Tick. Tock. Tick. …

The clock and the calendar are relentless. Time marches on. Days fly by. The years pile up.

Seems like only a few years ago my buddies and I were traipsing the banks of Yellow Creek in the Poland Municipal Forest, a spinning rod in one hand and a can of worms in another. Seems like just last year I went on my first walleye trip on Lake Erie and started to learn the tricks of the trade for Ohio River smallmouth bass.

Now it is autumn, just when I was getting dialed in on the summer patterns, fresh off the success of spring when every fish is either hungry or in the mood to spawn, or both. Seems like only yesterday, I was sliding the Bass Cat off the trailer at Mosquito Lake with high hopes for fast action on springtime largemouth bass.

The fishing has been good the past several weeks, whether for walleyes, bass, crappies or steelhead trout. Pick your fish and the likelihood of a successful outing was pretty high on Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania waters, as well as Lake Erie.

The weather today certainly will inspire many anglers to go fishing, including me. We can count on many sunny and mild days ahead, and today seems perfect. So I will be making a run up the New Cumberland Pool of the Ohio River with smallmouth bass on my mind.

Today’s fishing trip will be one of many on a long list of successful excursions this year. As always, my fishing season began with memories of experiences from the previous year, and I am confident 2026 will spring forward with the energy of this fall’s fun.

Every fishing trip takes off from the learnings accumulated to that date. Today’s trip will be the foundation for my next outing. Think back on your own experiences and you will recognize the schooling you received, too.

I like to think about each fishing trip as a day in school, and I hope to go home with more knowledge than I had when the bell rang.

My ultimate goal on the river this morning is actually the result of a progression of objectives. First, I must have the right lure tied on and I must find the place where it is most likely to work. Then I must tease a fish into biting. Before I can catch two fish, I must catch the first.

So you see where this is going. Each decision, each cast and certainly every experience all add up to become the equation for success – however it is measured.

I go to the river this morning with a game plan, and adjust as the day winds on. Some days, the plan plays out on schedule, but often success depends on adjustments.

For the Ohio River today, I have built a tactical plan on a foundation stacked over more than 40 years of fishing trips, with special focus on my most recent outings. Fall is in the air, the water is cooling and the bass are hungry for the shad and shiners schooling in key locations.

Topwater tops my lure choice, but I’ll have other baits rigged. I’ll learn from my first strike and use that information to generate my second.

I know before I even make my first cast that today’s trip will be a success regardless of the day’s final tally. I may catch nothing or I may catch 20 bass, but the real prize is banking my latest learnings for the fishing trips in my future.

Jack Wollitz has been learning fishing lessons for many years on the lakes and rivers of the Mahoning Valley and beyond. Contact him at jackbbaass@gmail.com.