Accurate casting mandatory around boat docks

July 17, 2021

Boat docks attract fishermen like flowers attract bees, but the dock-angler relationship isn’t always a match made in heaven. A variety of species of fish are genetically inclined to seek overhead cover. Boat docks certainly score high in that category, which makes them prime real estate for bluegills, rock bass, perch, crappies and game fish like largemouth and smallmouth bass and even muskies and catfish. Anglers gravitate to boat docks for good reason. Lots of fish live around and under them as they are rich in cover and food for everything from crustaceans and minnows to ...

Fight or flight decision can make or break your day

July 10, 2021

Decisions that seem almost automatic, that we make with hardly a moment invested in pondering, can be pivotal in the outcomes of our days on the water. Shall I turn left or right when I motor away from the dock? Do I tie a chartreuse crankbait to my line or go with a red one? Spinner or jig? Shallow or deep? Crappies or walleyes? Nightcrawler or minnow? Our options include so many variables, it’s enough to make any angler’s head spin. But with a little intuition and a bit of knowledge, the odds of making the right choice increase exponentially. Perhaps the biggest decision ...

Sports writer’s farewell thoughts

June 7, 2021

There was never a moment during my childhood where I considered being a writer, not even a sports writer. All I cared about were sports, and my goal was the NFL or Major League Baseball. There wasn’t really a Plan B, not until college hit, and flag football and slow-pitch softball were the only sports I was playing. As a struggling sophomore in college, an English professor named Alyssa Lenhoff brought to my attention that Youngstown State University’s student newspaper, “The Jambar,” was in need of a sports editor. I remember asking: “So, they’ll basically pay me to ...

All-Stars in the area this weekend

April 29, 2021

Tony Stewart’s All-Star Circuit of Champions will make a three-day swing through our region this weekend beginning Friday with a stop at Lernerville Speedway just south of Butler, Pa., on Route 356. The show also will include Lernerville celebrating its 1,000th sprint-car race. Joining the All-Stars will be the RUSH sprints and the Allegheny 305 sprint tour for an all sprint-car show. Gates open at 5 p.m. with hot laps at 6:45. The next stop is Saturday at Sharon Speedway for the Buckeye Cup. The Hartford oval will be celebrating its 92nd season of auto racing since 1929. The RUSH ...

Phillips, Penguins face many challenges

April 22, 2021

This probably wasn’t an easy decision. Then again, the Penguins had their reasons. The Youngstown State football team chose to end its season without playing the final game — a rescheduled contest — last weekend against North Dakota. It made sense to most, except for maybe the Fighting Hawks, who were on the playoff bubble (they made the postseason anyway). Still, YSU had had enough. The Penguins battled through a 1-6 spring season. They played more Missouri Valley Football Conference games than any other team going into the final week. They showed major signs of progress — ...

Wrestlers go after state glory on weekend

March 12, 2021

Some things in sports are tough to watch, and other things in sports are downright excruciating to watch. In the last year, most fans just want any sport to watch (I saw the “Blue Jays” take on the “Cardinals” in an epic duel at the bird feeder during the quarantine). Now that most sports are back, the watching has returned — and so has the agony. This past weekend provided a tough moment for a local wrestler. Hubbard’s Nick Bowser had done the unthinkable and qualified for the state tournament as a freshman — a rare accomplishment that, according to Eagles coach Ralph ...