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Down year doesn’t mean a bleak future for Lake Erie fishing

Sooner or later, life teaches us, we will experience a hiccup in the unprecedented run of years of fantastic Lake Erie walleye fishing. In fishing, as in baseball, basketball and football, we fans know we cannot win them all. Undefeated is as good as it gets, and nobody I know is undefeated. Lake Erie has come close, however, though recent news reveals a reminder that the big water is not to be taken for granted. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife recently reported Lake Erie western and central basin walleye hatches were below average in 2024. The report ...

Thinking of the past, present and future

Reflections look back to the good times that provide context for the opportunities that stretch out in front of us as the new year draws near. While many are chronicling the highlights of the past 12 months as a first history of 2024, my time of reflection is my initial look-see at the 12 months yet to come. During my time on the water, I gaze in real time at the surface of the lake in front of my boat and see endless sky. My mind today is my mirror as I reflect to see fun times and fulfilling experiences in 2025. Reflecting back to last summer, I remember several outings with young ...

It’s not a College Football Playoff flaw, it’s just the year

Last Saturday, the college football world got it’s first look at the expanded 12-team playoff. The College Football Playoff ads were plastered all over television, YouTube channels and social media since the start of the football season. It was marketed as a chance to see more teams with the national title on the line. So, jump forward a few months later and how did it go? Well, that depends. For casual fans and members of the ESPN staff -- oh, lord, the television media complaining -- you would have thought this was the worst thing to happen to American sports since Major ...

Another memorable year of fishing

But for some twist in the road back around about the time John F. Kennedy was president, I might be writing today about a topic other than fishing. Indeed, something about fishing lit a fire in my soul when I was a youngster. I often reflect about my earliest fishing experiences, and I’ve reached way back in my brain to try to pinpoint the moment I was bitten by the fishing bug. Despite trying, I still don’t recall the exact event to spark my fire, but I’m happy the flames today are as hot as ever. Indeed, fishing and thinking about fishing helps melt snow, thaw ice and warm ...

Hiner: Make or break for Day in matchup with Wolverines

So, Ryan Day, you wanted to be the head coach of the Ohio State football team? With that title comes presssure, and for a number of successful coaches, today marked a dark day in their careers. The most notable on the Ohio State end of things was John Cooper. Yeah, he finished his time as the Buckeyes’ coach with a 111-43-4 record, but his struggles with Michigan were well documented. He finished 2-10-1 against the Wolverines, and became the postchild for the need to win “The Game.” Jump ahead 30 years, and Day has developed a bit of reputation among his naysayers. He can be ...

Wollitz: Quick flashes of Muskie fishing

Who doesn’t love getting struck by lightning? It’s happened to me many times while I cast my way around northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Bolts of lightning have lit up my days while fishing for bass, walleyes and crappies. And yet, I’m here today to write about lightning strikes – the most descriptive term I can imagine to describe out-of-nowhere attacks by muskies. They are sudden, startling and spectacular, always when I least expect them, and always exploding peace and tranquility into electrified mayhem. Muskellunge, aka “muskies” to most anglers, are ...