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Helping youngsters was a day worth having

Their smiles were particularly sunny, considering we met under a sky heavy with low-flying clouds. But fishing was in the air when I shook hands with Leo Wilkes and Eddie McNicol at 6:30 a.m. Sunday near the boat ramp at Kennedy Campground on the banks of the Ohio River in Newell, W.Va. I had volunteered to coach for Harry Emmerling’s Student Fishing League, which provides teenagers with opportunities to learn about bass fishing. Eddie and Leo, freshmen at Beaver Local High School, wore ear-to-ear grins as they boarded the Bass Cat and prepped to go fishing on the Ohio River. ...

Lorain plays host to asphalt cars

Being in the heart of dirt track racing, asphalt tracks don’t see a lot of attention. This weekend Lorain County Speedway in Amherst will play host to the fastest short track asphalt cars on the planet — the IMSA Supermodifieds. It’s the first of only two appearances in Ohio for the series. These open cars with big block engines and working overhead wings thunder around the race track. The wings go flat down the straightaways and raise up to plant the cars to the track on the turns. Rarely seen in this part of the country, this is a must-see show. Most drivers come from ...

Lack of aquatic plant growth natural, not man-made

Mosquito Lake has been a hot topic on social media recently and not just because of the great catches of bass, crappies, catfish and walleyes. The fishing has been productive this spring. Anglers tallied more than 200 limits of largemouth bass during a major tournament on Mosquito in mid-May. A recent catfish derby featured a winning haul of more than 66 pounds and a 48-pound flathead. Crappie anglers are reeling in thick slabs all over the reservoir. Good fishing typically is a happy time for anglers, but many are worried and angry, based on recent dock talk and Facebook chatter ...

Good’s Raceway is a local hidden gem

Good’s Raceway is a hidden gem of a race track located in Deerfield, located just a quarter mile from east of Deerfield Circle. After laying dormant for two years, former racer Jim Good and wife Jen purchased the 1/4-mile semi-banked clay oval and opened in 2000. Racing is every Saturday from April to October. Their seven-division program includes Jr. Sprints, Mod Lights, Jr. Sportsman, 27o Micro Sprints, Sportsman Dwarfs, Mini Stocks, and Side X Sides. Having heard a lot of good things about the track I decided to attend last week’s events. A new grandstand was put in since I ...

Bass Classic benefits the Mahoning Valley

They won’t make their last casts until 2 p.m. today, but the teams competing in the 2024 Muransky Companies Bass Classic already know the winners. The Saturday after Memorial Day is the traditional date of the annual Bass Classic, hosted by Aqua Ohio and benefiting the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. Since the inaugural tournament in 2000, the series of Bass Classics has generated nearly $600,000, which helps support programs that serve children and families throughout our community. This year’s tournament blasted off at 6:30 this morning at bass-filled Evans ...

Old school meets new school on the water

School’s out for many students and teachers across the Mahoning Valley, but learning takes no summer vacation, including for those of us who go fishing. As we trot through life, we gain experience by doing things and watching others. Learning takes time and patience, even trial-and-error, with the reward being a base of knowledge that is firm and stable. It’s what many might describe as “old school.” But we also have “new school” – especially today with technology accelerating learning at a pace unrivaled in history. Today’s column is about “old school” meets ...