Est. 1961
March 28
Piedmont Lake, Piedmont, Oh
June 13
Leesville Lake, Leesville, Oh
July 11-12
Piedmont Lake, Piedmont, Oh
September 26-27
West Branch, Portage County
October 24
Salt Fork Lake, Cambridge
What a beautiful October day. Definitely started cool with some heavy fog but once the sun did its magic, we had calm waters and warm temperatures. Twenty anglers signed up for the one day tournament where the largest fish wins. A total of 13 fish were caught with the winner coming down to a difference of 0.5 inches. August Horvath had a great day catching his personal best of 44″ early then topping that with a really nice 46″ fish. However Ray Elkins, guided by Elmer McClure, was able to land a chunky 46.5″ beauty. In addition to Ray and August’s fish, Elmer McClure got a 32″, Ray Elkins also got a 41.5″ and 34″, David White landed a 41.5″, 38.5″, 36″ and 34″, Mike Cline 33.5″, Scott Donahew 34″ and Jason Chalmers 32″.
Tim Smith and I had a great day introducing Brian and Keith from Cleveland Fishing Company to muskie fishing. We were not able to get a fish in the boat for them but they did have the experience of two hits but no hookups. In both cases, muskies ripped new bulldawgs to show their presence.
For all of us who “Fish the Land”, Cleveland Fishing Company has fantastic apparel to wear proudly as we catch those Ohio muskies. Check out their website: https://clevelandfishingco.com/ Their clothes, hats and sun scarves are very high quality. They also have a steelhead contest going on with our very own Brownie Joe Thomas.
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
Brock Bohley and Tim Smith
Jeff Ferjutz and Pat Klingensmith
Phil Cummings and Tim Smith
Fred Lederer and Tim Smith
Tim Smith and Phil Jarvis
Scott Donahew and Tim Smith
Phil Cummings and Tim Smith
Tim Smith and Phil Jarvis
Linda Hannen, Kathy Mitchell, Linda Zonker
Tim Smith and Pat Klingensmith
Tim Smith and Ashley McCartney
Chad and Kortney Harmon
January 11-13
Makoy Center, Columbus, OH
March 23
McCalls Banquet Center, Canton, OH
March 2-3
Printscape Arena, Canonsburg, Pa.
May 4-5
West Branch, Portage County
June 8
Leesville Lake, Leesville, Oh
July 19-21
Salt Fork Lake, Cambridge, Ohio
September 28-29
Pymatuning Lake, Ashtabula County
October 19
Piedmont Lake, Piedmont, Oh
Saturday turned out to be a typical October day for 2018, heavy mist, drizzle, and rain at times with temperatures from 40 to 45 degrees. Lake Milton was also in the middle of a major drawdown, probably dropping a couple feet during the week. With all that being said, 16 hearty anglers gave it a try to catch the longest fish of the day. Some of the smarter boats had nice enclosures with rumored heaters and even stoves to cook Ramon noddle lunches. Others had the opportunity to test out a beautiful fiberglass multi species boat just purchased days before. When all was said and done, John Ringenbach, guided by Tim Smith in that new boat, was able to claim first prize with a very lengthy 31.5″ fish, beating out two catfish and a sub. Though he was lucky Ricky Bobby Bondy was not able to land two fish most likely stretching beyond 32″. Given the results, the big fish pool was donated to the Minnow fund earmarked for a few more fingerlings to be stocked in Lake Milton next year. This was our last event of the year, thanks to all for supporting OHMC throughout the year, and see you and the banquet in 2019.