We fish Lake Ontario in the early spring for trout and Salmon out of Oak Orchard Creek and move to Sturgeon Point on Lake Erie in May for Bass and Walleye, we operate until October 15th at Sturgeon Point then settle in for our long winters nap. Other points of access include Chadwick Bay, Barcelona, Buffalo Harbor and Cattaragus Creek.
One of my oldest fishing Buddies passed away this spring, his name was Captain John Visich USCG-LIM.
We fished together once or twice a year from the early 1980's until last spring (2007), the last time I saw him we were in Fairport Harbor, Ohio for the spring Walleye Tournament, we left the dock at 0430, set up at 0515 and had limited out by 0630, by noon we had boated and released 52 Walleyes, my partner Don Gerow and I were so tired we asked Captain John to take a slow ride back to the dock so we could rest for the drive home.
Captain John was a unique human being, he had the faults and frustrations we all face from time to time but he would never burden anyone with them, even his best friends of which I considered myself to be one, he was the constant optimist, looked at the bright side all the time even when I could tell he was hurting. He died of cancer in an Ohio VA without ever saying a word about it even though he was told last fall that his time was short.
John served his country, his community and his fellow man, he drank hard liquor, smoked cigarettes, swore like a sailor, and was one of the best fishermen I have ever had the great pleasure to spend time with.
One of his favorite expressions was "Who gives a damn if there's eight footers out there, fish don't get seasick, just active".
My friend, you were a joy to spend time with, I learned from you, respected you, and will remember you till we meet again which is guaranteed, save me a place on the leeward side, it won't be long, life is less worth living now that you have moved on.
Hans