Over the winter, I made big plans for the upcoming fishing season, even booking a fly-in Canadian trip, but now with what’s happening around the world, who knows how far and how many times I’ll be going to fish this year.
With the cost of gas, I’ll have to think long and hard about hooking up the boat and driving two-three hours one way to go fishing.
In fact, I was talking to a friend last week and he joked that with the gas situation, “I guess we’ll be reading a lot of stories about you catching bluegill on the pond this year.”
Well, I don’t think it’s going to be that bad, but those weeks of fishing Lake Erie one day and the Ohio River the next are probably out of the question unless things change. I am, though, committed to a few long-distance trips you most likely will read about, including the walleye run on the Sandusky River (Fremont), and hopefully a return a few weeks later to catch white bass, a three-day trip to Presque Isle in Erie, Pa., and another camping trip with my wife at Pymatuning, which is turning out to be my favorite fishing lake in Ohio. The wife and I also are booked for four days on the Allegheny Reservoir in Pennsylvania this summer.
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The upside: Smaller lakes and rivers will get some play
I had plans to fish some new waters in New York this spring, but that’s on hold, as are some other out-of-state possibilities. The up side of the situation is now I can focus on some of the smaller lakes and rivers in and around Wayne, Holmes and Ashland counties, and let you know what the fishing and amenities are like at possibly Spencer, Killbuck Lakes, Atwood, Pleasant Hill and Charles Mill.
Maybe I’ll give Killbuck Creek and the Beach City spillway a try, fish new locations on the Tuscarawas River or get into some private lakes in the area.
Who knows what the summer will bring, but one thing I do know is that in late July I’ll be off to the province of Manitoba for a fly-in fishing trip 300 miles north of Winnipeg. It’s a trip of a lifetime my son, Izzy, and I have been dreaming about for a few years now, and hopefully it lives up to our expectations. I’m sure I’ll have more on the planning for the trip, and the actual trip, closer to our late July departure.
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Attention to panfish at Portage Lakes
In the meantime, I am starting to think about targeting more panfish this year. I had fun doing that this winter ice fishing, but now I’ve packed away all my ice fishing gear, and I’m itching to get started on the open-water fishing season. But, with the realization that bluegill and crappie fishing may be more prevalent this year than steelhead, walleye and bass, I transferred some of the micro baits and ice jigs to the panfish box on the boat, especially now that Portage Lakes may be as far as I go to fish some weeks.
Fishing Portage Lakes is not a bad thing, though, as the bluegill and bass populations are good, and spots like Miller and Hower on the Akron-area chain of lakes are often overlooked by a lot of fishermen. In fact, you need a kayak or canoe to get under the road from North Reservoir to Hower Lake. The boat may take a back seat to the kayak and waders this summer.
Changes coming to Fall Brawl at Lake Erie
At the conclusion of the last fall’s Lake Erie Walleye Fall Brawl, the event was purchased by Big Water Walleye Championships and Jason Fischer from Frank Murphy. BWWC also runs the seven-event Lake Erie Walleye Trail circuit.
Interestingly, Cabela’s, the main sponsor last year and where all the fish were weighed in at, seems to have a smaller sponsorship role this year, and fish will no longer be checked in at the Avon store. Instead, one of the big changes will be three weigh-in locations, an east, west and central site, making it easier for fishermen across Lake Erie to officially check in their walleye.
Fischer announced several changes to the 2022 Lake Erie Fall Brawl, including opening Michigan and Pennsylvania waters to the contest, one of the reasons for the weigh-in location in Maumee (Jann’s Netcraft) and Madison (DB Marine). Sandusky Bait and Tackle will be the central basin weigh-in location. There also will be a new kayak division and a women’s division.
Another big change will be registration prizes picked at random. Everyone who registers will be entered (first place a Chevy 1500 pickup), with the ability to earn more entries by spending money at sponsors and attending sign-up parties (such as the one held annually at Mid Ohio Sporting Goods).
Registration begins Thursday at the Cleveland Boat Show, as well as on line. The cost to enter is $35.
Shreve Spring Migration
MIGRATING BACK TO BIGGER – The annual Shreve Spring Migration Sensation was held this past Saturday, a shadow of what it has been in the past. Of course, the weather was not conducive to big crowds and hordes of migrating waterfowl. The running joke is if you want to know what weekend in March is going to be the coldest with a possibility of snow, just check to see when the Migration Sensation is scheduled.
Even with this past Saturday’s conditions, the event was scaled back on purpose, but plans are for it to return to all its glory next year. The event has not only had to battle weather, but the Covid pandemic the last few years, but organizers are hoping to up the ante next spring.
Outdoor correspondent Art Holden can be reached at letsplabal@yahoo.com.
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