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Boat, outdoor shows open Thursday at I-X Center, with Lake Erie walleye in spotlight
Lake Erie's legendary walleye fishing will be featured at both the Cleveland Outdoor Adventure
The Cleveland Outdoor Adventure Show and the Mid-America Boat Show both open Thursday at the I-X Center in Cleveland. They are independent shows, with separate admissions, but do have something in common: Lake Erie walleye.
Walleye are the premier game fish around here, driving boat sales and supporting a $2 billion fishing and tourism industry. As expected, both shows focus on the area's favorite fish. The boat show runs through Monday, while the outdoor show wraps up Sunday.
President Ken Alvey of the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association, producer of the Mid-America Boat Show, says about 75 percent of the boats sold by Northeast Ohio dealers will at one time or another launch on Lake Erie.
"The majority of boats sold here are designed for Lake Erie fishing," Alvey said. "It's not only good for boat sales, which are finally on the upswing this year, but critical for local tourism, and the success of area bait and tackle shops, hotels, motels and restaurants."
Travis Hartman, a fisheries biologist at the Division of Wildlife's Sandusky Fish Research Unit, expects this year's walleye fishing to be about the same as it was in 2012, even with reports of poor walleye reproduction and a shrinking walleye population.
"Lake Erie drives the bus when it comes to statewide license sales and angling effort, a reason the Division of Wildlife has an Erie-centric point of view," Hartman said. "Our 2012 (netting) surveys are done, and I don't see much difference in the walleye population for 2013," said Hartman. "If the weather cooperates, we should see lots of walleye in the 16- to 20-inch range caught around the Western Basin throughout the summer. The prime areas for trophy walleye will be from Kelleys Island to Conneaut."
A little more than 400,000 walleye were caught in 2011, a slump caused by extreme weather, lots of wind and rain and an algal bloom not seen since the 1960s. Good fishing weather in 2012 jump-started a walleye fishing resurgence. The annual catch jumping to about 1 million fish, the average over the last decade.
"The walleye fishing may never again be like the 1980s, when you could catch a limit in a couple of hours. The fishing is still be pretty good these days, depending on the weather, of course."
There has been a change in what Lake Erie anglers want from the big lake. A couple of decades ago, walleye ruled. These days, the annual Lake Erie catch is made up of about a 50-50 mix of walleye and yellow perch, a popular panfish with a liberal daily bag limit of 30 fish.
The Cleveland Outdoor Adventure Show will have a wealth of deer and turkey seminars and a trophy deer contest, as well as a mix of fishing seminars. New this year will be kayak fishing and fly casting clinics with Eric Lindstrom of The Backpackers Shop in Sheffield. The legendary Spence Petros returns to talk fishing; Carl Bachtel tackles ice fishing and crappie angling; and guide Pete Alex has the corner on walleye fishing tactics.
For youth anglers, the trout pond is back, and it's free.
Headlining the walleye seminars at the Mid-America Boat Show are Mark Brumbaugh, Jim and Rich Stedke, Gary and Nicholas Zart, Scott Stecher and Hartman. They'll team up for the Walleye College on Saturday from 2-5 p.m. The Bass College on Jan. 20 from 1-4 p.m. features Jonathan Shoemaker, Bryan Coates and Joe Balog. Lance Valentine has seminars on boating electronics.
The boat show is giving away 100 rods and reels to youngsters attending the Saturday Kids Fishing Clinic on Jan. 19 at noon.
Full Article: http://www.cleveland.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2013/01/boat_outdoor_shows_open_thursd.html
Lake Erie's legendary walleye fishing will be featured at both the Cleveland Outdoor Adventure Walleye are the premier game fish around here, driving boat sales and supporting a $2 billion fishing and tourism industry. As expected, both shows focus on the area's favorite fish. The boat show runs through Monday, while the outdoor show wraps up Sunday.
President Ken Alvey of the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association, producer of the Mid-America Boat Show, says about 75 percent of the boats sold by Northeast Ohio dealers will at one time or another launch on Lake Erie.
"The majority of boats sold here are designed for Lake Erie fishing," Alvey said. "It's not only good for boat sales, which are finally on the upswing this year, but critical for local tourism, and the success of area bait and tackle shops, hotels, motels and restaurants."
Travis Hartman, a fisheries biologist at the Division of Wildlife's Sandusky Fish Research Unit, expects this year's walleye fishing to be about the same as it was in 2012, even with reports of poor walleye reproduction and a shrinking walleye population.
"Lake Erie drives the bus when it comes to statewide license sales and angling effort, a reason the Division of Wildlife has an Erie-centric point of view," Hartman said. "Our 2012 (netting) surveys are done, and I don't see much difference in the walleye population for 2013," said Hartman. "If the weather cooperates, we should see lots of walleye in the 16- to 20-inch range caught around the Western Basin throughout the summer. The prime areas for trophy walleye will be from Kelleys Island to Conneaut."
A little more than 400,000 walleye were caught in 2011, a slump caused by extreme weather, lots of wind and rain and an algal bloom not seen since the 1960s. Good fishing weather in 2012 jump-started a walleye fishing resurgence. The annual catch jumping to about 1 million fish, the average over the last decade.
"The walleye fishing may never again be like the 1980s, when you could catch a limit in a couple of hours. The fishing is still be pretty good these days, depending on the weather, of course."
There has been a change in what Lake Erie anglers want from the big lake. A couple of decades ago, walleye ruled. These days, the annual Lake Erie catch is made up of about a 50-50 mix of walleye and yellow perch, a popular panfish with a liberal daily bag limit of 30 fish.
The Cleveland Outdoor Adventure Show will have a wealth of deer and turkey seminars and a trophy deer contest, as well as a mix of fishing seminars. New this year will be kayak fishing and fly casting clinics with Eric Lindstrom of The Backpackers Shop in Sheffield. The legendary Spence Petros returns to talk fishing; Carl Bachtel tackles ice fishing and crappie angling; and guide Pete Alex has the corner on walleye fishing tactics.
For youth anglers, the trout pond is back, and it's free.
Headlining the walleye seminars at the Mid-America Boat Show are Mark Brumbaugh, Jim and Rich Stedke, Gary and Nicholas Zart, Scott Stecher and Hartman. They'll team up for the Walleye College on Saturday from 2-5 p.m. The Bass College on Jan. 20 from 1-4 p.m. features Jonathan Shoemaker, Bryan Coates and Joe Balog. Lance Valentine has seminars on boating electronics.
The boat show is giving away 100 rods and reels to youngsters attending the Saturday Kids Fishing Clinic on Jan. 19 at noon.
Full Article: http://www.cleveland.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2013/01/boat_outdoor_shows_open_thursd.html
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