Chautauqua Lake in New York a must-fish for anglers

August 6, 2023

Like most anglers, I have a few lakes on my must-fish list every summer, including favorites like Erie, Pymatuning, Mosquito and the Ohio River. I look forward to every opportunity to test my skills against their bass. Without question, they make my investment in an Ohio fishing license well worth the money. A dedicated corps of Northeast Ohio bass anglers also pony up every summer for a non-resident New York fishing license just so they can cast for largemouths and smallmouths on western New York’s sprawling Chautauqua Lake. Just a little more than a two-hour drive from ...

Poland angler comes up short in walleye tournament

July 30, 2023

Most of the walleyes caught by anglers end up under the sharp edge of a fillet knife, their fate determined by the taste people have acquired for their flaky, mild-tasting meat. But pro angler Sammy Cappelli of Poland gladly frees the walleyes he catches in exchange for cash and prizes in fishing tournaments across the United States. Ironically, a big walleye that failed to survive its stay in his boat’s livewell ended up costing Cappelli and teammate Tony Karrick of Chicago thousands of dollars at the conclusion of the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit on ...

Flowers are a great gift — even for anglers

July 23, 2023

Flowers are always the perfect gift – for friends, lovers and even anglers. The role of flowers in my fishing is significant and made abundantly clear last week during a fishing trip on one of our lakes known for its ample acres of aquatic vegetation. Oddly, however, I heard the evidence of the flowers before I recognized the blooms with my eyes. Flowers play no less a role in waterways as in terrestrial ecosystems. Birds, bees, bugs and bigger critters all rely on flowers whether they’re rooted in soil or bobbing on waves. With summer heating up, my recent fishing trip was ...

Plenty of similarities, differences between fishing for sport, work

July 16, 2023

For all the fun and joy we anglers gain from sport fishing, we sometimes forget it is rooted as a sustenance activity. Catch-and-release movements have accelerated, and perhaps even elevated, fishing to its place today as a pastime popular among people from all walks of life. Rich or poor, we can go fishing for the sole purpose of recharging our batteries, reconnecting with nature or simply because we love it. But it wasn’t always that way. For millennia, people have gone to the water to feed their families and neighbors. Fishing was work, every bit as laborious and essential as ...

Knowing when to call an audible on the lake

July 9, 2023

In fishing, as in most activities, it sometimes becomes necessary to call an audible when the original game plan goes awry. The day started on a bright note as fishing friend John Hirschbeck and I readied the Bass Cat for a few hours of fishing on one of our favorite local lakes. We launched the boat, and I pulled out a drop-shot rod to pick up where I left off last week on largemouth bass taking advantage of prime conditions to restore the fat they worked off during the spawn. John picked up his spinning rod and began casting a stick worm. It was looking like a headline-making day ...

Local legend to be honored with ‘Lou Blaney Memorial’

July 7, 2023

This past Friday, the racing world lost Jean Lynch of Apollo, Pa. In my mind, she is the first lady of auto racing. She did everything but drive a racecar. She was a scorer and timekeeper for the Indianapolis 500, NASCAR, Cart, and an official for many sanctioning bodies including DIRT and the All-Star Circuit of Champions. Locally, she was at one time the General Manager at Sharon, Tri-City, and West Virginia Speedways. She handled many duties at Lernerville Speedway. She served on the board of directors for the All Stars and was the coordinator for the original Ohio Sprint ...