News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Terry McConnel poses for photos with a trophy and plaque in hand after winning the 2023 Michigan Brown Trout Festival tournament. He received his prizes at a ceremony on Sunday in Alpena.

ALPENA — Sunday was payday for the anglers who topped the leaderboard of the Michigan Brown Trout Festival, which began on July 14.

The winners received their checks, trophies, and other prizes at a ceremony in the festival’s Big Tent to the applause of their competitors, teammates, and friends and family.

Terry McConnel weighed in the largest of the festival’s namesake fish, as he reeled in a 9.9-pound brown trout on the opening weekend of the event. Don Harrison netted a 8.05-pound brown to earn second place, Brylie Carstens placed third with a 6.75-pound brown trout, John Durecki finished fourth with a brown that weighed 6.7 pounds, and Luke Szatkowski finished fifth with a 5.3-pound brown.

McConnel said this year was his first time winning the brown trout and he credited the crew of his boat. He said the crew was targeting browns and he was fortunate enough to be the one to grab the pole when the fish hit. He said being atop the leaderboard early in the tournament can be stressful, as you wonder if someone will catch a fish to bump you from the top spot.

“Having a good team is huge, in all tournaments,” he said. “It takes teamwork and effort by everyone. I didn’t get much sleep and was stressed out for days. My wife probably wasn’t happy some days. It was an emotional ride.”

Women dominated the lake trout division that was won by Emily Gosselin, who outfought a 24-pound laker, which ended up being the largest fish weighed during the event. Lori Smigelski placed second with a 20.45-pound lake trout, while Marie Mellen finished in third with a 20.6-pound laker.

Randy Klein and Ron Boboltz finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Overall, there were seven women who ended the event on the leaderboard for the various fish species categories.

Tournament Director Brad MacNeill said that, over the years, more women have started fishing and finding success outside the festival’s annual Women’s Tournament.

“Having the women and the girls participating is huge, because we need to encourage people, especially the younger generation, to fish, to keep this festival alive,” MacNeill said.

John Wieczorkowski caught the largest salmon of the event, with a 21.15-pound fish, and Lauren Kadrich placed second, with a 19.1-pound salmon. Damen McCall ended third with a salmon that weighed 18.9 pounds, Dylan Orr placed fourth by catching an 18.3-pound salmon, and Tyler Rivette’s 17.65-pound salmon was good enough for fifth place.

Besides placing first in the salmon division, Wieczorkowski also caught the largest steelhead. The winning fish weighed 10.65 pounds. Dave Brege’s 9.2-pound steelhead was good enough for second place, and the 8.8-pound steelhead Alan Wirgua reeled in earned him third place. Cody Braun placed fourth, with a fish weighing 8.7 pounds, and Jim Vivian III placed fifth in the division, with a 8.55-pound fish.

In the walleye division, Jackie Oliver placed first, with a 10.05-pound fish, while Chris Wade earned second place with a 9.05-pound walleye. Don Mischley finished third with a walleye weighing 8.65 pounds, and Dillon Schelle caught a 7.8-pound walleye to earn fourth place. Scott Wade’s 7.75-pound walleye earned him fifth place in the division.

The fishing tournament is only one half of the overall festival. Nightly, there is entertainment at the boat harbor in the small or large tent. Brown Trout Festival President Peggy Donakowski said things went well and attendance was solid, despite some foul weather early on.

“It went well, except for those few rainy days where we slowed down a little bit, it crimped our style a little bit, but, after the rain moved out, things picked back up.,” she said. “The events were well-attended, and I think things went well.”