But rules passed earlier this year forced fishermen to leave skin on all fillets. It was later changed to require just a patch of skin on every fillet. The idea was to make it easier for wildlife officers to identify the various species of fish when checking for possible poaching.
The latest version of the rule, passed by the Ohio wildlife council on Thursday, states: “Fillets must be kept whole until an angler reaches his or her permanent residence or until the fish are prepared for immediate consumption. There will be no requirement to keep skin on the fillets. This rule will not apply to anglers with a receipt from a fish cleaning house or charter captain, which states the date, number and species of fish.”
So the fillet rule is getting easier to live with. Who knows? Perhaps someday they will get rid of it altogether and it will be just the way it was for all those years when there wasn’t any problem in the first place.
Two area anglers top crappie team
The team of Jeff Toben of St. Marys and Rick Solomon of Piqua won the Anglers of The Year award as points champion of the 2012 Buckeye Crappie Challenge. As winners they will have all entry fees paid for 2013 tournaments.
The tournament trail ended for the year last weekend with the Classic at Paint Creek Lake. First place ended in a tie between Tom Allen and Troy Chandler of Cincinnati and Tim Clepper of Milford and partner Mike Russell of Batavia. They split $2,400.
Third place went to the team of Mick Eymer and Beverly Owens of St. Marys, good for $450.
Youth pheasant hunts Nov. 10 and 11
Mulberry Pheasantry, in conjunction with the Butler County chapter of Pheasants Forever, will hold a youth pheasant hunt with guides and hunting dogs on Nov. 10 & 11. The hunts will take place at Mulberry Pheasantry Hunting Preserve, 6099 S.R. 725, Camden.
There is a fee of $20 that includes two roosters, lunch, a blaze orange hunting vest, blaze orange ball cap or box of shogun shells, gun safety discussion and bird cleaning demonstration. A limit of 75 youth per day has been set for this event. Registration deadline is Nov. 5.
Youth hunters must pre-register by calling Tony or Wilma Petry at (937) 787-3912 or (937) 533-0081. Mail-in registration forms can be downloaded at butlercountypf.com. Youth that pre-register by mail will be contacted prior to the hunt.
Youth hunters must have successfully completed the Division of Wildlife’s hunter safety course prior to the hunt and have a valid hunting license. All youth must be accompanied by a non-hunting adult. Participants are required to wear hunter orange.
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