Friday, June 13th, 2025

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Friday, June 13th, 2025

Breaking News for

Sportsmen Since 1968

John Hageman

Culling of cormorants continues in Ohio

In Ohio, sites deemed necessary for management culls of double-crested cormorants in the past have included West Sister and Green islands in Lake Erie, Turning Point Island in Sandusky Bay, the Portage Lakes in northeast Ohio, Grand Lake, and the St. Marys State Fish Hatchery.
On the Lake Erie islands, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-issued public resources depredation order requires birds to be culled prior to their nesting season.

Culling of cormorants continues in Ohio Read More »

Lake Erie water levels require boaters’ attention in Ohio

According to the International Joint Commission, Lake Erie water is at its lowest level since 2014.
Without the first respectable period of ice cover in three years, which at times covered 90% of the lake, it could have been worse as evaporation may have taken a bigger toll in the form of lake effect snow. It was clear when the boating season started in March that Lake Erie’s water level was down when the Ohio ramps to the lake looked longer. River and harbor entrances in some locations that allowed boating outside the dredged channels now contain sediment deposits too shallow to get through.

Lake Erie water levels require boaters’ attention in Ohio Read More »

West Coast boats making a mark on Lake Erie’s big waters

While looking for a fishing boat years ago, one style that intrigued me was those commonly used on the big rivers and coastal waters of the Pacific northwest. 
After owning an aluminum 20-foot Lowe Roughneck boat that leaked through the crimped keel, the biggest appeal of the Northwest Coast boats to me is their heavy gauge and welded aluminum construction. I have seen Starcraft, Lund, Crestliner, Meyer, and other popular aluminum fishing boats all eventually develop leaks through their rivets that become severed, loosened, or stretched by the twisting and pounding they get in Lake Erie’s notorious closely spaced, twisting, choppy waves.

West Coast boats making a mark on Lake Erie’s big waters Read More »

Midges and mayflies may be bothersome, but both are important fish food on Lake Erie

Each spring and summer, those living or visiting the Lake Erie shoreline may need to deal with large numbers of annoying “bugs,” depending upon the time of year.
When aquatic insects exit the lake, it is often erroneously called a “hatch,” when in fact, it is properly defined as an “emergence.” The hatch occurs when a larva or naiad first exits its egg. On the lake itself, the insects in question are rarely mosquitoes, which require calmer water than Lake Erie normally provides.

Midges and mayflies may be bothersome, but both are important fish food on Lake Erie Read More »

Algae bloom prediction is mild to moderate on western Lake Erie this year

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Center for Coastal Ocean Science issued its first Western Lake Erie Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) forecast on May 8.
Microcystis is the cyanobacteria that is responsible for the unsightly and potentially toxic HABs on Lake Erie that can cause skin irritation, respiratory distress, and gastrointestinal disturbances when exposed to the organism.

Algae bloom prediction is mild to moderate on western Lake Erie this year Read More »

Lake Erie island township asks for donations to continue providing dumpster for fish waste

Each spring, hundreds of boats bearing license plates from throughout the country, especially the Upper Midwest, are brought over on the Miller Ferry to South Bass and Middle Bass islands to experience the legendary fishing for Lake Erie’s bountiful trophy walleyes.
Lake Erie’s unbelievable spring fishing was initially brought to light nationally in the early 1990s with the record-breaking weights caught during the Cabela’s/In-Fisherman Walleye Tournament.

Lake Erie island township asks for donations to continue providing dumpster for fish waste Read More »

Critical water snake surveys to resume this month on Lake Erie

The northern water snake, Nerodio sipedon, is very common and found throughout the eastern half of the U.S., especially in the Northeast and Midwest states and also in Ontario.
The Lake Erie water snake (LEWS), Nerodio sipedon insularum, is a recognized subspecies, which has been recorded from 22 islands in the lake and is currently believed to exist on at least 11. LEWS are distinguished by an often-singular gray or dark color with less pronounced bands across their backs, and a cream-colored underbelly.

Critical water snake surveys to resume this month on Lake Erie Read More »

Walleyes hitting on Ohio’s Lake Erie reefs

Other than ice fishing, several of the most passionate walleye fishermen that this reporter knows look forward the most to being able to catch male (jack) walleyes by vertical jigging.

In Lake Erie, this is most often a game played in shallow, near-shore sandy-bottomed areas, limestone rock pile reefs, and on the dredge spoil humps found just outside the navigation channels that are cleared of sediments to support commercial shipping. Males during April are very protective of their territory and aggressively strike at lures.

Walleyes hitting on Ohio’s Lake Erie reefs Read More »

Ohio Clean Marinas program marks 20 years of protecting Lake Erie

The Ohio Clean Marinas Program is an effort that was launched in 2004 to help marinas protect Lake Erie from air and water pollution generated by recreational boating marina boat service operations.
After a year of creating a guidebook that covered best management practices to achieve compliance with regulations, assisted by a Clean Marinas Advisory Board, the first “Clean Marina” was certified in 2005. Since then, more than 70 Lake Erie marinas have signed up.

Ohio Clean Marinas program marks 20 years of protecting Lake Erie Read More »

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