Sharon Speedway to honor local racing legend

August 17, 2023

Sharon Speedway will honor one of its winningest drivers, Bill Gabrielson this Saturday. He passed away in 2013 but the former Marine won during the golden age of asphalt racing and ruled the Semi Late Model division. The number 58 white and purple Chevelle won seven track championships, 82 feature wins, 78 heat race wins and 38 Australian Pursuits. He was the Sharon track champion in 1977, 1978 and 1979 and was the Hickory Speedway champion in 1978, 1979 and 1980. After the ‘79 season, the race car was sold and he went on to win a championship at Expo Speedway on the dirt. He ...

Aquatic plants, vegetation necessary to support fish

August 13, 2023

There’s no such thing as a scrawny bass at Chautauqua Lake — or if there is, I’ve yet to catch one there. The chunky bass swimming in the western New York lake are indicative of the health of the fishery all up and down the food chain. As reported in this column last Sunday, fishing friend Tyler Woak of Niles and I eagerly planned a Chautauqua fishing trip with high hopes of experiencing the thrill of battling big bass. We were not disappointed and during the course of the day, we learned a thing or two about why the lake is so good and saw hints about the fragile balance on ...

Chautauqua Lake in New York a must-fish for anglers

August 6, 2023

Like most anglers, I have a few lakes on my must-fish list every summer, including favorites like Erie, Pymatuning, Mosquito and the Ohio River. I look forward to every opportunity to test my skills against their bass. Without question, they make my investment in an Ohio fishing license well worth the money. A dedicated corps of Northeast Ohio bass anglers also pony up every summer for a non-resident New York fishing license just so they can cast for largemouths and smallmouths on western New York’s sprawling Chautauqua Lake. Just a little more than a two-hour drive from ...

Poland angler comes up short in walleye tournament

July 30, 2023

Most of the walleyes caught by anglers end up under the sharp edge of a fillet knife, their fate determined by the taste people have acquired for their flaky, mild-tasting meat. But pro angler Sammy Cappelli of Poland gladly frees the walleyes he catches in exchange for cash and prizes in fishing tournaments across the United States. Ironically, a big walleye that failed to survive its stay in his boat’s livewell ended up costing Cappelli and teammate Tony Karrick of Chicago thousands of dollars at the conclusion of the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit on ...

Flowers are a great gift — even for anglers

July 23, 2023

Flowers are always the perfect gift – for friends, lovers and even anglers. The role of flowers in my fishing is significant and made abundantly clear last week during a fishing trip on one of our lakes known for its ample acres of aquatic vegetation. Oddly, however, I heard the evidence of the flowers before I recognized the blooms with my eyes. Flowers play no less a role in waterways as in terrestrial ecosystems. Birds, bees, bugs and bigger critters all rely on flowers whether they’re rooted in soil or bobbing on waves. With summer heating up, my recent fishing trip was ...

Plenty of similarities, differences between fishing for sport, work

July 16, 2023

For all the fun and joy we anglers gain from sport fishing, we sometimes forget it is rooted as a sustenance activity. Catch-and-release movements have accelerated, and perhaps even elevated, fishing to its place today as a pastime popular among people from all walks of life. Rich or poor, we can go fishing for the sole purpose of recharging our batteries, reconnecting with nature or simply because we love it. But it wasn’t always that way. For millennia, people have gone to the water to feed their families and neighbors. Fishing was work, every bit as laborious and essential as ...