At least the fishing is better nowadays

It’s good to look back to acknowledge that even when it seems the sky is falling, we have much for which we can be grateful.

Recently, I had lunch with Ohio Division of Wildlife communications specialist Jamey Graham. She’s a dedicated professional whose mission is to make certain that Ohioans know and appreciate the fishing, hunting and other opportunities the wildlife division manages and improves.

As we scanned the menu, I mentioned to Jamey that in my opinion, Ohio anglers are experiencing much better fishing these days than they did 20 or 30 years ago.

She was interested in my reasoning, as this notion tends to fly in the face of the conventional wisdom that nothing is as good as it was back in the “good ol’ days.”

I explained that 25 years ago, when I first started competing in bass tournaments, it was rare for an event in Ohio to feature a lot of limit catches. Today, I told her, competitors need a limit to even consider themselves in contention at the weigh-in, and that limit must feature a kicker bass or two to tilt the scales in their winning favor.

In the mid-1980s, a limit catch was almost automatically worth a check. In the ensuing 25 years since those days, the bass fishing has actually improved. I believe that.

I also believe the walleye fishing is better than it was 25 years ago. And the crappie fishing is better. The steelhead fishing certainly is better. Muskie fishing is better, too.

She asked me whether I had any ideas why the fishing has improved.

Two reasons, I told her. The first is that anglers simply are better today than they were a quarter century ago. They have more knowledge and better equipment. They have more opportunities to put themselves in front of the fish. Hence, they catch more.

The second reason is we have succeeded in reversing the degradation of our waterways. Places such as Berlin, West Branch, Mosquito and Shenango are subjected to fewer pollutants than they were 25 years ago.

The Ohio River is a far cry cleaner than it was when I first started fishing there. And everybody knows about the success in cleaning up Lake Erie.

Clean-water legislation is one factor. It certainly has helped. Another important reason is the increasing awareness we all have about the risks of pollution and the opportunities to reduce our individual and collective impacts on our environment. We’re just a whole lot more conscientious these days.

The fish are happy, for sure, and anglers reap the benefits.

Many years ago, pop singer Joni Mitchell recorded a hit with a refrain that struck a chord: “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone?”

Fortunately, we heeded her warning.

Anglers don’t have to pine over what is gone. We didn’t “pave paradise and put up a parking lot.”

Not yet, anyway.

So we look back at what was and celebrate that it still is today. And we don’t lose sight of the fact that whether we ever pave over paradise will be a decision in which we all really do have a voice.

jwwollitz@aol.com