Courtesy Photo Austin Tomasek, Erich Carlson, and Michael Dickerson hold up their walleye caught during the Michigan Walleye Tour tournament in Alpena last weekend.

ALPENA — An Alpena native caught the top spot at the Michigan Walleye Tour tournament in Alpena last weekend.

The team of Erich Carlson, Michael Dickerson, and Austin Tomasek weighed a 39.2 pound bag on day one of the tournament on Saturday, putting them in the lead from the start.

Carlson said he was expecting a 31 to 34 pound bag on a good day, but just under 40 exceeded his expectations.

On day two of the tournament on Sunday, Carlson and his team weighed a 31.12 bag. Their total for the tournament was 70.32 pounds.

“Our weight on day one was as far as I know the biggest five fish bag on Lake Huron in at least 20 years,” Carlson said.

He emphasized the importance of his team in securing the win and said they run like a well oiled machine.

“I was really happy we were able to pull it off as a team,” Carlson said.

Michigan Walleye Tour competitors come from all across the country, and there were 82 total teams at last weekend’s competition. The boats launched at the Alpena Marina at 7 a.m. with weigh in beginning at 3 p.m. each day of the tournament.

“Winning as a local is really special, I think it brings a sense of pride to the community,” Carlson said.

While he’d like to say that he had an advantage in the tournament as a local, he acknowledged the skill of all the anglers competing.

“This fishery is a phenomenal fishery, it’s challenging for people that come out of town,” Carlson said.

He said that walleye fishing in the summer months is amazing.

“Being out there on the clean, clear water, not a lot of traffic, it’s a pretty special place,” Carlson said.

He explained how important fishing is to the local community.

“It’s a big part of who this community is,” Carlson said. “There’s so many people that do it and have a connection to people that do it.”

He said his wife is very supportive of him and he has a great group of sponsors that allows him to continue doing what he loves across the country.

Carlson also runs a local fishing charter called Reel Effect that specializes in walleye fishing and vertical jigging for lake trout.

Romeo Bourdage of the Thunder Bay Walleye Club and a participant in the tournament, said that catching 70 pounds will probably never happen again.

“This is a great opportunity for the whole community of Alpena to see the great fishing we have,” he said about the tournament. “It saturates the community with dollars for the economy.”

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@thealpenanews.com.