Ohio fishing license sales are up
By Jim Morris

Dayton Daily News

Hunting and fishing license sales had sagged in recent years, but the Ohio
Division of Wildlife has some good news to report: Sales of 2006 fishing
licenses were up in four major categories through the end of April, compared
with the same period last year.

Resident annual fishing license sales were up 10.6 percent, nonresident annual
fishing licenses rose 14.7 percent, and three-day tourist fishing licenses grew
by 23.4 percent. One-day fishing licenses had the greatest increase at 31.3
percent.

"It's still early in the 2006 fishing season, but these numbers are very
encouraging," said Steve Gray, chief of the Division of Wildlife. "Besides being
good for anglers, conditions this spring have been almost ideal for spawning
fish, giving us reason to be optimistic about future seasons."

There are likely many reasons for the upsurge, including the abundance of
legal-size walleyes in Lake Erie this year.

Dive into summer

Caesar Creek State Park will host the first Dive Into Summer celebration from 9
a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday at the beach.

Activities include a youth fishing derby, antique boat show, canoe, kayak and
sailing clinics, free boat rides, a fly-fishing seminar, a special Memorial Day
service and games.

Live entertainment will be offered from 5 to 9 p.m., followed by fireworks.

For more information, contact Caesar Creek State Park at (513) 897-3055, the
Division of Watercraft at (937) 323-1582 or visit ohiodnr.com.

Fish record set

Akron's Matt Amedeo caught a tiger muskie weighing a state-record 31.64 pounds
from Turkeyfoot Lake, part of the Portage Lakes near Akron, on April 28.

The record was certified last week by the Outdoor Writers of Ohio, the group in
charge of keeping state fish records.

The old record was 31.5 pounds, caught in 1999 by Ronald Kotch on the same lake.
The new record is 47 inches in length. The fish was caught using a Berkley Power
Crawl while bass fishing.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife District Three Fisheries supervisor, Phil Hillman,
identified the catch. He noted Turkeyfoot Lake has not been stocked with tiger
muskies since 1985, making the fish at least 21 years old.

For information on Ohio's state record fish program, visit
outdoorwritersofohio.org.


Contact this reporter at 225-2409 or



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