John Hageman

On many occasions, a thick plume of black smoke that cannot be ignored can be seen billowing over the Lake Erie shoreline or across blocks of large inland acreage.
While wondering what is ablaze, as one gets closer, it fortunately often reveals not a structure fire but acres of vegetation burning across an undeveloped landscape.

Turtle trapping has long been a summer avocation of some Lake Erie area sportsmen in Ohio’s coastal marshes, streams, and ponds where these common reptiles occur.
And there is a big change in this year’s fishing regulations that should be heeded by turtle trappers.