Breedlove discusses passion for steelhead

January 7, 2024

I know a lot of anglers, many of whom would rather fish than eat, sleep or whatever, and rarely go more than a week or two between fishing trips. John Breedlove, however, is in a class by himself. Fishing to Breedlove is one of life’s necessities. It helps sustain him. It’s like the air in his lungs and the food in his belly. He is perhaps the gold standard for the man who lives to fish. And when it comes to fishing, he immerses himself in the phenomenal steelhead trout of Lake Erie. Breedlove is knowledgeable and skilled at catching a variety of fish species close to home ...

DePaola discusses preference for muskie

December 31, 2023

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

December 24, 2023

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

December 17, 2023

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

December 10, 2023

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

December 3, 2023

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 ...