The Huntley Farmside

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Volume 40 No. 30
Farmside
Your hometown newspaper
Thursday July 27,2000
© 2000 Press-Republican Newspapers
Where's walleye?
Marengo-Huntley fishermen reel in Lake Erie surprise
by Jan St. James
Huntley-Marengo editor
A few times a year Marengo resident Dick Glader heads to Ohio. To the waters of Lake Erie. To fish. So the trip last month wasn't anything out of the ordinary...but the catch was.
Glader; his sons, Gregg and Garth; Jay Schuette of Marengo; the Rev. Charles Kittel of Huntley; and Robert Mahnke of Huntley traveled to Lorain, Ohio in pursuit of walleye, the fish stan¬ dard of previous trips. With Erie never at a loss for walleye, Glader always returned horne with his limit.
"Lake Erie is long known as a pro¬ ductive walleye lake," Glader said. "But we learned there is beginning to be an added new dimension. Steelhead trout, or rainbow as some refer to them, have begun to show up in the lake."
Glader gathered that trout informa¬ tion first-hand. He and the Marengo/Huntley fishing group were cruising Lake Erie out of North Beaver Park-rMarina with Robert MacFarland, captain of the Nauti Buoy.
While walleye was expected to be the catch-of-the-day as it had been on so many previous trips, this time the group scored a mere two...count 'em, two...walleye.
The number of walleye caught might have at one time suggested a failed fish¬ ing expedition; it was fairly obvious walleye were no longer the benchmark of rod-and-reel success. Yet while there was no doubt the trip was successful, it wasn't exactly what the fishermen expected. Final tally showed 37 steel- head/rainbow trout along with those two walleye.
"This is a phenomenon that's starting now with these rainbow trout," Glader said. "Nobody understands the appear¬ ance of the rainbow. The Ohio Department of Fish and Game  said
there have always been rainbow trout in the lake, but never this many at these times."
Glader said the rainbows, caught with tackle and 'artificial lures, are a real experience to land.
"We went out to fish walleyes and you fish these very similarly. But the rain¬ bow are really sporting fo catch," he said.
"You only land about half of what you hook. It's much like deep-sea fishing. They fight like crazy, jumping out of the water and dancing across the water on their tails."
A lot of skill is required to actually land the trout.
Again, Glader ought to know. He hooked a 31-inch rainbow on this trip. An award winner.
"The Ohio Conservation Department has set up standards for each species of fish, and if you catch one within the standards you get a Fish Ohio award," Glader explained. "Cut-off on this species of fish was 28 inches. It took me 15 minutes to bring it in."
Glader received a Fish Ohio certifi¬ cate and a pin to commemorate his catch.
"This seems to be a phenomenon that's starting now with all these rain¬ bow trout," Glader said. "It means a 'double fishery' for the lake,' two species of large fish to catch."
This will, of course, also make Lake Erie a bigger draw.
"If the word gets around, it will make things more crowded, sure," Glader said. "If someone told me these rainbow were hitting now, I'd go this weekend , too."
In a month, no matter what, Glader will head out for Ohio again. Whether or not he will encounter more trout than walleye remains to be seen.
"The rainbow migrate up and down the lake and it's a long lake. We might
(above) Dick Gladerof Marengo went looking for Lake Erie's standard fare - walleye - and wound up posing with his award-winning 31-inch rainbow trout, (left) Huntley-Marengo fishermen (from left) Garth Glader, Dick Glader of Marengo, the Rev. Charles Kittel of Huntley, Gregg Glader and Robert ' Mahnke of Huntley step off Capt. Bob Sutherland's "Nauti Buoy" to display their unexpected catch of rainbow trout.
not find them again, but since we found them where we usually found walleyes, that might indicate they will be there more often. But then, what do I know?" Glader laughed.
It would seem he knows how to be a good fisherman, but he'll even offer some debate on that subject.
"If one person catches all the fish, does that make all the other fishermen with him bad? I think more than likely that one is just lucky. Fishing is luck."
To keep the memory alive, Glader has his memories, some photos, a certificate and a pin. Did he mount his award-win¬ ning fish? Briefly. On a platter. He brought it home to his Marengo kitchen.
"It was eaten and it was good," Glader said. "A big fish like that is more bland than a smaller fish.
"But I marinated it in citrus juice with a little oil and garlic. Buttered it, broiled it and topped it with a little orange zest."