An angler’s goals for the 2023 season

February 26, 2023

As I prepare for the beginning of the 2023 fishing season, I have been thinking about past successes on our Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania lakes. Anglers look forward to those glorious spring days when the water is calm, the sun is warm and the redwing blackbirds are trilling in the wetlands surrounding our favorite lakes. Those days are coming soon, but in the meantime, we plot and plan for success early and often. So what constitutes a successful fishing trip? One cool thing about fishing is your idea of success may be completely different than mine. I might rejoice ...

Athletic fallout from the EP train derailment

February 20, 2023

Just over two weeks ago, a train derailment in East Palestine thoroughly devastated a local community and its surrounding areas. Since that time, the aftermath has affected different aspects of life for many community members around the area and this past week it leaked over into the athletic landscape of the OHSAA girls basketball playoffs. On Thursday, the 9th-seeded East Palestine Bulldogs were set to host the 15th-seeded Bristol Panthers in the first round of the postseason tournament, a sectional semifinal matchup. But, after a discussion between the two schools and the OHSAA, ...

Shopping options for anglers to be expanded

February 19, 2023

“Mesmerized” is the perfect word to describe my earliest recollections of a place where my fascination with fishing intersected my aspirations to do it well and often. On a mid-summer morning sometime late in the Eisenhower administration, Dad and I first crossed the threshold of a small-town fishing tackle store into a new and exotic world. The wood floors creaked under our feet and the distinctive scents of nightcrawler dirt and minnow tanks wafted to our nostrils. My eyes feasted on walls decorated with oversized posters of heritage brands like Arbogast, Heddon, Rebel and ...

Building everlasting relationships: An ode to coaches in the Mahoning Valley

February 12, 2023

I want to take a second and talk about coaches, especially the ones at the high school level who often pour their blood, sweat and tears into programs across the country. They often don’t get paid as much as they are worth, but they still continue to play major roles in their players’ lives and spend a countless number of hours preparing their athletes for both games and life away from the playing field. They often don’t get the credit that they deserve and even when they do, they deflect it onto their athletes or to other parts of their program. They are most often truly ...

After mild winter, fishing season inches ever closer

February 12, 2023

In my never-ending pursuit of perspective, I submit this observation that regardless of whether the Kansas City Chiefs or Philadelphia Eagles win today’s Super Bowl, we are just a few weeks from the return of our walleye fishing. The same can be said for the Pennsylvania groundhog’s recent announcement about six more weeks of winter. Phooey to Phil! Spring’s coming and the walleyes will be running. By mid-February, during more winters than I care to count, I was ready to bust out the spinning rods. I was checking my waders for leaks and packing pocket-size boxes with ...

Guides a valuable aid during fishing trips

February 5, 2023

Ocean tides are among nature’s unstoppable forces. Their ebb and flow is as reliable as the sunrise and sunset, adding energy to influence the life that relies on the water, which in turn exerts its own pull on those who love to fish. The water last week pulled friend Bob Marcoux and me as we boarded the fishing boat of Captain Will Geraghty at Naples (Fla.) City Dock. The sun had breached the palm-studded east bank of Gordon River and lit up the morning with the kind of radiance that anglers take whenever they tote their gear to the water. Dolphins rolled near the boat as Geraghty ...