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Marquette: No shortage of short track racing

July is a great time of the year if you’re a short track racing fan. Things start off this weekend at Sharon Speedway as the World of Outlaws traveling series for the “Battle at the Border,” during which there will be $12,000 and $20,000 to win on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Some of the greatest Late Model drivers in the country, along with local and regional stars, will invade the red clay oval. UMP Mods will be on both shows. Gates open at 4 p.m., and racing will be at 7:30 p.m. Tony Stewart’s playground, Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, also has four nights of ...

Wollitz: Catching smallies remains an ‘unforgettable’ delight

It is noteworthy that my favorite fish these days is one I had never caught until I had already logged more than a dozen species on my catch list. Toward twilight on a long, hot early July day, I tossed a tiny Roostertail spinner toward the head of a long run on a wide creek, engaged the reel and retrieved the lure a few feet before it came to a dead stop. I gave the instinctive jerk and was rewarded with a showery leap of a fish silhouetted against the sun setting toward the hills. I was no stranger to fishing that day. I’d been an angler since I was a youngster, enjoying family ...

New waters could lead to more summer fun

Summer is shaping up nicely for anglers here in our corner of Ohio as we settle into our familiar routines on our favorite waters. Anglers are fortunate to have so many fishing options near Youngstown and Warren. We have favorite fishing holes based on whatever criteria we personally apply to make our choices. Some pick based on where their favorite species swim. Others select based on familiarity, convenience or proximity to home. But if you are a one-lake-wonder, you are missing some pretty cool opportunities. Sure, it’s easy to get comfortable out there doing the same old ...

Crappies can save the day

By no measure would I claim to be an expert on fishing for crappies, but I have been enjoying a pretty good catch rate this spring. The majority of my fishing excursions are for other species, including my favorite largemouth and smallmouth bass. But crappies are a reliable fall-back when the other fish are not in the mood. Crappies thrive in Mosquito, Pymatuning, Milton, Berlin, Shenango and other reservoirs in northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Their populations are healthy and their appetites are big, which makes them a favorite of anglers here in our region and across ...

Strahm’s legacy starts with Warren Western Reserve-Harding rivalry

Sorry to hear about the passing of legendary Findlay College football coach Dick Strahm, who died Tuesday at age 92. Sadly, his wife died on the same day. Strahm led the Oilers to four NAIA national championships during a 24-year run. He’s enshrined in both the NAIA and National College Football Hall of Fames. Strahm’s name is still remembered among older citizens that were raised in Warren as the first head football coach at Warren Western Reserve High School. He had a short run of four years before heading to the college ranks at the University of Toledo. Strahm is arguably ...

The agony of dealing with mayflies while fishing

The words roll off the tongues of Lake Erie walleye anglers with disdain. “The mayflies are hatching.” They are words no walleye angler wants to hear. Every year from late May through June, just as the weather is getting reliably good and anglers are itching to get out on Erie, Mother Nature throws us her mayfly curveball. Mayflies are the flying insects that emerge from their nymph stage from the bottom mud of Lake Erie. They rise to the surface and molt into adults with wings that enable them to fly from the surface. When the hatch is in full bloom, we are confronted ...