It’s an annual event put on for the news media by the Ohio Division of Wildlife and the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association to promote Lake Erie Fishing. And to make it official, the governor shows up to brag about his angling prowess and the economic gold mine that Lake Erie is to Ohio.
The “walleye chop” is what anglers call a slight breeze and 1-2 foot waves. According to lore, that’s ideal for catching walleyes.
“Fishing has been good this year, especially since around the first of June,” said charter captain Mike Matta. “July is actually a great time to fish. We have our highest catch rates per angler hour in July.”
When Matta, 57, talks about Lake Erie fishing he knows from experience — 35 years as a charter captain.
He was born and raised in Port Clinton.
“I learned to walk on a boat,” he said.
His boat, appropriately named “Whats-a-Matta,” belonged to his late father, John, who was a charter captain 20 years before Mike earned his license.
Matta, like all others who earn their livings on or around Lake Erie, is concerned about the blue-green algae that covered the lake last year.
“It’s a mess,” he said. “There’s a lot of thought and resources that will have to go into fixing the problem.”
Roger Knight, who heads the fisheries unit on Lake Erie for the Division of Wildlife, said dry conditions have helped keep the lake clear so far. That’s the same theory about the clearer water at Grand Lake St. Marys this year.
“If we start getting rain, it probably will change,” Knight said. “A lot depends on how much in the way of nutrients comes into the lake.”
Matta thinks the dreaded algae blooms will appear soon.
“I think we’ll start seeing it in two to three weeks,” he said. “Eventually, it will hurt fishing in the west. But we’ll probably still be able to fish along the Canadian border.”
Area shooters do well at state championship
Several shooters from the Miami Valley took home trophies from the 126th annual Ohio State Trapshooting Championships at the Cardinal Center in Marengo, June 18-24.
First-place winners were: Dan Schock of Clayton, Harrison Warren of Bellbrook, Rick Springer of Wapakoneta and Craig Denlinger of Middletown.
In the Ladies category, Elizabeth Schock of Beavercreek had 3 wins and in the Veteran Category Dave Berlet of New Knoxville won three titles including High All Around. Other Vet winners were Craig Blank of Xenia (including the High Over All), Rife Denlinger of Middletown and Bruce Haffner of West Alexandria.
Lee Davidson of Tipp City won two Class B titles and the Class B High Over All. John Webb of Sebina was Class AA HOA and Zackary Anderson of Washington Court House won in Class C. In High All Around, Roger Peterson of Xenia won Class A.
In the Doubles Championship, former Eaton resident Dean Townsend of Thornville won Class AA, Pat Neff of Middletown was runner-up in Class A, Springer won Class B and Ed Harruff of New Bremen won Class C.
Craig Denlinger won the Ohio Handicap Championship with Peterson finishing fifth. Ross Warren of Bellbrook was Class AA runner-up and Harrison Warren won the Sub-Junior title. Ralph McKee of Wilmington won the Senior Veteran title in the Blaser Handicap and Springer was the Class AA winner of the Singles Class Championship.
Contact outdoors columnist Jim Morris at sports@daytondailynews.com.
About the Author