GREAT OUTDOORS: Walleyes, perch bite on Fish Ohio Day

During the week, with moderately strong northerly winds carrying air temperatures cooler than the lake's surface water, NOAA issued mariners to be alert for waterspouts. However, by Thursday morning, exceptionally light winds were present during the 43rd Governor's Fish Ohio Day in Port Clinton. I was aboard DOC Charters, piloted by Captain Dan O'Conner, along ODNR/Division of Wildlife Inland Fisheries manager Rich Zweifel, ODNR/Division of Parks and Watercraft chief Glen Cobb, and Brandy Gleason, who pens travel-related articles on her Gleason Family Adventures blog. Captain Dan specified that we would be walleye fishing -- meaning that we would be casting, not trolling. He took us to Gull Island Shoal, northwest of Kelleys Island, which attracts all types of fish to its rocky habitat. While the soft breeze made drift and casting for walleyes a lot less effective than when waves push boats across the lake at a steady clip, even the trollers were heard on the marine radio lamenting the slower-than-usual bite while trying to crack the code on what lure depth, color and speed would inspire the walleyes to bite. We caught multiple walleyes, freshwater drum (sheepshead), round gobies, channel catfish and a white perch during our morning on the lake. Some of the walleyes were 2-year-old fish that fell short of the 15-inch legal size limit, but several others qualified for a ride to the fish cleaning house to be filleted and sent home with some of the participants. I was able to land a 25½-inch walleye, along with an additional sub-legal sized one and several gobies. Several of the captains who donated time aboard their vessels to help promote Lake Erie's great fishing opted to run yellow perch trips. Although the perch bite has slowed somewhat locally compared to two weeks ago, by all accounts that was shared with me and those who dunked minnows kept busier reeling in "Erie gold" than those of us who chased walleyes. Some coolers returned to shore with more than 50 keeper perch from near the Toledo Lighthouse. Once back to the Shores and Islands Ohio Welcome Center, director Larry Fletcher reiterated his annual message of the importance of Lake Erie to an audience of 183 participants that included elected officials, sportsman group leaders, charter boat captains, outdoors writers, news media, ODNR staff and other invitees. Specifically, the eight coastal counties generate 28% of Ohio's $60.5 billion tourism income. Several of the speakers chronicled the importance and progress of the H2Ohio Program's efforts to clean up Lake Erie, including Division of Wildlife Chief Kendra Wecker. ODNR Director Mary Mertz relayed that, to date, the program has created 113 wetlands in Ohio, covering more than 12,000 acres. Their initial focus on restoring wetlands in northern Ohio is to filter sediment and reduce nutrients to provide cleaner water entering Lake Erie. Lieutenant Gov. Jon Husted boasted about the Division of Wildlife's new state-of-the-art fish cleaning station at the Mazurik Access Area in Marblehead that he and his father made use of while fishing. In addition to the one at Mazurik, others are expected to open this fall at the Huron and Avon Lake fishing access areas. With respect to hunting and fishing opportunities, he stated that turkey and deer populations are higher than they were 50 years ago and that Ohio sportsmen "have more to do now than they did then" and concluded with, "Ohio is a great place to live, work, raise a family and play." Gov. Mike DeWine was the final speaker of the day. He began by thanking the Ohio General Assembly for funding his H2Ohio Program not once, but in two budgetary cycles, assisting the ODNR with a half-billion dollars to address a backlog of necessary repairs, noting that, "Ohioans will be benefiting for generations for what you have done." Before exiting the podium, DeWine conceded that he lost the day's fishing contest against Husted but vowed to be back next year with reinforcements (his grandkids).