When
Bill Trump’s “Anonymous” (440-983-7203) fishing boat returned
to Geneva State Park Marina three hours early, no one gave the
arrival much attention.
Neither
did they pay any never-mind when the other nine participating Lake
Erie charters each returned well within the Governor’s Fish Ohio
Day franchise’s Central Basin episode’s 1 p.m. must-be-back time
requirement.
This
is – after all – the Walleye Capital of the World’s true White
House, something I’ve said before.
And
in truth the late, former Ohio Governor James A Rhodes would be happy
and proud. Rhodes was the master angling showman who coined the
indulgently correct “Walleye Capital of World” moniker.
Rhodes
made his comment during the first-ever Governor’s Fish Ohio Day
several decades back, and I heard him repeat it during the event’s
second or third replay; all of them held around Port Clinton.
Somehow,
though, it took all the way to current Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to
recognize there are more fish stories to made than those exclusively
assembled from outings on Lake Erie. Just as DeWine understands the
Earth and Lake Erie do not end east of Sandusky.
Consequently,
DeWine decreed there shall be Fish Ohio light both inland as well as
the lake’s Central Basin, though the latter was actually begun by
his predecessor, John Kasich.
So
the minions in his office and the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources expanded transforming the idea into a multi-faceted agenda
that included - for this year - fishing 692-acre Cowan Lake in
Clinton County for bass and panfish.
Oh, and Lake Erie in autumn, but off Ashtabula County’s Geneva State Park instead of the Islands.
While
I cannot speak for the Cowan Lake event since I was not there, I will
take the word of several outdoors writing friends who were, and who
said the event was carried along on heavenly wings, to hear them
talk.
On
the other hand I did attend the September 28th affair at Geneva State
Park. If the Cowan event mirrored the one at Geneva State Park, than
my fellow writers’ praise was justified.
Let’s
be blunt, the current parental Governor’s Fish Ohio Day has become
a bloated and self-congratulatory episode of gratuitous political and
bureaucratic glad-handing with a bonus – but still, - superficial
relationship to what Governor Rhodes intended: That is, to show-case
Lake Erie’s walleye fisheries.
It
begins with ushering a crowd of invitees – some of whom often look
bored with the prospects of actually fishing. These are people who
would prefer to stand around and schmooze with each other, or else
lobby the governor and his staff, than to sally forth with some
captain whom might himself be ill-prepared for the assignment.
This
overblown Fish Ohio Day program ends with a litany of dull speeches
too often fueled by trite and tiresome press releases and
uninspiring, canned comments. Presented more often than not, too, by
individuals who appear they are going to great pains to impress each
other and, most importantly, the governor.
That
being said, for the Geneva State Park event being aboard the first
vessel back to the dock I had the time to observe this
Son-Of-Governor’s Fish Ohio Day. And I took the time to observe how
the sins of the father were not being repeated by the child, as well.
Clearly,
the people involved were enjoying themselves. No doubt, the local
Ashtabula County tourism representatives, the marina staff, and the
10 skilled and eager-to-please charter captains let the fish do the
talking.
More
than anything, what struck me most was how the Ohio Division of
Wildlife staff pulled duty for this event. Field commissioned
officers, office personnel, and mid-management supervisors of all
stripes pitched in.
They
conjured the menu of fried fish bits, walleye “crab” cakes, and
even fish tacos. These folks not only became chefs but they likewise
cheerfully delivered trays of samples around to the guests sitting at
picnic tables. Shoot, they event cleaned up the agency’s new
traveling outdoors kitchen and put away all of its many buckets,
baskets, and utensils.
These
men and women - any observer could note without much effort - were
simply putting on a Saturday afternoon backyard barbecue for family
and friends. They truly enjoyed themselves, and this was conveyed
without words via the efficiency, quality, and professionalism of
their work.
And
if one of them were to be stopped by a non-guest to be asked a
question abut this or that Wildlife Division matter; well, they took
the time to deal with that one, too.
Then
again, so did DeWine. Unlike the parental Fish Ohio Day where the
state’s chief executive is followed around by a bevvy of political
toadies seeking favorable patronage. Or else by those who want their
Facebook friends to know they were invited,.
Yet
at the Geneva State Park outing, DeWine did not an entourage of
hangers-on looking to be seen or be heard. DeWine likewise was at his
relaxed best, and was treated like just any other picnic guest. He
met people who came to him, and he would go out of his way to do the
same.
This,
then, is how I came to enjoy this Governor’s Fish Ohio more than
any other for which I have attended in a very long time. Between the
local organizers, the 10 charter captains, and the Wildlife
Division’s boots-on-the-ground staff the sum put the “fun” back
into what the Governor’s Fish Ohio Day ought to be about.
Somehow
I can easily picture Governor James A. Rhodes displaying a large grin
and ordering in his homespun-Jackson County-born, nasal voice to
“let’s go fishing.”
Amen.
JFrischk4@gmail.com
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