MARBLEHEAD, Ohio — Looking at the fishing world through the eyes of a young person can be an extremely enjoyable experience.
Seeing them catch that first fish after watching their bobber jump up and down, and then screaming with excitement when that tiny bluegill breaks the surface — that is an unforgettable moment.
And if the fishing bug bites them at a young age, they usually stay hooked and eventually grow into accomplished adult anglers. The family of Hunter Pauly is witnessing just such a transition.
The 14-year-old, who will be a freshman at St. John’s Jesuit this fall, got his start in fishing at around age 3 or 4. His interest has steadily grown, and now, according to his grandfather, “all that kid wants to do is fish.”
Hunter does a lot of fishing in Sandusky Bay, and the catfish that are plentiful in that basin have been his primary target in recent years. He has landed a 23-pound cat, and a lot of others worth bragging about.
So as a cat-fisherman, Hunter knows a good fight. He recently tangled with another resident of Sandusky Bay, and one that that many anglers are familiar with — a bowfin.
He was fishing in a rocky area in a lagoon, near where a number of boats are docked. The bowfin gave him a pretty good tussle before landing in the net.
Bowfin are native to the region and are found in the highest concentrations in the bays and marshes of western Lake Erie. They are known for their strong fight and aggressive (nasty) demeanor, which is sometimes expressed through their set of sharp teeth. Also referred to as a dogfish, the bowfin is a voracious feeder and it is the only remaining member of its Amiidae family, which dates back 150 million years to the Jurassic Period.
His family expects Hunter to catch a lot more fish over the course of his lifetime, but after many catfish, it seems appropriate that this young angler tied into a dogfish.
■ Lake Erie: The wind has continued to stir things up but anglers that have found relatively clean water and trolled deep-diving stick baits and spoons have done well on walleye in recent days when the lake laid down enough for comfortable fishing conditions. The best areas have been northeast of the reef complex and northwest of Kelleys Island, with fishermen reporting a lot of 18-inch fish in the recent catch, and plenty of others in the 24 to 26 inch range.
■ Bass/Lake Erie: Anglers are reminded that the special bass harvest regulations on the big lake and all of its Ohio waters remain in place through June 23. In order to protect fish during their spawning period, anglers are limited to keeping one fish per day, whether it be a largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass, and it must be at least 18 inches in length. On June 24 the daily limit increases to five fish and the minimum size drops to 14 inches. The Lake Erie bass regulations extend into Maumee Bay, Sandusky Bay, East Harbor, Middle Harbor, West Harbor, and on all of the tributaries that enter the lake, up to the first dam. There are no size minimums or possession limits for striped bass, hybrid-striped bass (wipers), or white bass on Lake Erie.
■ Bass/Ohio: Outside of the waters of Lake Erie, the daily bass limit in the remaining waters of the state is five fish, in any combination of largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass, with a minimum length of 12 inches. For striped, hybrid-striped, and white bass, the daily limit is 30 fish in any combination, and no more than four of those can be more than 15 inches in length.
■ Bass/Michigan: On the heavily fished Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair and Detroit rivers, the closed season for bass possession ends on Saturday. Bass are protected on these waters from January through May and into mid-June. The bass possession season on all other Michigan waters runs from May 27 through Dec. 31. At all other times of the year, bass fishing is allowed under a catch-and-immediate-release format. During the possession seasons, anglers are limited to five bass per day, in any combination of largemouth and smallmouth, with a 14-inch minimum length.
■ Free fishing: Ohio’s Free Fishing Days take place on Saturday and Sunday when all residents are allowed to fish the inland waters and the Lake Erie waters of the state without a fishing license. All size and bag limits and other fishing regulations apply during this free fishing period.
First Published June 14, 2023, 3:27 p.m.
