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DePaola discusses preference for muskie

For Chris DePaola, a high degree of difficulty has a direct correlation to his fishing enjoyment. It’s not that DePaola doesn’t enjoy the times when the fishing is easy and the catching is remarkable. But he is pulled irresistibly to the waters where he can deploy his instincts and talents to generate reactions from creatures at the pinnacle of their food chain. DePaola was raised as a walleye angler. He gets a kick out of probing Ohio’s Lake Erie tributaries for steelhead and hunting northeast Ohio’s whitetail deer. But he is a muskie man first and foremost. Why muskie? ...

Ice fishing supplies adrenaline for Woak

It’s hard to imagine a place unfamiliar to most people in this day and age of instant access to boundless information and even virtual reality. For the most part, we are been-there-done-that people. Few experiences are beyond our reach. But for Tyler Woak, the opportunity is fast approaching for him to experience again his passion for otherworldly fishing with a level of joy that few can even begin to appreciate – and that’s impressive for a young man who literally lives and breathes fishing. Woak is a man who could go fishing every day and never tire of it. He’s fished ...

Duo builds competitive fishing partnership

For every person who fishes, there is a moment when a spark flickered in just the right spot, lighting an ember in their psyche that fans into flames whenever they pick up a rod and reel. The spark is the “Why” that guides anglers to pursue their passion for fishing. College football player turned pro bass angler Destin DeMarion recalls the time in his young life when fishing became more than a curiosity and began his chase for success in the major leagues of professional bass fishing. Now, just over a week since he and teammate Tyler Woak of Niles narrowly missed an ...

Poland’s Cappelli reflects on competitive fishing career

Had the chips fallen differently decades ago, Sammy Cappelli might very well have become a diehard bass fisherman. Instead, the forces of the planet flung young Cappelli into headlong pursuit of walleye fishing and a passion for national competition. Now a multiple major champion, Cappelli took time recently to reflect on the “Why” behind his decisions to direct his fishing efforts on walleye and to jump into competitive fishing. “Dad started me off fishing when I was very young,” said Cappelli, who now resides in Poland. “We used to go to Berlin to a place we called ...

Angling great Clunn answers why he fishes

The “Why” that has directed the life of the man who is arguably the greatest professional bass angler of all time is anchored somewhere between pragmatics and genetics. In my own effort to understand why we anglers are so passionate about fishing, I arranged for a conversation with bass angling’s legendary Rick Clunn to learn why he chose to focus on bass, to make his living in the sport and to still compete full throttle at age 77. Clunn, celebrating his 50th year as a pro bass angler, certainly has no shortage of accomplishments. He won the Bassmaster Classic four times (as ...

Addressing the ‘Why’ of being a fisherman

Often asked but rarely truly answered, the question “why” seeks to understand the motivations for our actions. Why this? Why that? Deep questions, when you stop and ponder them. The answers might come quickly, but do they really tell the back story? So why, you might ask, does Jack like fishing? Good question. I could spew a lot of pat answers, the kind that anybody might offer in response to why. But there’s more to the story. “Why” is really about another way to gain understanding not just about ourselves, but the world around us. Allow me to borrow a passage ...