The Articles
Finding Buckeyes in Vermont
COLCHESTER, Vermont — Fishing adventures with a long drive and an overnight or two (or three) stay consistently produce chance meetings. The Jeopardy! category for this occurrence would be titled “Back Home Boys.” Trips to Lake Erie or Lake St. Clair in Michigan...
Hundreds attend Hooked on Fishing event
NEW LEXINGTON – Year five for the annual Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs (HOFNOD) event at the Perry County Gun Club Lake followed a script that could not have been written any better. Sponsored by the Perry County Sheriff’s Office and Perry County Transit, the event...
Timing is everything in fishing
BURR OAK LAKE – The text message from a fishing buddy squashed our plans for a Buckeye Lake adventure on a Sunday afternoon. My boat and truck were ready to go when the day went south faster than a Friday afternoon paycheck. I quickly moved to Plan B only to see it...
Two trips to St. Clair
PERRYSBURG, OHIO – Prior to being rehired at The Perry County Tribune on Aug. 31, I had the freedom to fish anywhere in North America unrestricted by COVID-19. Lake Erie, Vermont’s Lake Champlain and J. Percy Priest Lake in Tennessee are some of the places where I...
Doug's Favorite Fishing Spots
The Hall of Fame
Seth Brandfass, Delaware Lake
Seth Brandfass took big bass honors with this 3.8 pound largemouth bass.
Jacob Wayne, Rocky Fork Lake
Jacob Wayne displays two of the bass that helped him secure second place at the Perry County Anglers opening event at Rocky Fork Lake.
Kendra Wecker, Alum Creek Lake
Chief of the Division of Wildlife , Kendra Wecker, showed her “lake creds” when she returned to the marina with plenty of keeper crappies on Inland Fish Ohio Day.
Smallmouth Bass
This lip grip is on a smallmouth bass that hangs around Middle Bass Island.
Barry Davis, Delaware Lake
Barry Davis has been the ABA Central Division Director for 28 years. Davis also competed in the event at Delaware Lake.
Wes Clutter, Rocky Fork Lake
Wes Clutter caught this Rocky Fork Lake largemouth bass on a Berkley Stunna jerkbait.
Ab Reed, Rocky Fork Lake
First place winner, Ab Reed, hoists two of the five bass he caught at Rocky Fork Lake during the Perry County Anglers first tournament of the season.
Doug Clifford
Sometimes you have to deal with the uninvited muskie at Lake St. Clair like the one I’m holding or maybe it’s holding me.
Mike Baughman
Mike Baughman with a nice Lake Erie largemouth bass.
Dustin Karns
You might even see the owner of Venom Lures, Dustin Karns, fishing at Lake Erie at one of his secret spots.
Rich Carter, Alum Creek
Former “Fish Chief” for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, Rich Carter led us on a fishing adventure to Alum Creek Lake last November where we landed 14 largemouth bass all above the 12 inch keeper size. The bait that caught every bass was a JackHammer bladed jig.
Doug with Perry Co Sheriff
Makala Hamilton; Chief Deputy Erick Hoskinson; Sheriff William R. Barker; Doug Clifford; Amanda Danison; and Sandy Leckrone. (not pictured Lt. Brandon Forester)
Doug Clifford, Lake Champlain
Low budget smallmouth bass! Forget high performance bass boats, cutting edge electronics, and all the bells and whistles associated with modern bass fishing. I caught this Malletts Bay (Lake Champlain) smallie as I stood in my boat that was tied securely to the dock. Water depth was a whopping two feet.
Inland Fish Ohio Day Winners, Alum Creek Lake
The prize winners on Inland Fish Ohio Day included (L-R): Tadgh Dudukovich, Camden Baker, and Solomon Curtis.
Gov. Mike DeWine, Alum Creek Lake
Gov. Mike DeWine and grandsons had a great day on the water at Alum Creek Lake during Inland Fish Ohio Day.
IMG_4877
Alum Creek Lake
A couple days after Inland Fish Ohio Day, I returned to Alum Creek Lake and met this angler fishing on the bank for crappies. As you can see, this guy was dialed into the crappies!
Will Presley, Delaware Lake
Will Presley caught this 3.1 pound largemouth bass on the first day of the ABA Delaware Lake tournament.
Ed Snider & Rich Carter, Delaware Lake
Two ABA competitors, (L-R) Ed Snider of Somerset, Ohio and Rich Carter of Grandview Heights fished day two in Carter’s Ranger bass boat. Both anglers had two fish on the tournament’s second day.
Doug Clifford, Alum Creek
Former “Fish Chief ” for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, Rich Carter led us on a fishing adventure to Alum Creek Lake last November where we landed 14 largemouth bass all above the 12 inch keeper size. The bait that caught every bass was a JackHammer bladed jig.
Barry Davis & Karl Guegold, Delaware Lake
Barry Davis (on left) is the ABA Central Division Director which means he is the weighmaster at every tournament. He is weighing Karl Guegold’s day 2 catch at Delaware Lake.
Jordan & Jeff, Buckeye Lake
Jordan Wayne (L) and Jeff Redfern (R) handled the brief weighing duties at the Buckeye Lake tournament.
Bill Tench, Buckeye Lake
Bill Tench displays the lure that he used to take second place at Buckeye Lake.
Karl Guegold, Delaware Lake
Karl Guegold landed four bass on the second day of the tournament and that effort catapulted him to win the coveted ABA Angler of the Year title.
Doug with Eleanor, Lake Champlain
Nothing like catching your first smallmouth bass when it’s a 3 lb 15 oz Lake Champlain beauty. Eleanor Farnsworth did the catching while I “guided” her to angling glory.
14″ Bass, Burr Oak Lake
This 14 inch bass was caught on the Will Boss soft plastic lure seen in the photo.
Jeff Smith
My son-in-law from Chicago, Jeff Smith, caught this four pound plus smallmouth bass in late May at Lake St. Clair.
IMG_4812
Jordan Wayne, Rocky Fork Lake
Obviously Jordan Wayne, who took 4th place, lost a side bet in the wardrobe category.
Doug Clifford, Lake Erie
Pro anglers say a color change can put more fish in the boat. I changed hat color and style with minimal results.
Bill Fulton, Buckeye Lake
Bill Fulton holds his winning catch for the Perry County Anglers Buckeye Lake tournament.
Top 3, Delaware Lake
Pictured are the top three anglers in the ABA tournament held at Delaware Lake on August 17 & 18 (L-R) Tony Cannon, 1st place: Dave Slonaker, III, 2nd place; and Seth Brandfass, 3rd place.
Alan Wayne, Rocky Fork Lake
Alan Wayne holds two of the three bass he caught to take third place at Rocky Fork Lake.
Tony Cannon, Delaware Lake
Tony Cannon displays three of the five bass he caught on the tournament’s second day. His five bass limit allowed him to take first place for the two day event at Delaware Lake.
IMG_4967
Ed Snider had a great day at Alum Creek Lake when he won the Perry County Anglers club tournament.
IMG_4801
Colton Blanton
Colton Blanton used a dropshot rig to catch Lake Erie smallmouth bass that were swimming close to the shoreline on Rattlesnake Island.
Rich Zweifel, Alum Creek Lake
Rich Zweifel, my partner on Inland Fish Ohio Day, landed four keeper bass including this one!
Hadleigh
IMG_3747
Nice smallmouth!
Nice smallmouth bass!
Doug Clifford, Lake Erie
A friendly West Harbor bass hammered a Berkley Squarebull 5.5 crankbait on my third cast of the day.
Casey Coffey, Burr Oak Lake
Always a good policy to stay employed is showing your boss with a big bass. Casey Coffey, superintendent of New Lexington School District, has the “hourly winner” weighed during the Big Bass Bash at Burr Oak Lake.
Hadleigh_pic
IMG_3747
Perry County Sheriff William R. Barker recognizes a winner from the 2023 Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs event.