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For truly big walleye, Lake Erie is the place to fish
He received an invitation to fish Lake Erie with Fred Matula of Mariana. Despite the warm weather, Rogers jumped at the chance because Matula has a reputation for bringing home oversized walleye from Lake Erie.
Conditions weren't ideal because the weather was warm and the lake was flat, but the two fished hard to little avail, bringing in only a five-pounder. Finally, as they were talking about quitting, something grabbed the Rapala spilt-tail tied to Rogers' line.
At first they thought he had snagged on something, but then Rogers felt that familiar shake and he knew he had a good fish on.
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At the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission office at Walnut Creek, the fish measured 293/4 inches with a 171/2-inch girth and 10 pounds. That's a big walleye.
There are two things that can make for a good fishing trip. One is catching a lot of fish. The other is catching one that is your largest ever.
Of course, it would be great to catch a lot of big fish, but I guess that is being greedy.
Lake Erie is definitely the place to go if you want to catch large walleye. Add to that the steelhead you can catch by heading out to the trenches and it's a nice trip.
Rumor has it that this will be a good year for brown trout this fall. Much of this is based on brownies being picked up now in then in the lake and the weather conditions this summer.
n I saw and article in American Rifleman magazine recently that reminded me of the popularity of the AR-15-type rifles. You see them everywhere made by a variety of manufacturers.
Old gun makers such as Remington, Smith & Wesson and Ruger produce a copy of the fast-selling AR-15.
Much of the popularity of the black rifles is brought about by the insane asylum in Washington, D.C. You don't believe that statement? Check the credibility of the representatives from Pennsylvania.
Now I see that Colt is selling a copy of the AR-15 in .22 rimfire. It looks like a military rifle and even has a dummy forward assist plunger.
Holding 30 rounds of .22 ammo, one can shoot it without the burden of high-priced centerfire ammo.
With the popularity of these military look-alikes, the gun makes sense.
The other thing I got from the magazine is that the Colt Tactical .22 that is marketed by Colt but not made by Colt.
The rifle is manufactured by Walther and brought into this country to be sold under the Colt name. This is a common theme in today's world.
I'm not complaining because Walther builds some of the world's great firearms. I have no doubt this Colt is well made.
But when you're buying a Colt, you expect to get a Colt, not a Walther.
n I once knew a guy who spent so much time bent over catching nightcrawlers that his back was killing him and he couldn't go fishing the next morning.
We all like to get something for free, but the best story along those lines comes from a friend of mine whom I won't name.
It seems this friend was going to go to Pymatuning Reservoir with another guy to fish for walleye and muskie. One of the two said that instead of buying minnow, they should stop at a creek along I-79 that held a good supply of minnies.
It was the middle of the night, but the one friend kept insisting that they sein minnows rather than purchase some.
With that in mind, they passed their usual turnoff at the Geneva Swamp and stayed on the highway.
My friend became a bit worried when they passed the Meadville and Sagertown exits. He started to grumble when they passed the Edinboro exit.
Finally, the other guy told my friend to pull over and watch for police - it is illegal to pull over on the interstate to sein for fish.
With that, he scrambled over the edge of a bank and disappeared.
My friend could hear him splashing and cursing as he struggled in the darkness through the willows. Finally, he reappeared with three four-inch minnows in the bucket.
They had added 60 miles to their trip for three minnows which were turning onto their sides for lack of oxygen by the time they had reached the lake.
The real kicker came when they went to a bait shop and found minnows on sale for $1.50 per dozen. They drove all that way for three minnows worth slightly more than 10 cents each.
It doesn't make a lot of sense, but my friend has gotten a lot of mileage out of the story.
