Waterkeeper meeting: Outlook for walleye fishing is bright, captain says Published by news@presspubli. on Fri, 04/16/2021 - 4:00pm
By:
Tahree Lane Special to The Press
Anglers have hit the jackpot and should enjoy phenomenal walleye fishing for the next five years, fishing-boat captain Don McGee told a group that advocates for Lake Erie. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimates Lake Erie contains 100 million catchable walleye, he noted, most in the Western Lake Erie Basin. McGee, of Oregon, who’s been a charter boat captain for 40 years, spoke at the April meeting of Lake Erie Waterkeeper, an affiliate of the international Waterkeeper Alliance. He owns King and Eye Charters.
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Port Clinton News Herald
PORT CLINTON - For many area charter boat captains, efforts to be good stewards of Lake Erie go beyond just that of proper angling, as they also are on the front lines with scientists performing cutting-edge research.
Two among those leading that effort are Paul Pacholski, president of the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, and Don McGee, the association’s captain of the year for 2020.
“There’s a lot of different things we’re all working on,” Pacholski said.
From writing the water assessment programming to partnering with the University of Toledo to host science cruises educating young school students about Lake Erie issues, to water sampling, fish surveys and more, both have been closely involved numerous science-related projects, even as angling is their primary role in the charter boat industry.