PORT CLINTON – A rainy day didn’t stop 8-year-old Theo DeWine from reeling in the biggest catch on the DeWine’s family boat on Tuesday.
Theo was joined on Lake Erie by 20 family members, including his grandpa, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, and First Lady Fran DeWine.
The family outing was to celebrate the 44th annual Governor’s Lake Erie Fish Ohio Day, which highlights the Lake Erie fishery.
“We had a good day on the water,” Mr. DeWine said. “We did get cut short because of the storms, but we had a few good hours out there this morning.”
Around 160 participants gathered at Port Clinton’s Shores and Islands Ohio Welcome Center and departed the docks around 7 a.m., but stormy weather forced the boaters to return to the center around noon, where participants ate fresh walleye and listened to public officials highlight the importance of the day.
Lt. Governor Jon Husted and state representatives Bill Roemer (R., Richfield) and Brett Hillyer (R., Uhrichsville) were just some of the attendees. Many had to cancel at the last minute as lawmakers worked to pass the state capital budget bill.
The annual event was co-sponsored by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Division of Wildlife. The event celebrated 75 years of the ODNR, which focuses on conservation, growth, and recreation throughout the state.
“It’s about spending family time or friend time with the folks on the lake, whether you’re fishing, walking along the water, sightseeing, hunting, however you like to enjoy the lake,” Kendra Wecker, the chief of ODW, said.
Ms. Wecker herself caught a walleye and a white perch, which was donated to a wildlife rehabilitation center that uses the fish to feed other animals.
Lake Erie is unofficially considered the walleye capital because it is a prime location for catching the fish, but it also brings in revenue for the surrounding community.
Larry Fletcher, the president of the Shores and Islands Center, said in 2023 the eight counties that border the lake brought in $20 billion in tourism revenue. These counties include Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Erie, Lorain, Cuyahoga, Lake, and Ashtabula.
While bigger cities surrounding the lake, like Toledo and Cleveland, are helpful in bringing people to the lake, Mr. Fletcher said just the waterfront itself is a big attraction.
“The water attracts a lot of people to it, even if they’re not actually getting on it or in it,” Mr. Fletcher said.
Throughout Mr. DeWine’s administration, keeping Lake Erie healthy and clean has been a priority, launching the H2Ohio initiative in 2019. The initiative works to address serious water issues, including algae blooms created by runoff from farm fertilizer.
“We don’t want to ever see what we saw in Toledo a few years ago when you couldn’t drink the water,” Mr. DeWine said. “[The water] is important for recreation, it is important for the economy. … All of this activity is extremely important, particularly for smaller countries that border Lake Erie.”
In 2014, Toledo residents were unable to drink the tap water due to a harmful algae bloom in Lake Erie caused by agricultural runoff.
While Theo may have had the biggest catch in the DeWine boat, Mr. Husted’s dad, Jim Husted, had the biggest catch at 26.5 inches.
Tomorrow, the Ohio House is expected to vote on House Bill 599, which would make the walleye the official state fish. Ohio is one of just three states without a state fish.
“I think most people would consider it the unofficial state fish,” Mr. DeWine told the Blade. “So if the legislature passes that bill, I certainly will sign it.”
Fish Ohio Day started under Gov. James Rhodes in 1979 to focus on Lake Erie’s fishery. Mr. DeWine has continued the tradition and attends with his family every year.
Most Popular
Comments / 0