The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District has been taking advantage of winter drawdowns and shoreline erosion control projects to do some cleanup of debris at the various lakes. It's sad to see how much trash winds up in our lakes and streams, but it's especially depressing to see how much come from fishermen, who should be guardians of natural areas, not despoilers.
I'm talking, of course, about the amount of fishing line collected from lakes. It's inevitable that small amounts of line will wind up in lakes from anglers, mostly because of line broken off on snags but how many times have you hooked onto large clumps of discarded line, or seen yards of it draped in trees along the shore?
If you have to remove a lot of line from a reel, for whatever reason, don't dump it in the lake, take it home with you and dispose of it with your other trash or, better yet, deposit it in one of the line recycling bins you can sometimes find at bait shops or tackle stores:
Anyway, here's the news release MWCD put put out about the cleanup efforts.
More than 1,000 old tires and 20 dumpsters full of trash have been removed over the past few weeks from the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) reservoirs.
Staff members from the MWCD have been removing tires and other trash and debris from inside the reservoirs and along the shorelines at Atwood, Clendening, Charles Mill, Leesville, Piedmont, Pleasant Hill, Seneca, Tappan and Wills Creek reservoirs.
The MWCD has partnered with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) for the removal of the tires for recycling. John Bird, MWCD’s lake ranger supervisor who oversaw the work, said that the winter months offer the ideal setting for the cleanup projects since the lake levels have been reduced as usual.
“This was a complete team effort with MWCD staff members from our parks and other facilities working together to remove the old tires and the trash,” Bird said. “Tires in the lakes that we find usually have either been discarded illegally or were part of old boat docks that fell into disrepair or were abandoned.”
Some of the items removed from the reservoirs and around the shorelines include:
* Metal posts, pipe, wheel rims and other discarded metals that will be recycled.
* Car seats, chairs, household furniture, televisions, bed mattresses and plastic drums.
* Old tools
* A car engine
* Thousands of feet of discarded monofilament fishing line (this can be extremely harmful to fish, waterfowl and other wildlife, as well as presenting problems for boats when caught around propellers).
Bird said that the work also has helped MWCD staff members identify areas where dumping occurred that now will be gated off for more limited access for such illegal activities.
The work is part of a busy winter for the MWCD, which also has been working on shoreline stabilization and erosion control projects at numerous reservoirs
For more information about the MWCD, visit www.mwcd.org.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
OBF Winter Meeting
Sorry I haven't posted much lately, but I just haven't heard a lot recently and, frankly, this depressing weather seems to sap the initiative out of a person.
Anyway, the Ohio Bass Federation will hold its annual winter meeting and dinner Feb. 5 at the Quest Conference Center near Polaris. For complete details, visit the OBF website at www.ohiobass.org .
At the same time, the Ohio Junior Bass Federation will conduct its annual Bass School, which is free for kids of all ages. Again, find complete information on the OBF site, but here's the basics, as sent to me by Youth Director Mick Sturgill:
Three speakers will cover the following topics:
1) River Fishing - Casey Coffy and Dan Vandine
2) Crank Baits and Weather conditions - Ab Reed and Allen Wayne
3) Rigging Soft Plastics - Doug Clifford
The first session will start at 10 a.m. with one session after the noon break. There will be a 5 minute break between speakers. Bass School is not limited to OJBF members so if you are a Jr. Angler, bring a friend.
If you have questions, contact Sturgill at mtp52@yahoo.com or call him at 740 605-3108.
Anyway, the Ohio Bass Federation will hold its annual winter meeting and dinner Feb. 5 at the Quest Conference Center near Polaris. For complete details, visit the OBF website at www.ohiobass.org .
At the same time, the Ohio Junior Bass Federation will conduct its annual Bass School, which is free for kids of all ages. Again, find complete information on the OBF site, but here's the basics, as sent to me by Youth Director Mick Sturgill:
Three speakers will cover the following topics:
1) River Fishing - Casey Coffy and Dan Vandine
2) Crank Baits and Weather conditions - Ab Reed and Allen Wayne
3) Rigging Soft Plastics - Doug Clifford
The first session will start at 10 a.m. with one session after the noon break. There will be a 5 minute break between speakers. Bass School is not limited to OJBF members so if you are a Jr. Angler, bring a friend.
If you have questions, contact Sturgill at mtp52@yahoo.com or call him at 740 605-3108.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
S.O.B. Schedule set
I guess I haven't been checking the Southern Ohio Bassmaster website frequently enough, because the schedule has apparently been final for a couple weeks. The biggest change involved the Chuck Murrey Benefit open, which moved from MAy 15 to May 8. The Piedmont and Tappan tournaments each moved one day, but those are the only changes.
The final schedule is:
April 23 - Burr Oak
April 30 - Piedmont
May 14 - Buckeye
May 22 - Delaware
June 18 - Charles Mill
June 26 - Pleasant Hill
July 9 - Ohio River, Powhaten Point
Aug. 21 - Muskingum River McConnelsville, Fairground ramp
Sept. 10 - Dillon
Oct. 1 - Tappan
Oct. 15 & 16 - Classic (To be determined)
The club will also hold a Kids' Tournament, a His and Hers event and a Buddy tournament. The His and Hers is July 17 and the Buddy event Sept.18, but there's a typo on the Kids date.
I expect to have a final cranberry Marsh Bass Club schedule soon and I suspect the Y-City Bass Club schedule is set, but it isn't posted yetand I haven't seen any members.
The final schedule is:
April 23 - Burr Oak
April 30 - Piedmont
May 14 - Buckeye
May 22 - Delaware
June 18 - Charles Mill
June 26 - Pleasant Hill
July 9 - Ohio River, Powhaten Point
Aug. 21 - Muskingum River McConnelsville, Fairground ramp
Sept. 10 - Dillon
Oct. 1 - Tappan
Oct. 15 & 16 - Classic (To be determined)
The club will also hold a Kids' Tournament, a His and Hers event and a Buddy tournament. The His and Hers is July 17 and the Buddy event Sept.18, but there's a typo on the Kids date.
I expect to have a final cranberry Marsh Bass Club schedule soon and I suspect the Y-City Bass Club schedule is set, but it isn't posted yetand I haven't seen any members.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Deer hunting book
I meant to post this sooner, but here it is finally.
Deer hunters should be interested in outdoor writer Rob Lowendick's new book "Deer Hunting in Ohio: History, Legends and Trophies." Look for it at major book retailers, search on the web by title or by visiting Rob's website at www.robertoutdoors.com. Click on "Books."
I haven't seen the book yet (I was hoping to see it before posting this), but it sounds like it has sections that would be interesting even if you're not a deer hunter.
Fishing report?
Sorry I haven't posted more recently, but unless you're an ice fisherman, there just hasn't been much to write about. I've heard some saugeye are being caught through the ice at Buckeye Lake and saugeye are also being caught in some spillway waters, but that's been it.
I don't ice fish, and with it as cold as it has been, I don't have any great interest in fishing the open water in spillways or rivers, either.
Instead, I'll take my time and gradually get boat and tackle ready for spring. I haven''t done much yet, but I've been thinking about how to rearrange things in the boat to make finding stuff easier. Of course, first I have to cut down on how much "stuff" is in the boat.
And that's a problem I've been wrestling with for years.
At least it gives me something to do.
Deer hunters should be interested in outdoor writer Rob Lowendick's new book "Deer Hunting in Ohio: History, Legends and Trophies." Look for it at major book retailers, search on the web by title or by visiting Rob's website at www.robertoutdoors.com. Click on "Books."
I haven't seen the book yet (I was hoping to see it before posting this), but it sounds like it has sections that would be interesting even if you're not a deer hunter.
Fishing report?
Sorry I haven't posted more recently, but unless you're an ice fisherman, there just hasn't been much to write about. I've heard some saugeye are being caught through the ice at Buckeye Lake and saugeye are also being caught in some spillway waters, but that's been it.
I don't ice fish, and with it as cold as it has been, I don't have any great interest in fishing the open water in spillways or rivers, either.
Instead, I'll take my time and gradually get boat and tackle ready for spring. I haven''t done much yet, but I've been thinking about how to rearrange things in the boat to make finding stuff easier. Of course, first I have to cut down on how much "stuff" is in the boat.
And that's a problem I've been wrestling with for years.
At least it gives me something to do.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
New tournament series
There's not much fishing going on these days, unless you're into ice fishing (which I'm not) or fishing spillways and other open water flows. However, information is emerging about next season's tournaments.
Of note to those interested in tournament circuits, Team Bass Xtreme has added a Muskingum Division to its Buddy Series of tournaments. The division will be directed by Howard Miller, who is familiar to many anglers in the area, and will include events April 16 at Burr Oak Dock 4, May 7 at Buckeye Lake Lieb's Island, June 11 at Dillon reservoir marina ramp, July 9 at the Belpre City Ramp on the Ohio River Aug. 20 on the Muskingum river at Zanesville's Riverside Park and Sept. 10 on the Muskingum River out of the ramp below McConnelsville near the Morgan County Fairgrounds.
For complete information, visit the Team Bass Xtreme website in the links box on this page.
Tournament listings
Another new addition of interest to tournament anglers is )Ohio Bass Angler. this site provides information on opens, circuits and pot tournaments around Ohio. You may even be able to get entry forms on the site. It's worth checking out.
Of note to those interested in tournament circuits, Team Bass Xtreme has added a Muskingum Division to its Buddy Series of tournaments. The division will be directed by Howard Miller, who is familiar to many anglers in the area, and will include events April 16 at Burr Oak Dock 4, May 7 at Buckeye Lake Lieb's Island, June 11 at Dillon reservoir marina ramp, July 9 at the Belpre City Ramp on the Ohio River Aug. 20 on the Muskingum river at Zanesville's Riverside Park and Sept. 10 on the Muskingum River out of the ramp below McConnelsville near the Morgan County Fairgrounds.
For complete information, visit the Team Bass Xtreme website in the links box on this page.
Tournament listings
Another new addition of interest to tournament anglers is )Ohio Bass Angler. this site provides information on opens, circuits and pot tournaments around Ohio. You may even be able to get entry forms on the site. It's worth checking out.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
MWCD shoreline projects
I mentioned before that the reason for some of the extra draw-down at some of the Muskingum Watershed lakes this winter is to control slides or other shoreline erosion. Here's the release MWCD issued to describe what's being done:
Nearly 500 individual sites in need of varying amounts of shoreline improvements have been identified at the reservoirs managed by the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD).
A team of MWCD engineering staff members has been using some innovative mapping and aerial photographic technology to review the 300 total miles of shoreline at the reservoirs and reports that improvements are needed at an estimated 480 locations. The work would cover about 24 miles worth of shoreline at the 10 MWCD lakes.
“The reservoirs in the system of dams and reservoirs in the Muskingum River Watershed are now more than 70 years old and anyone who has taken a boat ride at a lake or views the shorelines from the road can see the effects of eroding shorelines,” said Boris E. Slogar, MWCD chief engineer. “The MWCD has talked for many years about the need to improve its shorelines to protect the benefits of flood-risk management and water conservation that the reservoirs provide in the watershed.
"This technology enables our staff and the public to recognize the urgency to prepare a prioritization plan and begin this important work of stabilizing the shoreline areas.”
The work is scheduled to begin in upcoming weeks as a total of 23 shoreline stabilization projects at four reservoirs estimated to cost around $1.5 million will be handled between December 2010 and April 2011, Slogar said.
Work is scheduled at the following reservoirs this winter:
Atwood Reservoir – 9 projects
Charles Mill Reservoir – 4 projects
Seneca Reservoir – 7 projects
Tappan Reservoir – 2 projects
Work already under way at Pleasant Hill Reservoir will continue, he said.
“A number of these project sites are located near roads or other important sites that eventually could threaten the continued safe access of the highways, bridges or other structures,” Slogar said. “The site at Pleasant Hill Reservoir, which we identified as the highest priority of all of the MWCD reservoirs last year, threatens several homes if it is not addressed.”
The work will be paid for through the MWCD’s funds collected from property owners in the Muskingum River Watershed who receive identified benefits from the Amendment to the Official Plan of the MWCD that calls for maintenance and rehabilitation in the system of flood-reduction and water conservation reservoirs and dams in the region.
Work is expected to be identified, prioritized and handled yearly as part of the ongoing maintenance needs in the reservoirs, which originally were constructed in the 1930s and have been suffering from the effects of normal erosion for many years.
Much of the information used in the MWCD’s review of the eroded shorelines came through updated aerial imagery that was produced earlier this year.
“This imagery assisted our staff in reviewing all aspects of these sites, and it was completed in a timely manner to provide us with up-to-date data for planning purposes,” Slogar said.
A total cost estimate for all of the 480 identified sites has not been developed, he said.
The MWCD, a political subdivision of the state, was organized in 1933 to develop and implement a plan to reduce flooding and conserve water for beneficial public uses in the Muskingum River Basin, the largest wholly contained watershed in Ohio. Since their construction, the reservoirs and dams in the MWCD region have been credited for saving more than $8 billion worth of potential property damage from flooding, according to the federal government. The reservoirs are managed by the MWCD and the dams are managed for flood-risk management by the federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
For more information about the MWCD, visit www.mwcd.org
Nearly 500 individual sites in need of varying amounts of shoreline improvements have been identified at the reservoirs managed by the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD).
A team of MWCD engineering staff members has been using some innovative mapping and aerial photographic technology to review the 300 total miles of shoreline at the reservoirs and reports that improvements are needed at an estimated 480 locations. The work would cover about 24 miles worth of shoreline at the 10 MWCD lakes.
“The reservoirs in the system of dams and reservoirs in the Muskingum River Watershed are now more than 70 years old and anyone who has taken a boat ride at a lake or views the shorelines from the road can see the effects of eroding shorelines,” said Boris E. Slogar, MWCD chief engineer. “The MWCD has talked for many years about the need to improve its shorelines to protect the benefits of flood-risk management and water conservation that the reservoirs provide in the watershed.
"This technology enables our staff and the public to recognize the urgency to prepare a prioritization plan and begin this important work of stabilizing the shoreline areas.”
The work is scheduled to begin in upcoming weeks as a total of 23 shoreline stabilization projects at four reservoirs estimated to cost around $1.5 million will be handled between December 2010 and April 2011, Slogar said.
Work is scheduled at the following reservoirs this winter:
Atwood Reservoir – 9 projects
Charles Mill Reservoir – 4 projects
Seneca Reservoir – 7 projects
Tappan Reservoir – 2 projects
Work already under way at Pleasant Hill Reservoir will continue, he said.
“A number of these project sites are located near roads or other important sites that eventually could threaten the continued safe access of the highways, bridges or other structures,” Slogar said. “The site at Pleasant Hill Reservoir, which we identified as the highest priority of all of the MWCD reservoirs last year, threatens several homes if it is not addressed.”
The work will be paid for through the MWCD’s funds collected from property owners in the Muskingum River Watershed who receive identified benefits from the Amendment to the Official Plan of the MWCD that calls for maintenance and rehabilitation in the system of flood-reduction and water conservation reservoirs and dams in the region.
Work is expected to be identified, prioritized and handled yearly as part of the ongoing maintenance needs in the reservoirs, which originally were constructed in the 1930s and have been suffering from the effects of normal erosion for many years.
Much of the information used in the MWCD’s review of the eroded shorelines came through updated aerial imagery that was produced earlier this year.
“This imagery assisted our staff in reviewing all aspects of these sites, and it was completed in a timely manner to provide us with up-to-date data for planning purposes,” Slogar said.
A total cost estimate for all of the 480 identified sites has not been developed, he said.
The MWCD, a political subdivision of the state, was organized in 1933 to develop and implement a plan to reduce flooding and conserve water for beneficial public uses in the Muskingum River Basin, the largest wholly contained watershed in Ohio. Since their construction, the reservoirs and dams in the MWCD region have been credited for saving more than $8 billion worth of potential property damage from flooding, according to the federal government. The reservoirs are managed by the MWCD and the dams are managed for flood-risk management by the federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
For more information about the MWCD, visit www.mwcd.org
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tournaments shaping up
Some more tournament information for next spring is already coming in.
First, Robin Cross will begin the Tuesday evening tournaments at Buckeye Lake on April 12. they will begin at 5:30 p.m. out of the North Shore ramp, with registration at 5 p.m. As in 2010, cost will be $10 per person, free for anglers 15 and under. If you have questions, contact Robin Cross at rccrossbass@yahoo.com or call him at 740-438-2782.
Robin has also scheduled an open tournament at Buckeye on May 21. Hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the entry fee is $100 per team in advance or $120 at the ramp. Again, contact Robin at the above address or e-mail and I'm sure entry forms will be at local bait and tackle shops.
I earlier reported the tentative club schedules for Southern Ohio Bassmasters and Cranberry Marsh Bass Club. As usual, some changes are in the works. I'll wait to report the club schedules when they are completed, but I will note now that the Chuck Murrey Memorial sponsored by the Southern Ohio Club will be on May 8 instead of May 15
First, Robin Cross will begin the Tuesday evening tournaments at Buckeye Lake on April 12. they will begin at 5:30 p.m. out of the North Shore ramp, with registration at 5 p.m. As in 2010, cost will be $10 per person, free for anglers 15 and under. If you have questions, contact Robin Cross at rccrossbass@yahoo.com or call him at 740-438-2782.
Robin has also scheduled an open tournament at Buckeye on May 21. Hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the entry fee is $100 per team in advance or $120 at the ramp. Again, contact Robin at the above address or e-mail and I'm sure entry forms will be at local bait and tackle shops.
I earlier reported the tentative club schedules for Southern Ohio Bassmasters and Cranberry Marsh Bass Club. As usual, some changes are in the works. I'll wait to report the club schedules when they are completed, but I will note now that the Chuck Murrey Memorial sponsored by the Southern Ohio Club will be on May 8 instead of May 15
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