2018 Division Day and Spring Outing Results
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)
