Godin, Galusha cruise to EWC crown

This time, the big finish didn’t elude Bill Godin and Ralph Galusha as they captured the sixth-annual Emo Walleye Classic by an emphatic three-pound margin.
The Devlin fishermen had been waiting for a finish like this for some time. They had ranked in the top 10 for the past four years, but never higher than seventh.
Perhaps those results bred in them some humility. Galusha admitted on stage before receiving the big wooden trophy that “I didn’t think we had it.”
“We didn’t do very good pre-fishing,” he explained afterwards. “We weren’t expecting this at all.”
Godin and Galusha weighed in with a heavy 10.42-pound haul on Day One on Friday—far ahead of the second-biggest catch of 7.85 pounds by Wayne Angus and Mike Vacura.
While the winners were eclipsed by strong Saturday finishes by Doug McBride and Steve Ballan, as well as Frank and Corey Curtis, their 9.05 pounds was more than enough to seal first place.
That made the men $11,000 richer. But again, they remained humble.
“Yeah,” shrugged Godin.
“I guess so,” Galusha offered.
“And we don’t gotta pay for a bottom end,” Godin joked.
Godin was referring to the boat troubles that characterized this year’s EWC. While the top anglers weren’t too hassled by the low water levels (so low that rocks were visible above water throughout the Rainy River), many teams were saving their winnings for boat repairs.
One such twosome was Trevor Croswell and Bryan Hughes, who finished in fourth place. While the two are known for perennial top 10 finishes, Hughes admitted Friday there’s another EWC streak they kept alive this year.
“We hit at least one rock every year. This one was a good one,” he recalled. “We were racing back . . . and ripped the bottom of the motor off.”
Croswell and Hughes had a little help from friends as the eighth-place team of Jody Shypit and Dale LaBelle helped them get back to shore.
When the two rode their boat to the stage the next day, their motor was discreetly duct taped. Croswell made sure to thank his fellow anglers for the rescue, as well as Tompkins Hardware in Emo for their help.
Croswell and Hughes also were among the many teams to have stronger Saturday finishes. Half of the top 10 finishers had stronger second days, and the total tournament haul on Saturday yielded 17 more fish and nearly 30 more pounds.
Godin and Galusha were one of the few teams to buck that trend. “We threw back 20-inchers yesterday,” Galusha admitted.
But they also said that pulling a bigger, double-digit poundage on the first day of the tournament made it harder to stay patient and wait for the big bite.
“You’re in first and the whole time you’re thinking you should be running somewhere,” Godin said.
“The pressure’s on,” Galusha agreed.
The biggest fish of the tournament was caught by McBride, which weighed in at 6.68 pounds. He said the catch was really just about “being in the right place at the right time . . . having a sharp hook, a strong line, and a good net man.”
But McBride admitted that even with the lunker, and a tournament-best one-day haul of 10.75 pounds, he and Ballan were doubtful of victory.
“We’re five pounds behind the leader after Day One, so doing the math you didn’t think we had enough,” he remarked.
Compared to McBride and Ballan’s big Saturday total, Godin and Galusha had a more balanced attack, landing a few three-pounders instead of one giant walleye.
They said they were fine without a big lunker, “but then it’s so important to get those fish as close to 18 inches as you can,” Godin said.
Young Jared Baker and James Kaemingh landed the big fish on Friday (5.57 pounds). And Team Curtis, who wound up finishing third, also took home the Elmer Haglin Award, presented to the highest finishing parent/child team.
They remain the only one to win the award since its inception five years ago.
Meanwhile, it was a tough tournament for the defending champs. Todd Grennier and Eric Lessman finished dead last this year (65th place) after getting skunked both days.
While the low water level definitely was the big environmental concern, the weather also was a factor. Friday was bitterly cold, especially early in the morning, while Saturday was plagued by frequent heavy rains.