Aug 15, 2023

Ahoy my fellow captains,

Here we are getting close to closing out the summer of 2023.

Once Mother Nature got over her temper tantrum, we’ve all had a great walleye season with many limit catches being iced. Some days saw that happen quickly, while other days took a little longer.

The famous Lake Erie Gold (Yellow Perch) have been doing their thing as the water has warmed up and the water fleas have died off for a short time. The Yellow Perch are now looking for their favorite appetizer: the emerald shiner. The emerald shiner has had a small come back this season and are not as scarce.

We’ve had several exciting things happen in July for the angling community.

A new fishing cleaning station was dedicated at the Mazurik Fishing Access in Lakeside Marblehead. If you haven’t had the opportunity to check this facility out, take a moment and do so. It’s an impressive facility providing counter space for cleaning fish, running water to clean your catch, and a grinder that disposes of the remains.

I’d like to thank our 20 Captains that donated their boats and time to help celebrate the 43rd annual Governor’s Fish Ohio Day in Port Clinton. Everyone that participated in the event had a great time and there were lots of walleye caught.

As for myself … I had a bittersweet day on July 20, 2023 as this was my last official charter. There’s no better way to end a 25-year chartering career than taking out our Governor, his 5-year old grandson Desi, and our Chief of Wildlife Kendra Wecker. BTW the grandson out fished his Grandfather by a total count of 11 for Desi and 10 for the Governor. Of course Desi had a little help from this Captain.

By no means am I retiring from our Great Lake; you’ll still see me out there fishing. I will continue to be an ambassador and advocate for the health and wellbeing of our Great Lake. This has been and will continue to be my heart’s work. Now I have more time to dedicate to her.

Respectfully,

Captain Peg

Captain Peg VanVleet

Editor, The Hook

LECBA VP Environmental Issues for Lake Erie