Ohio Huskie Muskie Club, Inc

How often do we get the opportunity to try out a new Ohio muskie lake? We had members from across the state come to the Cincinnati area to test this newest program lake.  Members drove from Toledo, Cleveland, Lima, Akron, Steubenville, Columbus, Dayton, Rogers, and other areas.  We also had some local anglers register and we even gained some new OHMC members over the weekend.  The weather was picture perfect from Thursday through Sunday with temperatures ranging from 50 to 80 degrees.  The water temperatures were warmer than some may have expected with those numbers being 72 to 76 degrees.

The campground came to life starting on Thursday as some of us decided to make a long weekend out of the event.   By Friday the area filled in nicely and soon we were enjoying campfires, great food, beautiful clear starlight skies, and the laughter of friends getting together.   We had registration on Friday evening and Saturday morning and were pleasantly surprised to have 30 anglers for the event.

As the fishing got underway it was apparent that these muskies are not hurting for food. I have never seen balls of shad like those at East Fork.  There was what seemed like billions of shad in the lake.  We also saw several majestic bald eagles, a couple of otters, successful hawks catching fish, oh and did I mention…we saw shad.  The lake has quite a bit of deep water and loads of standing timber.

There were a few catfish caught, one bluegill that I know of, and even a row boat that got caught, but the muskies did not show up in any of our nets. It was not for a lack of effort as there were a wide variety of techniques that the participants attempted to coax a fish to strike.

As we gathered on Sunday afternoon for the event closing, I think most of us were shocked that no fish were caught. We conducted a 50/50 raffle which was won by Jerry Rice.  That was a fitting reward for someone that had generously donated baits to our raffle and had once again done a fantastic job of cooking our steaks for the weekend.  We also had a door prize drawing for every person that was at the closing as a small token of appreciation for coming out.  Thank you to Mr. Ray McMaster who also showed up to fish and donated baits for use in our raffle.

Ohio Division of Wildlife Inland Fisheries Program Administrator, Mr. Scott Hale made the drive down East Fork for the closing on Sunday and had many very kind remarks for the group. He reminded us that some lakes take longer than others to develop as viable fisheries and pointed to the early years of Alum Creek and Caesars Creek as prime examples where patience in the program has paid great dividends.

 I have to thank our board of trustees for showing up such a long distance from home to participate in the event.  Most importantly, Thank You to the anglers that came out in support of both the club and the stocking program.

The OHMC and Muskies Inc. Chapter 19 held our 2014 Annual PM Bite joint event on August 23^rd at Petersburg Marina of Leesville Lake.  The event started off with registration beginning at 10:00 and the shore lunch beginning at 11:00.  We had a bait raffle and a 50/50 raffle.  There were some very nice prizes on the table, including a walleye charter for Lake Erie donated by Petersburg Marina.  The 50/50 paid out $73 to our winner Mark Porter.  We had some fantastic grilled goodies served up by our host Mr. Elmer McClure.  There were lots of good side dishes and some nice cold refreshments to wash them down with.  It was a new way to kick off the event and seemed to be well received by all those in attendance.  Thanks to everyone that brought all the great food!

We had 40 anglers register and head out to tame the beast.  The weather was ideal with mostly sunny conditions that made for a great day on the lake.  The fish were not impressed with the weather and for many anglers we were left without any slime to show for our efforts.  Not all entrants struggled though, as they were able to crack the code and catch some fish.  We also had some really nice salad bowls caught along with the ever present tree and rock snags and even a volleyball caught by a UFO boat.

When the event concluded at midnight, we met back up at the ramp to tally the results.  Our big fish for the event was witnessed and photographed by myself.  As it turns out, I have witnessed the big fish caught for every OHMC event this year.  I may not be any good at catching fish, but my timing for trolling near the eventual big fish winner is impeccable.

Russ Roberts caught a 40.00” fish worth 14.00 points and unfortunately lost a second fish out of the net which therefore did not count since it was not measured.  Sorry for the bad luck buddy, but at least you got to catch the fish.

George Kourkounakis landed a 42.25” huskie worth 16.25 points and a Third Place finish.

David Baio got two subs along with three more at 41.00”, 38.00”, and 31.00” for a total of 32.00 points which earned him a Second Place finish.

OHMC Secretary Tim Smith landed a third huskie for the season that secured his first Dunmire Award.  He had a 44.50” fish and a 40.00” fish to go with it for a total of 32.50 points and a First Place finish.  He also won the big fish side pot of $190 for his trolling efforts.  As with our Spring and Fall outings, we will award our First and Second place trophies at next years’ banquet.  Congratulations to all those that caught fish!

Thanks to everyone that came out to support the clubs and enjoy the good times that are always present when we get together.  The talk of “dreams”, meeting new friends, stories by Grandpa and many others, taking time to enjoy a sandwich on the lake, poking fun at each other, and of course the sound of the clicker; these are the things that make these events really fun and I look forward to the next one.

 

The 44th annual OHMC Summer Contest was held on July 12th and 13th 2014 at Salt Fork Lake. The weekend started off with registration and a few slushy beverages at the campground on a warm Friday evening. There were lots of members and visitors hanging around and as usual, there were stories, laughter, and lots of smiles. We were all glad to be blessed to be able to come out and enjoy the fun of chasing toothy critters.

The 2nd half of the registration was held at the old marina on Saturday morning with pancakes and coffee along with the anticipation that is ever present when anglers prepare to launch the boats. Soon the air had warmed into what would eventually become an oppressive 90 degree day with humidity that made it feel more like Florida than Ohio.

Sporadic fish reports filtered over the radio and it seemed as though all the anglers were intently focused on trying to repeat past success. We had casters working feverishly, persons jigging the bottom, trollers in open water, and some that tried all three strategies.

Sunday started off with the fear of the impending storms and had everyone break camp early in an attempt to avoid having to do so during a potential mid-day storm. We had a mixed bag of fishing success with a few anglers getting multiple fish and a few ‘skunks’ being taken. By the time closing ceremonies arrived, we were fortunate to just finish our activities before the skies broke open and luckily no one got wet.

We had 36 anglers fish the event with 12 fish caught. There was a trend towards the fish that were caught being nice fish and I know of two anglers that caught their personal best (Greg Eichen and Gloria Roberts).

First place went to Phil Cummins with two fish sizes 44.00” and 37.75” worth a total of 29.75 points.
Second place and Big Fish went to Gloria Roberts with one fish of 45.00” worth 19.00 points.
Third place went to Junior member Charles Neville with one fish of 43.50” worth 17.50 points.

Other anglers that caught fish were:
Syl Trunkett – 42.50” (16.50 points)
Jeff Ferjutz – 34.25” and 33.50” (15.75 points)
Greg Eichen – 41.50” (15.50) points)
Elmer McClure – 40.00” (14.00 points)
Russ Roberts – 34.00” and 32.00” (14.00 points)
Paul Andeson – 36” (Club President not registered for event)

We are now half way to determining our annual event winner and Junior member Charles Neville has jumped out to a big lead with his first place finish at the spring outing and his third place finish at the summer contest. With two events remaining, the award is definitely still up for grabs though.

The door prize and raffle drawings were held during the closing and the winners were as follows: Angelo Maniglia won the 50/50 and donated his winnings to the Minnow Fund. (THANK YOU !) Jeff Clark won the camera sunglasses door prize for the longest distance traveled (3.5 hours). Tim Smith won the Lure Board. Anna Land won the Rod and Reel. The grand prize Sony PS4 was won by Alicia Anderson.

Thank you to everyone that helped make the event successful. Jeff Ferjutz, Rick Simpson, Tim Smith, John Ringenbach, Phil Ringenbach, Jerry Rice, and Alicia Anderson. We also had other trustees that were there, but had to exit early due to other commitments. Jake Lederer, Fred Lederer, Mike Reed, and Chirs Silverthorn. We are truly blessed to have such a great group of trustees. If you are able to help our club as a trustee, we still have several positions available and we would really appreciate any additional assistance that you might be able to offer.

We welcomed our newest OHMC Life Member Jim McConnell to the event and had had several other members that had not previously been to Salt Fork. It was nice to see some new faces and I hope you had an enjoyable time and felt welcomed as part of our group.

Thanks to all that showed up and I look forward to seeing you at the Nite Bite in August with our joint sponsor MI Chapter 19.

The OHMC held our annual Division Day and Spring Outing at Clearfork Reservoir near Mansfield, Ohio on Friday June 6^th through Sunday June 8^th 2014.  For several club officers, the weekend started on Thursday as we arrived early to setup for the event and get in a little pre-fishing.   We had the entire overflow camping area reserved and over 20 club members took advantage of the opportunity for some group camping together.  It was the largest crowd of members camping at one site that any of us could remember.

Division Day started off crisp and clear as we assembled in the pavilion that would serve as home base for the weekend activities.  We had 10 club members guide 6 Division of Wildlife personnel and 4 Outdoor Writers of Ohio.  Shortly after 8:00 we hit the water and soon thereafter the radio came alive with reports of fish in the net.  The fishing was decent for numbers, but we certainly were not on pace to break any size records.  With that being said, every guest came to me individually and indicated that they had a wonderful day.   I reminded them that we cannot have such a great day without our members volunteering their time and resources to make it possible.

By 3:00 we were back on dry ground and taking in the pleasant smoke pouring from the grill as Rick Simpson and Tim Smith prepared our table fare of burgers and dogs.  Along with some side dishes, we were all able to satisfy our bellies and enjoy the atmosphere of cooperation that has been a long time tradition of our organizations.

The tally sheet showed that a total of 7 muskies had been caught and that the winner was Nick Radabaugh who works as a Fisheries Biologist for the DNR.  Nick’s winning fish was 34.50” and was netted by his guide Member Elmer Heyob.   We had a couple of first time guides and they did quite well.  Members Robert and Stephanie Neville guided Nick Jamison onto 3 fish for the day.  Member Jack Neville guided Curt Wagner onto a fish and President Paul Anderson guided for Dan Armitage and his son Ethan.  It worked out well as Ethan was able to catch his first muskies ever.

Thank you to all the guides that came out, which included Treasurer John Ringenbach, Secretary Tim Smith, 2^nd V.P. Rick Simpson, Member Jack Whyde, Member Phil Cummins, and Member George Kourkounakis.

Saturday morning started off with pancakes and coffee along with an enormous bass tournament that overfilled the parking lot.  Before the officers were done conducting the registration, the eventual winner had already landed a huskie.  The rest of us were playing from behind for the entire event, and we loved it.  That is because the nice fish had been caught by Junior Member Charles Neville.  Being family friendly is also a proud tradition of our club.

When 5:00 rolled around we were about to have what were possibly the best steaks ever served at an OHMC steak fry.  One inch thick enormous rib-eye steaks greeted the participants as they were served by club chef Jerry Rice.   As has become a tradition over the last several years, OHMC 1^st V.P. Jeff Ferjutz and Jerry came in early to fire up the grill and proceeded to cook our steaks with the masterful touch that all of us truly appreciate.  We also conducted the raffle prize drawings after the steak fry.  The Rod and Reel was won by Anna Land, the 50-50 was won by Jeff Ferjutz, and the Lure Board was won by Paul Anderson.  Nearly every person that purchased a general raffle ticket left with a prize.

As the dawn cracked on Sunday morning we all realized that the perfect weather that had been enjoyed for the three preceding days was now over.  Much of the day was raining and a few of those showers were very heavy.  With the change in conditions, several entrants hit the water in hopes of encountering a hot bite.  Most of us had misplaced our hopes and took a wet boat ride.

When the event concluded and we met back up at 3:30 the record showed that a total of 6 fish had been caught by 34 anglers for the Spring Outing on Saturday and Sunday.

Third place went to John Ringenbach with a 36.00” fish worth 10 points.

Second place and the $95 big fish pot went to Chuck Land, Jr. with his total of 21.5 points for two fish; sizes 30.00” and 43.50”.

First place and a mighty big smile went to junior member Charles Neville with his total of 42.00 points for his three fish; sizes 30.00”, 44.50”, and 45.50”.

Congratulations to all of our winners!  They will receive their awards at our annual banquet next March.

Thank you to everyone that came out to support the event and the club!