My first Lake Erie walleye was swooped with the net in 1974, four of us once boated more than 80 walleyes one weekend in 1976, I’ve battled a dozen or more walleyes of seven pounds or more, and I’ve devoured my weight in fried walleye fillets.

So those are my credentials. While I’ve not made walleyes my main game over the past 50 years, I do feel qualified to weigh in on the debate whether they should be Ohio’s state fish.

Yes. If Ohio is to have a state fish, let’s make it the walleye.

No fish has done more to put Ohio fishing on the map than the walleye. Bass anglers may disagree, favoring instead largemouth or smallmouth bass. Over the years, the state fish political football has bounced back and forth — never gaining enough support in Columbus for the Ohio legislature to finally decide whether it would be the walleye, smallmouth or largemouth bass.

But, as reported recently by veteran Ohio outdoors news writer D’Arcy Egan, a bipartisan effort to name the walleye as the official Ohio state fish has resulted in passage of House Bill 599. The vote was not even close, 93 for to 4 against.

Before the walleye gets its just reward, however, the Ohio Senate must vote. Egan noted that HB 599 co-sponsor Sean Brennan, D-Parma, said senators probably will not vote until after the Nov. 5 election.

Readers of this column know well my infatuation with bass fishing. I have made largemouths and smallies my primary targets for many years and have outfitted myself with a significant array of rods, reels, lines, lures and other stuff to help me catch more bass.

But deep inside my roots are firmly planted with walleyes. They were the first “big game” to catch my attention after my youthful days spent fishing for bluegills, suckers, chubs and other entry-level species. Dad and I enjoyed many summer vacation days fishing for walleyes with nightcrawlers plucked from our front lawn in Boardman and the 14th fairway of Mill Creek’s South Course.

My walleye days blossomed in 1974 when Dad brought home his Starcraft Islander and we learned the ins and outs of Lake Erie’s Erie Dearie fishery. The first boat Barb and I bought in 1977 was a walleye machine as we swung aboard limits from Mosquito and Berlin.

Our fryer was busy in those days, as productive walleye trips yielded bumper crops of fish for the fillet knife and family feasts.

Walleye are to Ohio anglers as corn is to Iowa farmers. They swim in every major river in our state and populate most of our favorite reservoirs. The most significant chapter in Ohio’s walleye history, of course, is the resurgence of the Lake Erie fishery.

Egan and I were the first writers to break the news about the expansion of walleye fishing from the western basin to the deeper central basin. As the water quality improved from the 1970s through today, walleye populations have soared, attracting anglers and their dollars from all across the United States and beyond.

Sport fishing, from more than 950 charter boats and thousands of private vessels, is a huge industry in Ohio, contributing more than a billion dollars in economic value and untold happy experiences for thrilled anglers.

So, yes, while today I’m a bass man, I fully understand and acknowledge that it is walleye that capture the hearts and souls of Ohio anglers more than any other fish.

I encourage our state senators to vote yes on House Bill 599. Call or write your senator to urge approval of the walleye as the state fish of Ohio.

Jack Wollitz has been writing about fishing since 1978 and began this column in 1988. Contact him at jackbbaass@gmail.com