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Achieving the freshwater grand slam

Specialists are the rule rather than the exception today on our local reservoirs, even though the lakes offer good fishing for the three most popular species here in Northeast Ohio. Check the boats at Mosquito Lake as their skippers get ready for a day on the water. You will see lots of bass boats with decks strewn with rods rigged for largemouth. You will see many boats with bait buckets and spinning rods sporting jigs. You also will see a number of rigs set up for casting tiny jig-and-minnow combos hanging under adjustable floats. One thing you’ll rarely see, however, is the ...

Baseball’s rule changes a great step forward

You certainly could have described me as skeptical when Major League Baseball announced it would implement a pitch clock, among other rule changes, heading into this 2023 season. Right up until Opening Day, I was curious — if not unconvinced — about the effects it would have on making ...

Improve angling skills at fishing school

It’s one thing to walk the banks of a two-acre farm pond with expectations of catching a big largemouth bass, but quite another to break down a 7,000-acre lake with miles of fishy cover scattered from the shoreline out to the depths. For an experienced angler, deciding on a fishing location at a large lake is not too much more complicated than picking a spot at that small pond on your friend’s country property. But for many newbies, the variables presented by a massive body of water and the dozens of options in lures, lines, locations, rods and reels can make solving the bass ...

Lake Erie biting hard for spring walleye

He owns trophies from dozens of tournaments, including major national championships, so Sammy Cappelli has proven his mettle when it comes to finding and catching big walleyes regardless of the waterway or time of the year. Fresh from his big win in the Cabella’s Masters Walleye Circuit season opener on the Illinois River (see last week’s column for winning details), Cappelli offered a few pointers for Northeast Ohio anglers looking to jump start their 2023 walleye fishing. We asked him, “What’s the best bet this spring for Ohio walleye?” He didn’t even hesitate to ponder ...

Cappelli cooks up victory, brings home trophy

Pro walleye angler Sammy Cappelli combined intuition with talent and experience to cook up a major victory in the deep-freeze Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit tournament last week on the Illinois River. Cappelli added another major trophy to his collection at home in Poland thanks to his ability to endure terrible weather and figure out the Illinois River walleyes and saugeyes. He and teammate Tony Karrick of Chicago sacked a two-day limit of 10 walleyes and saugeyes weighing 21 pounds 5 ounces to win the tournament contested in sub-freezing temperatures and 20- to 30-mph wind ...

Lake Erie continues to impress

News from the Ohio Division of Wildlife last week confirmed the 10.15-pound smallmouth bass caught in Lake Erie by an Ohio fisherman in November was a 16-year-old female and likely the largest bass ever reeled from the lake. Erie continues to impress with super catches of walleyes, smallies and steelhead trout. Few can argue that for the small investment in a fishing license, Ohio anglers now have access to some of the finest freshwater fishing in the world. When the weather is right, anglers who know what they are doing can count on unparalleled excitement and angling satisfaction ...