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Details are important for local anglers

Details, details, details. Who cares, right? Anglers care. Or more precisely, we qualify that by noting “successful” anglers care. They know the difference between a successful fishing trip and a bust often boils down to seemingly insignificant details. Ask Ohio’s steelhead anglers. They know the persnickety trout will snub offerings that are anything short of perfect. Two of the best in the steelhead game are John Breedlove of Girard and Chris DePaola of Austintown. Breedlove and DePaola favor completely different tactics, but they tally pretty much identical totals of ...

The Ohio River is a diamond in the rough

The day is never fresher than the hour after sunrise, especially when the wind is in your hair and the breeze is in your face. So began another fishing day last week. Miles of glass-smooth Ohio River stretched in front of me as I pushed the Mercury in gear and mashed the Hot Foot throttle. The BassCat planed out and made short work of the two-mile run to the morning’s first stop. It happened quickly. Three casts were all that I needed to catch the attention of a river bass, which rocketed vertically out of the water to eat my surface popper. The smallmouth churned and ran sideways, ...

Column: Some thoughts during YSU’s midseason bye

YOUNGSTOWN — Without a doubt, it’s been an up-and-down season for Youngstown State so far. The Penguins sit at 2-3 overall and 1-2 in Missouri Valley Football Conference play, and are a disastrous second half against Western Illinois away from being above .500 instead. On the other hand, both wins are over teams currently in the FCS Top 25 — No. 18 Incarnate Word (who was receiving votes at the time of its matchup at YSU) and No. 20 Missouri State (who entered last week’s matchup at No. 15). Also, YSU received 20 votes in this week’s poll. With the Penguins idle this week, ...

Mahoning River in good shape, but needs work

The river flows past fields of tall corn under shady canopies of hardwood trees that sprouted a hundred or more years ago and past the shadows of the valley’s industrial infrastructure that helped build the backbone of America. Its waters sustain life for a myriad of species, from the eagles that soar the treetops to the deer that tiptoe to sip from its banks to the great game fish that thrive on its abundant populations of minnows, crustaceans and invertebrates. The river is our Mahoning, an increasingly popular destination for anglers, kayakers and other outdoors enthusiasts, ...

Lake Erie is very much alive in 2021

Fifty years is but a blip on the timeline of our planet, but it is more than enough time for one of Earth’s most remarkable comeback stories to come to full flower. Once considered dead, Lake Erie today is very much alive with teeming populations of popular game fish that attract substantial interest from anglers throughout the United States and Canada. Steelhead trout and smallmouth bass, prized by sport anglers for their fighting abilities, have continued to make gains as Erie’s water has become cleaner and baitfish populations have thrived. But walleyes are ...

Mistakes happen in fishing, learn to limit them

Unless your weekend plans include a trip to enjoy fantastic Lake Erie walleye action, most Northeast Ohio anglers face a few more of the tough-fishing dog days of August. The dog days are a time for extra sharp focus by anglers who do chose to hit the water even though the fishing is tough at Mosquito, Berlin, West Branch and Milton. Mistakes can be magnified when bites are few and far between, so smart decisions and flawless execution are all the more essential if an angler is to find success during the late summer doldrums. Flawless execution, huh? If only it were that easy. I ...