July 7th thru the 9th saw our 2023 Fish Fry Open, graciously presented by Tucker & Gunther Dental Excellence, be competed under very good weather conditions. Except for a brief rain squall on Sunday afternoon, all three days saw sun, ideal temperatures, light to moderate winds to keep us cool, thus making for great shooting & scores. This year’s shoot featured over $600 in added money & prizes.
Please note that prior to sending in the NSSA shoot paperwork and writing prize money checks, classes were double checked against the posted score sheets shown below, regrettably there were a couple of mistakes made. We strive to get things right at the outset, but last we checked, most of us are human. We apologize for any confusion but know that we make sure things are correct in the end.
25 shooters participated in Fridays doubles event, presented by Minella Plumbing. Chris Kline had the lone 96 for champ with four 95’s shooting off for R/U. Scott Daniels, Cody Hoth, Matt Lenehan, and Kurt Suprynowicz. Kurt came out on top to give him R/U, with Scott taking D1, Kody A1, and Matt A2. Chris Dole took B1 breaking 94 wile Tim Botwright snagged B2 with his 91. Charlie Lombardo won C1 busting 91 and Ron Johnson claimed D2 shooting a 85.
29 shooters shot our 12 ga event presented by VFW Post 6773 was an unusual affair. Seven 99’s were shot but nary a 100! Dana Driscoll, Mark Eckert, Kody Hoth, Chris Kline, Matt Lenehan, Kurt Suprynowicz, and Dave Wilke began our largest shoot-off in memory. Kurt was the last man standing for gun champ with Dana Driscoll taking runner-up. Here are the rest of the 12 ga class money winners:
- AA1-Chris Kline-99
- A1-Kody Hoth-99
- A2-Dave Wilke-99
- B1-Matt Lenehan-99
- B2-Charlie Lombardo-98
- C1-George Kirik-96
- D1-Keith Snow-94
- E1-Dan Amsler-91
Saturday Afternoon’s 20 ga event also presented by VFW Post 6773 finally broke the 99 barrier. As 29 shooters vied for the prize, Chris Dole and Kurt Suprynowicz ran 100’s and settled things at the shoot-off. It seemed the afternoon belonged to Chris as he prevailed over Kurt to take gun champ. It was Chris’ first registered 20 ga 100 so after the days shoot-offs, his hat was properly ventilated. Here are the rest of our 20 ga class money winners:
- AA1-Bernie Lenehan-98
- AA2-Chris Kline-97
- A1-Dave Wilke-98
- A2-Matt Lenehan-97
- B1-Scott Daniels-97
- C1-Danny Ficarra-90 (please note that Curt Raines was misplaced in C class, actually was in A class)
- C2-George Kirik-90
- D1-Nolan Ingro-97
Following Saturdays shoot-offs, shooters and guests were treated to our signature fish fry dinner. Paul Huckno caught and deep fried the Lake Erie walleye fillets. Club president Mike Wojtecki along with assistance from Wendy Wojtecki and Beth Best fixed corn on the cob, potatoes, salad and other assorted dishes along with desert to top things off. Joe Fisher, Dale and Keith Snow, Travis Monday, and Tim Botwright also lent a hand in preparation. If anyone left the evening hungry, it was their fault!
Mike, Jack Wall, and Beth also fixed lunches on Saturday and Sunday consisting of hamburgers, hotdogs, and french fries to keep shooters fueled.
Sunday morning brought windless conditions conducive for good scores. Tucker & Gunther Dental Excellence graciously presented the 28 ga event. 27 shooters competed. Kurt Suprynowicz was perfect with the lone 100, giving him gun champ. Dave Wilke needed to win a shoot-off of 99’s with Bernie Lenehan to take runner-up. Here are the rest of our 28 ga class money winners:
- AA1-Bernie Lenehan-99
- A1-Kody Hoth-97
- A2-Dana Driscoll-97
- B1-Evan Martin-97
- C1-Ron Johnson-95
- D1-Savanah LaBerge-95
- D2-Nolan Ingro-94
Tucker & Gunther Dental Excellence were also kind enough to present our .410 bore event. 28 competitors entered this last event. As it always seems to be the case, the 410 would determine the HOA class winners. Bernie Lenehan stood the test with the lone 100, giving him this gun championship. Dana Driscoll needed a shoot-off of 99’s with young Matt Lenehan to take runner-up. Here are the rest of the .410 class money winners:
- AA1-Kurt Suprynowicz-94
- A1-Matt Lenehan-99
- A2-Dave Wilke-97
- B1-Chris Dole-91 (See note #1 below)
- B2-Mark Eckert-91 (See note #1 below)
- C1-Danny Ficarra-93
- C2-Keith Snow-89
- D1-Nolan Ingro-86
Note #1: Please note that Evan Martin was mistakenly classified 410 B class instead of A class which made Chris Dole B1 and Mark Eckert B2, as Chris won the shoot-off with Mark.
The HOA event consisted of class 1 and class 2 divisions. Averages of 93.88 and above were in class 1 with 93.87 and below in class 2. The winner of each class are presented with a carved fish, representative of our Fish Fry shoot name. As mentioned, the 410 event is “The Separator”.
Going into the 410, Kurt Suprynowicz held the Class 1 lead with at 299, Dave Wilke at 296, Bernie Lenehan at 295, and Chris Kline at 294. Bernie’s lone 100 “shot” him ahead of Kurt and Dave to give him Class 1 champ with Kurt taking HOA 2nd after a shoot-off of 293’s with Dave Wilke.
Dale Snow claimed HOA Class 2 first with his 379 while Bill Calvert took 2nd breaking 373. (See note #2 below)
As is Union City’s HOA custom, Class 1 and Class 2 winners shoot-off to see who gets their choice of fish carvings. Bernie won that contest and picked the brown trout with Dale collecting the golden trout.
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Note #2: Please note that the pic below was mis-marked. Dale Snow was HOA class 2 champ. Also, Mark Eckert was mistakenly classified in Class 2 instead of Class 1, so Bill Calvert ended up Class 2 second.
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A big THANK YOU to all the club volunteers who get the club in great shape for the Fish Fry. The aforementioned lunch and dinner people, Steve Best and Dave Minella for registration and scoring, Sam Marks and Renae Calvert for ref’ing, and for Steve and Mike spelling the main refs for lunch. Marc Grucza for keeping our clubhouse in great shape and keeping the traps filled. Mike, Steve, and Marc for grass cutting. Steve for doing some painting as well as Joe Fisher and Bud Proctor for trap filling and post-shoot cleanup. Thanks to all!
Please show your appreciation for the sponsors of our shoot who were good enough to donate added prize money, by considering them first for your needs. Shooting sports need them more now than ever! THANK YOU!