My first Lake Erie walleye was netted in 1974, four of us once boated more than 80 walleye one weekend in 1976, I fought a dozen or more walleye that were seven pounds or more, and that’s how I exhausted my weight. fried walleye fillet.

So these are my credentials. While I haven’t made bobcats my primary game over the past 50 years, I feel qualified to weigh in on the debate about whether they are Ohio’s state fish.

Yes. If Ohio is going to have a state fish, let’s make it a bobcat.

No fish has done more to put Ohio fishing on the map than Walleye. Bass anglers may disagree, opting instead for largemouth or smallmouth bass. Over the years the state’s political football has bounced back and forth; It never gained enough support in Columbus for the Ohio legislature to decide whether it would be walleye, smallmouth or largemouth bass.

But as veteran Ohio outdoor news writer D’Arcy Egan recently reported, a bipartisan effort to name the bobcat as the official fish of the state of Ohio resulted in the passage of House Bill 599. The vote wasn’t even close, 93-4. .

But for the Walleye to receive the reward they deserve, the Ohio Senate must vote. Egan noted that HB 599 co-sponsor Sean Brennan, D-Parma, said senators probably won’t vote until after the Nov. 5 election.

Those who read this column know very well my passion for bass fishing. I have made largemouths and smallmouths my primary targets for many years and have equipped myself with a multitude of rods, reels, lines, baits and other things to help me catch more bass.

But deep within my roots, the walleyes are firmly planted. They were the first “big game” to capture my attention after spending my younger days hunting for gills, suckers, mullet, and other entry-level species. My father and I enjoyed fishing on many summer vacation days with nightcrawlers we collected from our front yard in Boardman and the 14th fairway of Mill Creek’s South Route.

My walleye days blossomed in 1974 when my father brought home his Starcraft Islander and we learned the ins and outs of Erie Dearie fishing on Lake Erie. The first boat Barb and I bought in 1977 was the Mosquito and a walleye machine when we reeled from Berlin to the border.

Our fryer was busy those days as productive walleye trips yielded filleting knives and bountiful fish crops for family feasts.

Walleye are to Ohio fishermen what corn is to Iowa farmers. They swim down every major river in our state and fill many of our favorite reservoirs. The most important chapter in Ohio’s walleye history is, of course, the revival of the Lake Erie fishery.

Egan and I were the first authors to report that the bobcat fishery was expanding from the western basin to the deeper central basin. As water quality improved from the 1970s to the present, bobcat populations increased rapidly, attracting the attention of anglers and their bucks from all over the United States and beyond.

With more than 950 charter boats and thousands of private vessels, sport fishing is a major industry in Ohio, contributing more than a billion dollars in economic value and untold happy experiences for enthusiastic anglers.

So yes, while I am a bass guy today, I fully understand and accept that walleye are what capture the hearts and souls of Ohio anglers more than any other fish.

I encourage our state senators to vote yes on House Bill 599. Call or write your senator to get walleye approved as Ohio’s state fish.

Jack Wollitz has been writing about fishing since 1978 and started this column in 1988. Contact him at [email protected].