I learned so much from my father — far too much to ever chronicle — but I paid especially close attention to him when we went fishing. Well before we boarded a float plane, launched a canoe, or tugged on the waders, he had researched the waters we would fish, studied maps of the place, and spoken to the people who knew that water best. He felt that good information was worth at least as much as the right gear, the preferred bait, and the proper presentation.
Leaning on experience and expertise makes sense in many situations, and fishing is near the top of that list. The Blade Fishing Report returns Friday for another six-month run, and we will rely on multiple sources of knowledge, skill, and know-how each week to seek out the best locations, the top baits, and as much tactical detail as we can cram in the Friday paper.
I’ve been fishing since I was 6 years old, and passionate about it since I was 9 or 10. But despite that half century of experience, I am also wise enough to know that even after fishing from the Bahamas to Quebec, from Florida’s Lake Tohopekaliga to the remote lakes of northern Manitoba, and from the Portage River to Prince of Wales Island in Alaska, there is a lot I don’t know or have not experienced.
So we will find people who specialize in one species, or a single location, and allow them to educate and inform us. The cast of consultants will include professional anglers, fisheries biologists, equipment dealers, bait-shop proprietors, lure makers, a retired fisherman from Long Island, an author, a bass fishing aficionado who does his best work in a float tube, steelheaders, a young fly fisherman, a bass fishing teacher, a muskie wrangler, and a roofer whose angling passion takes him much closer to the equator. And many more.
A quick look at a few of the experts whom we will call on regularly to contribute tidbits and treasures of insight to The Blade Fishing Report:
■ Ross Robertson has sold boats, worked as a guide, done television, written magazine pieces, conducted seminars, and fished numerous tournament circuits, but trolling for Lake Erie walleye is the bread and butter for the Toledo native. He was mentored on the subtleties of walleye fishing by local legends Jim Fofrich, Sr., and Jim Fofrich, Jr., and from that sound foundation Robertson has continued to cull the secrets of walleye fishing from Lake Erie’s waters.
■ Brian Miller grew up near the Maumee River, and he has spent the past quarter century in a scientific study of the myriad nuances of fishing the walleye spring spawning run. He has written a book on the subject, published an on-line magazine on the run, and he focuses a podcast on that same topic. Miller brings strategy to the table and has an innate ability to break down the multitude of aspects of the spring walleye bonanza.
■ Corneilus Harris is a former college football player who attacks bass fishing the same way he laid a hit on an opposing receiver. Harris has been mapping the bass-fishing hotspots in some of our most remote and difficult to reach lakes — the AEP ReCreation Lands — thousands of acres of rugged, reclaimed strip-mined landscape in southeastern Ohio. He packs in float tubes and shows his clients how to haul in hog largemouths from canyon lakes in places that most anglers can’t even find on a map.
■ Joe Roecklein moved to Perrysburg a few years back after clamming, crabbing, and fishing around the Long Island area for much of his life. Since he got here, Rocketman has made the Maumee River his domain, and he was a quick study on its species, hot spots, and seasonal changes. His eyes are on the river every day, and he works its banks tirelessly.
■ Bob Barnhart owns tackle supplier Netcraft, a Toledo tradition for decades. My dad took me to Netcraft when I was a kid, and I remember him saying that you should always buy your gear from the best fishermen around. That advice still makes plenty of sense today, because when he is not filling out government forms as a business owner, or ordering lure-making equipment to ship to customers around the world, Barnhart is fishing. He sells what he loves, and he makes no effort to keep that a secret.
■ Bernie Whitt has owned Anglers Supply in downtown Fremont for nearly three decades. His bait shop is ground zero for the walleye and white-bass runs on the Sandusky River. He will talk to more fishermen in a day than most people see in a month. Bernie is very savvy at sorting through the fish stories and dealing in the facts.
■ When Mario Campos recently took over ownership of the iconic Maumee Tackle shop, the St. Francis grad was ready to assume the role of fielding calls from throughout the Midwest and giving anglers the lowdown on the walleye and white-bass runs. Long a top fishing license vendor in the state of Ohio, Maumee Tackle is a couple of blocks from the river, and Mario is never far from the latest info on where the fish are hitting.
■ Spencer Berman is a Sylvania native who has made the pursuit of trophy muskies on Lake St. Clair his passion. He also guides for walleyes on the Detroit River each spring, and he knows the smallmouth-bass fisheries to the north quite well, but his reputation has been forged by boating more than 750 muskies each year, with many years when dozens of those will clear 50 inches.
■ Hunter Hayes might fool you at first with his youthful appearance, but there is a hard-core angler hiding behind that honest smile. Hayes knows where to find fish on the area rivers after the spring rush is over and the angling gets a little tougher. He contends any fish can be taken on a fly rod, and he goes about proving that, over and over.
■ Scott Kozak is a Whitmer grad and a Toledo business owner who developed a passion for chasing billfish, and he finds himself angling for marlin and sailfish numerous times a year. He won the prestigious “Leas International Angling Trophy” from the West Palm Beach Fishing Club, one of the oldest and most respected sport fishing organizations in the world, for Kozak’s outstanding success in international waters. Kozak is a disciple of tag-and-release fishing and preaches that gospel throughout the temperate waters of the Caribbean, the Atlantic and the Pacific.
■ We will also tap into the expertise of Richard “Doc” Boltz, who logs more time on area rivers each spring than most. We will talk to Rick Ferguson, the proprietor at Al Szuch Live Bait on Corduroy Road, since there is very little that goes on out on the big lake that Ferguson does not know about. Charter captains Paul Pacholski, Dave Spangler, and Mike McCrosky will be called on periodically for updates on Lake Erie’s mood and demeanor.
From the fisheries-biology side, we will seek out the specialists with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and their counterparts from Michigan and Ontario to help us better understand the movements of fish and the science behind those movements.
And we will jump around the regional map for updates on steelhead fishing in northeast Ohio and in Michigan’s traditional steelhead waters. We will keep close watch on the lakes of the Irish Hills and nudge retired Toledo business owner John Zuelke for some insider info on the bluegill fishing, because nobody catches more Irish Hills bluegills. Area reservoirs will be on the fishing report list, as will additional exotic locales, and a few nearby waters that need a bit of an introduction.
FISHING REPORT: Storms are not the friend of fishermen, and the storms we were hit with on Sunday night were bonofide, first-class, frog-strangling gully washers. By first light Monday morning, the creeks, drainage ditches, and streams that feed the Maumee River were a mess of high, muddy water and floating debris. A spring walleye run with an abundance of high-water conditions continues. Mario Campos from Maumee Tackle reported Monday that the waterway had a “bunch of junk” in it, and anglers were having a tough time getting anywhere near the usual prime fishing locations. Campos is confident the “main bite” is still coming, and if the river settles down he expects the latter part of the week could be a bonanza. Over on the Sandusky River, Bernie Whitt at Anglers Supply said not as much rain fell upstream of the Fremont spawning grounds, and as of Monday the waterway was not yet adding significant volume, and it was not heavily stained. He said the walleye bite was on for Saturday’s anglers but a bit slower on Sunday. Whitt said he would welcome a surge of high water, which he said “usually brings a good push of fish” up the river.
Contact Blade outdoors editor Matt Markey at: mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6068.
First Published March 29, 2016, 4:26 a.m.
