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Tribute to angler advocate
Summer fishing is in full swing all across the region, but before we head out to the lakes this weekend, I’ll report on some of the news that has arrived in recent days.
The Youngstown fishing community lost a great advocate last week with the passing of Jim Stacchiotti of Girard.
Jim was well-known among the region’s corps of bass tournament anglers. Himself an avid fishermen, Jim thrilled as much about other anglers’ success as he did his own.
Recognized by many local anglers as the man who ran the fishing concessions at Girard and Liberty lakes under the ownership, Jim soon recognized the need for bass tournaments for people who didn’t own big, fast bass boats. He organized the Girard Lakes Bass Club many years ago, and the club continues today as a competition organization for electric-powered fishing boats.
Jim also was well-known for his fishing reel repair and rod-building business. He was my go-to guy for many years when it came time for offseason maintenance of my arsenal of reels.
A star football player for Girard High School, Jim went on to a four-year career at Syracuse University. After graduation, Jim earned invitations to tryouts with the NFL’s Orleans Saints, Baltimore Colts and Cincinnati Bengals.
A man of many interests, he was a popular teacher in the Newton Falls School District, studied law, was a scholar who pursued a doctoral degree and an accomplished singer and songwriter in The Wild Turkey Band.
His love of fishing put him in contact with hundreds of fellow anglers here in Northeast Ohio and across North America. All of his friends in the bass community, those who competed in the Girard Lakes club and many, many others in this region will miss Jim and his enthusiasm for our sport.
Youngstown contributes to high ratings
Major League Fishing, the made-for-television bass tournament competition broadcast weekly on the Outdoor Channel, can give a bit of credit to Youngstown for its ranking as the number one TV fishing show.
A news release from the MLF organization reports the Nielsen ratings indicate the first-quarter 2016 airing of the Summit Cup championship show on CBS attracted more than 1.1 million viewers. That would make it one of the all-time highest-rated fishing shows on TV.
The news release further reports the Major League Fishing broadcasts this year are the top-rated Outdoor Channel program.
Youngstown-area anglers will recall Major League Fishing filmed its Geico Select series presented by Bass Pro Shops on nearby Mosquito, Milton, Evans and Pine lakes. The Youngstown series – six episodes in all – aired earlier this year. Rebroadcasts are scheduled this summer.
“It has been incredible to be part of the meteoric rise of the league and benefit from this unique and exiting approach to bass fishing, said Jim Liberatore, Outdoor Sportsman Group Networks president and CEO. “MLF is a lot more than just pulling fish out of the water and weighing them. MLF events are nail-biting competitions that go down to the final seconds almost every event.”
That was pretty much the case in the Youngstown tournaments, as pro anglers Andy Montgomery, Scott Ashmore, Fletcher Shryock, Ott Defoe, Mark Rose and Gerald Swindell all managed to score wins here in the final moments of their respective competition days.
Gritty performances make for great TV. Everyone in Youngstown can vouch for that.