Author: Paul Anderson

The OHMC held our 58th annual awards banquet at McCalls banquet center in Canton on Saturday, March 23rd, 2019.

During the Business Meeting, elections of officers occurred. Officers for 2019 are as follows:

President – Paul Anderson
1st Vice President – Jeff Ferjutz
2nd Vice President – Rick Simpson
Secretary – Tim Smith
Treasurer – John Ringenbach

Staff members from the ODNR were on hand to answer any questions. The following staff members were in attendance:

Peter Novotny, Assistant Chief, ODNR, Division of Wildlife

Scott Hale, Executive Administrator of Fish Management & Research, Central Office
Kevin Kayle, Fish Hatchery Program Administrator, Central Office
Nick Cola, Fish Management Unit Leader, District Four
Curt Wagner, Fish Management Supervisor, District Three
Kevin Page, Fisheries Biologist, Inland Fisheries Research Unit

Votes were taken for the location of the 50th annual OHMC Summer Contest to be held in July of 2020. The event will be held at Piedmont lake if camping is available otherwise West Branch Lake.

Award winners:

Joe Blackwell Mister Muskie Award – Chad Harmon
Woman of the Year Award – Kortney Harmon

Pooch Curry Award for 2018 with a 52.20 inch muskie caught and released at West Branch was Mr. Greg Bozick.

Doc Dunmire Awards.

This award is for those anglers who caught 3 or more Huskie muskies 42” in length and longer, whether the Muskie was harvested or released.

Sherman Champlin 3
Linda Hannen 3
Lee Himes 3
John Lent 3
Sam Reichenbach 3
John Ringenbach 3
Timothy Smith 3
Jim Cook 4
Phillip Jarvis 4
William Lambert 4
Josh Marshall 4
Chuck McKnight 4
Linda Zonker 5
Brock Bohley 6
Jeff Claxon 6
Bob Marshall 6
George Weber 6
Bill Zonker 6
Bill Schultz Jr. 7
Ray Elkins 8
Jim Mayberry 8
Chuck Land Sr. 9
Mike McKenzie 9
David Baio 10
Kathy Mitchell 10
Chad Harmon 11
Dennis Mitchell 11
Will Tolerton 11
John Thompson 22
Kyle Jones 25
John Olesick 26
Greg Bozick 32
David White 37
Chuck Harmon 39
Patrick Klingensmith 61

Fifty-Inch Award 2018 (First Time 50” Catch)
Jeff Claxon
John Olesick

Pat Klingensmith

Matthew Smith Memorial Award for Juniors 2018

Boys “Released” Brock Bohley – 46.00”

Girls “Released” Ashley McCartney – 42.00”

Ohio Huskie Muskie Club Royalty 2018

King “Released” Pat Klingensmith – 51.75”

King “Trophy” Greg Bozick – 52.25”

Queen “Released”

Kathy Mitchell – 47.00″

Linda Hannen – 47.00″

Linda Zonker – 47.00″

10 or More Release Awards:

Jim Prettyman 10 Muskies
Jerry Rice 10 Muskies
Jeff Claxon 11 Muskies
Fischer Himes 14 Muskies
John Ritter 14 Muskies
William Lambert 15 Muskies
John Lent 15 Muskies
Mike Sandridge 16 Muskies
Tony Crisp 17 Muskies
Rick Simpson 17 Muskies
Timothy Smith 17 Muskies
Linda Zonker 17 Muskies
Brock Bohley 18 Muskies
John Dennis 22 Muskies
Chuck McKnight 24 Muskies
Patrick Andino 25 Muskies
Josh Marshall 25 Muskies
Kathy Mitchell 25 Muskies
Dennis Mitchell 26 Muskies
Chuck Land Sr. 28 Muskies
Lee Himes 31 Muskies
Chad Harmon 33 Muskies
Bill Zonker 33 Muskies
Phillip Jarvis 34 Muskies
Thomas Morris 35 Muskies
John Ringenbach 36 Muskies
Jim Cook 38 Muskies
Sherman Champlin 39 Muskies
David Baio 49 Muskies
Ray Elkins 49 Muskies
John Olesick 59 Muskies
Bob Basic 60 Muskies
Jim Mayberry 62 Muskies
George Weber 71 Muskies
Sam Reichenbach 74 Muskies
Kyle Jones 76 Muskies
Bill Schultz Jr. 82 Muskies
Bob Marshall 85 Muskies
Tim Ritter 91 Muskies
Will Tolerton 92 Muskies
John Thompson 95 Muskies
Mike McKenzie 132 Muskies
David White 162 Muskies
Chuck Harmon 189 Muskies
Greg Bozick 201 Muskies
Patrick Klingensmith 357 Muskies

Event Winners:

Spring Outing
May 5th & 6th, 2018
Clear Fork
1st Place – Jeff Clark
2nd Place – John Ringenbach

Leesville Lungefest
June 9th, 2018
Leesville
1st Place – Matt Clark

Summer Contest
July 21st & 22nd, 2018
Piedmont
1st Place – Scott Donahew
2nd Place – Phil Cummings
3rd Place – Phil Jarvis

Minnow Fund Outing
September 29th & 30th, 2018
Salt Fork
1st Place – Fred Lederer
2nd Place – Phil Jarvis
3rd Place – Phil Cummings

Muskie Munch
October 27th, 2018
Lake Milton
1st Place – John Ringenbach

2018 Overall Tournament Winner
Phil Cummings
7 Muskies

The OHMC held our 48th annual Summer Contest on Saturday, July 21st and Sunday, July 22nd, 2018 at Piedmont Lake. The weekend seemed to be plagued with many anglers having a variety of boat trailer problems. These issues once again displayed the true character of our club. First, past president Fred Lederer had problems on the highway on Thursday evening. But Chad Harmon, Kevin LaRoche, Phil Cummings, and Greg Eichen all jumped in and helped in their own way. A new member showed up with his sons and had a trailer weld break in the marina parking lot. Our trustees jumped into action and walked the trailer to the ramp to ensure the repair could be made. We had two other members with further trailer problems, but you get the idea, in each instance, our members stepped up and banded together to get everyone on the water. We really do have a wonderful group that I’m proud to be affiliated with.

On Friday evening, we began to assemble and soon laughter, handshakes, and stories began to fill the air. It’s always special to see old friends and new at these events. The weather for the weekend looked ominous with forecasts of heavy non-stop rain dominating the predictions. In typical fashion, trustees Rick Daniels and Kevin Proffit showed up with a tent suitable for all members to have shelter available.

The rain started early on Saturday morning but didn’t last long, we would only see minor sprinkles a couple times for the entire event thankfully. The cooler temps and partly cloudy skies made for perfect weather for this event. Many locals had warned us about the poor fishing recently at Piedmont and the dire predictions seemed to indicate we would struggle for slime in this event. We had 40 anglers set out in search of an opportunity to use their net.

We assembled on Saturday evening for some fantastic steaks, thanks to Rick Simpson, Fred Lederer, and Jerry Rice. Tim Smith once again cooked fresh corn-on-the-cob and there were many other great side dishes to fill our bellies with yummy goodness. We drew our raffle winners, including Rich Daniels winning our lure board and Fred Lederer winning our 50/50. Some of the members went out after dinner, while others elected to enjoy a great evening with a cold beverage and good friends.

By Sunday afternoon, we assembled to see if anyone had cracked the code. Indeed, out of 40 anglers, we had 31 fish reported as being caught. Chuck Land turned in the biggest fish at 45.50 inches and collected $195 for his accomplishment. Scott Donohew turned in 6 fish to claim first place, Phil Cummings turned in 5 fish to earn second place, and Phil Jarvis turned in 4 fish to claim third place. Our winners will get their trophies at our banquet next Spring.

All fish caught: Scott Donohew (32.00, 36.00, 43.00, 33.50, 33.50, 36.00) 58.00 points; Phil Cummings (32.50, 33.25, 32.75, 34.75, 34.50) 43.75 points; Phil Jarvis (31.25, 31.50, 34.50, 38.00) 29.25 points; Dave White (40.00, 36.00) 24.00 points; Chuck Land (45.50) 19.50 points; Jerry Rice (42.00) 16.00 points; Rich Reeves (39.00) 13.00 points; Fred Lederer (37.50) 11.50 points; Seige Bostwick (37.00) 11.00 points; Greg Eichen (36.00) 10.00 points; Elmer McClure (35.00) 9.00 points; Kyle Jones (33.50) 7.50 points; David Baio (33.50) 7.50 points; Tim Smith (33.00) 7.00 points; Bill Zonker (32.00) 6.00 points; Linda Zonker (32.00) 6.00 points; Troy Oliver (32.00) 6.00 points; Jeff Clark (32.00) 6.00 points.

The 2018 OHMC Division Day was held at Alum Creek Lake on Friday, May 4th. We had vessels of all shapes and sizes depart into the stormy seas after a bit of coffee and donuts. Staff members from the Ohio Division of Natural Resources were being guided for a morning of Muksie fishing by OHMC members. The white-capped chocolate milk made for some very challenging conditions and unfortunately, no fish were caught. As lunchtime approached, there were certainly some interesting attempts to get the boats tied to the curtesy ramps, fortunately, everyone safely moored up. We had some catered food brought in and everyone was able to ‘hold-down’ a meal in the windy conditions. I must offer my most sincere thank you to all of our guides and guests for coming out to brave the harsh conditions. Hopefully next year we can break the 3-year curse of no fish on division day.

Some of us went out to fish for the afternoon and I did manage to connect with a fish which wasn’t too big but was sure nice to hold. Later in the evening, the campground filled in and the stories began to fill the air. There was a new non-sticker boat that was looking to get the skunk off. It is always great to see old friends and new that share the passion of muskie fishing.

Saturday morning, we all hit the water with eager anticipation. The winds had calmed overnight and we were greeted with picturesque weather. Unfortunately, there were no pictures to be taken. The only fish caught was by Treasurer John Ringenbach. We met at the campground for our steak fry and proved that we are a pie-eating club with a fishing problem. I’ve never seen so many pies disappear (I may have contributed to that disappearing act).

On Sunday, the new non-sticker boat got the skunk out. OHMC 2nd VP Rick Simpson helped a young angler when he observed the enormous rod bend that was unmistakably a muskie on a light rod. Rick helped the young angler net the fish, get a couple pics and release a beautiful 49″ fish. That young man will now be a Regular OHMC member and get a free meal at next spring’s banquet.

At the conclusion of the event, Jeff Clark showed us all that he figured out the lake on his first trip to Alum Creek. He turned in two fish to take first place and the big fish cash prize. John Ringenbach finished in second place. Congratulations to our winners who will receive their trophies at our next banquet.

All fish caught: Jeff Clark (32.50″, 33.75″; 14.25 points): John ringenbach (33.00″; 7.00 points)

Ohio Muskie Show

January 19-21

Makoy Center, Columbus, OH

 

57th Annual OHMC Awards Banquet

March 3

McCalls Banquet Center, Canton, OH

 

Muskie Max

March 9-10

Embasy Suites, Pittsburgh International Airport

 

OHMC Division Day and Spring Outing

May 4-6

Alum Creek Reservoir, Delaware, Oh

 

 

Leesville Lungefest

June 9

Leesville Lake, Leesville, Oh

 

 

48th Annual OHMC Summer Contest

July 21-22

Piedmont Lake, Piedmont, Oh

 

 

6th Annual Minnow Fund Muskie Outing

September 29-30

Salt Fork Lake, Cambridge, Oh

 

 

Milton Muskie Munch

October 27

Milton Lake, Lake Milton, Oh