Nothing says Thanksgiving like a bucket of crappies. Well, I exaggerate. Family gatherings, turkey dinners, Macy’s parade and NFL football are long-lived Thanksgiving traditions for most everybody in the Youngstown-Warren area. The anglers among us give thanks every autumn for the ...

People often ask what I like best about fishing. Though it may seem easy to respond that it’s reeling in a big one, the answer really isn’t so cut and dried. The best part of fishing? It depends. It depends on the lake. It depends on the season and the day. It depends on the weather, the ...

The casual observer might gaze across a lake and imagine great populations of fish swimming as far as the eye can see. We anglers know all too well that simply isn’t reality. Experts tell us 90% of the fish live in 10% of the lake, a claim that makes sense considering 100% of us anglers ...

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 ...

Weather deals considerable influence in the fortunes of anglers, especially during the seasonal transitions. I have experienced good times and doldrums in recent outings as weather fronts, wind shifts and cloud cover messed with my game plans. Autumn’s cooler temperatures and increased ...

Today dawned with the kind of anticipation that churns fans’ stomachs yet pulls them irresistibly into the game. Fandom delivers great joy, but not without great cost. The thrills of victory push us to the peak, but sooner or later, we will endure a stumble. It happens. Always ...