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Even when it’s grumpy, Lake Erie is a great place, and when the weather is perfect and the
Even when it’s grumpy, Lake Erie is a great place, and when the weather is perfect and the stars are aligned, Erie is arguably the very best place to enjoy a day on the water.
Officials from Ohio, Michigan and Ontario joined interested citizens and media Wednesday near Port Clinton to celebrate the 36th annual Governor’s Fish Ohio Day. Hosted by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Lake Erie Charter Boat Association and the Lake Erie Shores & Islands travel and tourism agency, the day featured opportunities for guests to fish and explore Lake Erie.
The big lake was a bit grumpy, thanks to the bumpy water stirred by recent stormy weather and easterly winds, and the fish were far from cooperative for most of the 18 charter boats that took guests out into the island region. But nobody went home unhappy.
From Toledo to Conneaut, Lake Erie provides recreational opportunities for millions of Ohioans and out-of-state visitors. Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ontario also share Erie’s waters and benefit from the enormous influx of dollars that visitors bring.
With economic development and environmental concerns as incentives, government leaders from Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ontario set out 50 years ago to work toward ensuring a long and fruitful life for Lake Erie. The fishery and boating is estimated to be worth $7 billion to the states and province on its shores, contributing to some 7,000 jobs in Ohio alone.
But the amount of phosphorus that enters the lake each year as a result of agricultural run-off and other sources contributes to algae blooms and other phenomena that reduce oxygen content and create environmental mayhem.
“We’re here today celebrating 50 years of cross-border cooperation for the betterment of our Lake Erie,” Bob Lambe, executive secretary of the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, told the assembled guests Wednesday at the Port Clinton-based Lake Erie Shores & Islands visitors’ center. You can’t miss the giant walleye decorating the grounds. “The progress we have made shows that good decisions can and do make for better water quality and good fishing.”
Progress has been made in recent years in the battle against phosphorus. It is widely used on farm fields to expand crop production, but when it runs off into Erie’s tributaries, it creates a nutrient overload that in essence over-fertilizes the waters. New land management practices on farmlands and guidelines about when and where to apply fertilizers have reduced the amount of phosphorus that washes into Lake Erie.
I was a guest aboard the Miss Andrea, a charter boat operated by Capt. Ron Jones. Also aboard were Cody Klima, Ohio Division of Wildlife field officer in Wood County; Kyle Gettys of the Ohio National Guard; and Wil Lloyd, a member of the staff of U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta.
Jones has guided on Erie since the mid-1980s and commutes from his home in southern Ohio to ply his trade on the big lake. He pushed out from Marblehead to the flats south of Kelleys Island, where we worked mayfly rigs.
The waters were riled by recent storms, and we finished the day short of our limit but nevertheless enjoyed the experience out on the Walleye Capital of the World.
To experience the lake yourself, consider a trip with Capt. Jones. You can make arrangements for a day on the water by calling him at 513-876-1710.