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Environmental health is key to better fishing

I know a lot of people who long for the good ol’ days when people were polite, bread cost a quarter and the fishing was amazing. The times, of course, are a matter of perspective. What was cool yesterday is not cool today. But as our years pile up, we cling to our past to elevate our own existence. Maybe the music was better when we were kids. Maybe pro athletes were tougher. Maybe schools were better. Sure, you could buy a burger, fries and Coke with the change in your pocket. And a great day of fishing was measured on how many chubs and suckers we pulled from Yellow Creek in ...

ODNR excited about walleye growth

Curt Wagner is smiling this week, and for good reason. Wagner is the fisheries management supervisor in the ODNR Division of Wildlife District 3 office in Akron. He joined the crews staffing the walleye netting and milking operation at Mosquito Lake this week, and is delighted with the evidence he sees regarding the reservoir’s walleye population. “We are getting lots of eggs and lots of large females since Monday,” he said. “Plus, we’re seeing good numbers of 2- to 3-year-old fish in the 13- to 15-inch size range.” That is good news for Mosquito Lake’s anglers and ...

WOLLITZ: Wonderful memories of fishing for walleye

My angling interests are firmly rooted in walleyes, thanks to the proliferation of the species in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ reservoirs near Warren and Youngstown. Our local lakes were dammed to serve the region’s steel industry in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, with the added benefit of supporting populations of walleyes to feed the fish-hungry residents of northeastern Ohio. When I was old enough to strike out on my own to explore our local waters, I quickly learned early spring was a great time to cast jigs for walleyes in the tailraces below Mosquito, Berlin and ...

Less is more when out on the water

Like bakers who sift their flour to lighten their batters and doughs, anglers who fluff through their tackle now stand a better chance to succeed when they return to the lakes this spring. The ice is melting, the days are getting longer and we’re prepping our boats and fishing equipment for our return to Mosquito, Pymatuning, Milton, Berlin, West Branch, Shenango, Erie and all of our other favorite waters. If you are like me, you have accumulated enough tackle to outfit your entire neighborhood. It’s good to be ready for anything, but problematic when you must sort through all ...

Northern Illinois could be a test case for the future

The world of college athletics has been changing for the last several years, and for a time, it looked like the Mid-American Conference was safe from realignment. That changed when Northern Illinois decided to join the Mountain West as a football-only member in the beginning of January. With the rest of their sports looking for a new home, they went back to stay regional. On Thursday, the Huskies opted to move their basketball and other programs to the Horizon League. And with it, one of the more interesting cases for the future of college athletics presented itself. Various media ...

Nothing beats bobber fishing

Something about bobber fishing has hooked me since childhood. It is there, very real and so enticing, but I can’t exactly tell you why it is so appealing. Perhaps it is the cadence of the float as it rides the ripples. Maybe it is the sudden dunk of the quill bobber. Or perhaps it is the weight at the end of the line when I set the hook after the bobber dives under the surface. Hanging live bait under a float is an ancient technique, almost as old as fishing itself, but even with 21st century technology available to me and you, we still love the basic simplicity of waiting ...