 

Last year’s statewide, online muskie tournament was such a big hit that you know we have to do it AGAIN!  So now we bring to you the MAY MADNESS online event! This event takes place Friday, May 16th through Sunday, May 18th, and is open to EVERYONE, and ALL WATER in OHIO is eligible!

So how does this statewide online tournament work exactly?  Beginning at Noon on Friday May 16th, through 3 PM on Sunday, May 18th, (during assigned legal daylight fishing times), you may choose ANY one, or multiple bodies of water in OHIO to fish from.  In this three-day points tournament, your TOP FIVE muskies submitted, (30″ or longer), will earn you points.  You may submit every muskie you catch, 30″ or better, and we will apply your best FIVE to your final score.

Fish must be photographed on a bump board with identifier code clearly visible, and then submitted to tournament director (TD) via text no later than 3:30 PM on Sunday.  The identifier code, and TD text number will be released on Friday before the start of legal fishing.  Winners will be announced the following Monday morning after all fish submissions are reviewed and scored by our judges.  All top three anglers with the most points at the end of legal fishing time will be awarded trophies and brand new muskie baits at our awards banquet.

 

LEGAL FISHING TIMES (No fish caught outside of the listed legal fishing times will be accepted.):
Fri 5/16 Noon – 9PM
Sat 5/17 6AM – 9PM
Sun 5/18 6AM – 3PM

 

So, join in the MADNESS to see how you fare against the other muskie anglers all across OHIO! Portions of the proceeds donated to the Minnow Fund to help support the cost of stocking muskies in Ohio.

 

We prefer you to register for the event 1 of 2 ways:

  • Register online at
  • Via postal mail
    • OHMC, 17712 Edgewater, Lakewood, Ohio 44107
  • Registration closes when the event starts.

Once registered, you can launch from any public launch the day of the event once the event has started.

 

Please read the rules for the tournament below:

Event Rules and Regulations

 

IceBreaker Results

It was quite the cold and windy day, but that didn’t stop 28 hardy souls from entering our IceBreaker tournament at Leesville.  The bite may have been just as cold as the wind for most, but a handful of anglers were able to put some muskies in the net!  A total of 10 muskies were submitted, and Dave White won the first place trophy for his two muskies worth a total of 33 points!  Dave’s 45″ muskie was the biggest catch of the day and earned him the $240 Big Fish Pot!  Dave very generously donated $100 of his winnings back to the Minnow Fund.  Congratulations Dave, and thank you for your donation to the Minnow Fund.  Rick Thorp won the second place trophy for his 39.5″ fish worth 13.5 points.  Last year’s event winner, Colton Harmon, kept his IceBreaker trophy streak alive by winning third place with a 38.75″ muskie worth 12.75 points.  Congrats to all of our winners, and all those who caught fish on this challenging day!

 

After suffering the cold wind all day, it sure was great to warm up in the cozy Prop & Paddle Tavern inside the South Fork Marina and share a hot meal!  We also gave away some beautiful bucktails from Six2noon and other muskie baits to some lucky winners!  Thank you, Six2Noon Lures for your continued contributions to the club and thank you to Leesville Lake Marinas for once again being such awesome hosts to us!  New time you’re on Leesville Lake, be sure to stop in the South Fork Marina for all the drinks, snacks, lures, and boating supplies needed to have a great day on the water, or take a break from fishing and have a delicious meal and a brew in the Port & Paddle Tavern.

 

It was great to get back out on the water with those who came out, and we can’t wait to do it again, when it will hopefully be a much nicer day!  Our next event is the May Madness Online Event May 16-18.  We will fill your in on all those details soon.

 

IceBreaker Leesville Saturday March 22nd

Now that we have finally broken free of a long Winter’s icy grip, it’s officially time to kick off our 2025 tournament season with the ICEBREAKER at Leesville!  Those Leesville lunkers will be nicely fattened up ahead of the Spring spawn and now is the perfect time to catch a truly monstrous muskie!  So come join us for the ICEBREAKER on Saturday, March 22nd and see if you can put a true giant in the net while helping to raise money for the Minnow Fund.
After a day of chasing pre-spawn giants on Leesville Lake, come join us at the Southfork Marina for a delicious meal, on us, in the warm and cozy Prop & Paddle Tavern where we will hold our final check-in and trophy presentations.  All tournament entrants who attend our final check-in will also be entered into our lure raffle featuring awesome baits from Six2Noon Lures and others.
This is a single day points tournament, (with an optional Big Fish side pot), which will run from 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Saturday.  All catch entries must be photographed on a bump board with the assigned identifier code visible and turned in to the Tournament Director (TD) by 5:30 PM at the Southfork Marina, or via the TD cell phone number(s) that will be provided.  Any fish must measure at least 30″ to be submitted.  Scoring in this points system awards 4 points for a 30″ fish plus 1 point is awarded for each additional inch over 30″.  For example, a 42.5″ fish would earn 4 plus 12.5 points for a total of 16.5 points.  Only your 2 largest fish will count towards your final score, and the angler with the highest point total will be declared the winner.  Trophies will be awarded at our final check-in to our top 3 points earners.  The angler(s) who entered the Big Fish pool, and caught the longest muskie of the tournament, will receive the full amount of the side pot.
Once registered, you may launch from any public launch, but legal fishing does not begin until 7:30 AM and ends at 5:00 PM.
You can register at this site:

Banquet Celebration for the year 2024

Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate this past muskie season with us at our 2025 OHMC Banquet!  It was a great evening exchanging fish stories over dinner and drinks.  Many plaques were awarded, and everyone took home a brand new muskie bait from Llungen Lures.  Representatives from the Ohio Department of natural Resources spoke on all the measures taken to feed the very hungry muskies raised up in our hatcheries, and the ongoing challenges to sourcing enough forage fish/minnows in a cost effective manner.  The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District spoke on all the ways they provide flood control, conservation, and recreational access throughout the wide ranging Muskingum watershed.  Thank you to the ODNR and the MWCD for keeping us informed and answering our questions!  Congratulations to all of our award recipients who caught 10 or more muskies last season and/or caught three or more Huskie Muskies to earn the Dunmire Award.  Congrats to all our “Royalty” winners who are show in the pictures included in this post.  Our program from the banquet is attached showing all the winners.

 

2025 Banquet Column Program

Brad Evans H.E. “Pooch” Curry Award

and the Overall Tournament Winner

 

Addison Davies Queen Royalty Award and Matthew Smith Memorial Award for Junior Girl

 

Colton Harmon for the Matthew Smith Memorial Award for Junior Boy

 

Anna Land for Woman of the Year Award

 

Bob Basic for the Joe Blackwell “Mr. Muskie ” Award

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