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08-06-2004, 09:44 AM
Friday, August 06, 2004
Castalia, Ohio - With his toes in the chilly water of Cold Creek, the 6-year-old struggled to slip a long-handled net under a trophy rainbow trout thrashing at the end of his grandfather's fishing line.
Patrick "Patch" Holmes had already landed his share of the big rainbows Thursday, a mean feat for such a small angler. But so had his sisters. Rebecca, 10, Stephanie, 9, and Kristina, 7, filling their grandfather's cooler with trout.
"This is the best thing that the State of Ohio has ever done for kids," said Dick Bokanyi, the Holmes' grandfather and a retired veterinarian from Grafton. He and his wife, Juanita, are avid anglers and hunters who tour the continent for slices of the outdoor experience. Closer to home, however, they found a bit of trout fishing heaven at the Ohio Division of Wildlife's Castalia State Fish Hatchery.
With one of four of the fabled Blue Holes on the 90-acre property - the only Blue Hole open to the public - the seemingly bottomless springs in the Castalia area spew thousands of gallons of 50-degree water into Cold Creek every minute. The temperature is just right for trout once nitrogen has been allowed to escape and the water has been infused with oxygen.
The Bokanyis had entered a lottery months ago to fish the trout-filled waters of Cold Creek, which winds through the western Erie County countryside around Castalia, just east of Sandusky Bay. They were surprised by the crowd of trophy trout that would gobble a nightcrawler wriggling on a hook suspended a foot or two under a small float.
The kids were fishing two at a time so a grandparent could keep an eye on each angler. It didn't take long for the young fishermen to squeal with trout fishing success.
"The fishing rocks," said one of the girls, beaming as her grandfather showed off their catch.
Big trout and little anglers created quite a scene.
"Patch hooked a really big trout and could hardly reel it to the net," said Dick Bokanyi. "So he ran away from the stream, pulling the big fish onto the bank. I'm having that one mounted for his bedroom back in Pataskala, Ohio."
The Castalia State Fish Hatchery has existed as one of Ohio's finest fishing holes for more than a century. The Division of Wildlife returned it to its former glory, making it a place for summer fishing fun with groups selected to cast for trout each weekday morning. The fishing area along Cold Creek is a peaceful stretch of winding stream, much like the nearby Castalia Trout Club, Rockwell Springs Trout Club and Sunnybrook Trout Club, which cater to affluent fly fishermen.
"Most of the fishermen who come here use spinning tackle and live bait," said David Insley, who has been in charge of the hatchery since Ohio purchased it for $1.35 million on Nov. 24, 1997. The visitors are generally everyday anglers who have their names drawn from the hopper each March.
The Castalia hatchery also raises rainbow trout for catch-and-keep stockings around Ohio. Most of those are foot-long fish. The ones swimming in Cold Creek are often bigger, including a 2-foot long trophy trout Bokanyi had nestled in an ice-filled cooler. The hook-and-line mark since the program began is 13 pounds, 9 ounces. A hefty 19-pound, 3-ounce fish was collected by hatchery workers last winter.
While the trout fishing has drawn rave reviews from those selected by the lottery, so does the Castalia Hatchery. Its main mission is raising steelhead trout, creating a cold-weather fishery that has lured anglers to Ohio from around the globe.
Insley's crew raises 400,000 steelhead trout here each year for Ohio's wildly successful stream fishing in northeastern Ohio. The fry arrive from Michigan's Little Manistee River, which has a premier strain of wild steelhead trout. Released at about a year old and 9 inches in length, they grow quickly in the big waters of Lake Erie and return to Conneaut Creek and the Grand, Chagrin, Rocky and Vermilion rivers to spawn. The silvery steelhead are a thrill for Lake Erie fishermen in summertime and wading stream anglers throughout fall, winter and spring.
It was with Ohio's steelhead trout program in mind that the Castalia Hatchery was purchased with prodding from then-Gov. George V. Voinovich, who is now an avid steelheader. The next major expenditure is already being planned. Design consultants are studying ways to expand the facility so Ohio fisheries biologists won't have to depend on Michigan for its steelhead trout eggs or fry, a project that will take two or three years to complete.
"It's all about a quality fishing experience," said Insley. "This is simply the best place in Ohio to raise trout for Buckeye fishermen."
To enter the 2005 lottery for a Castalia Hatchery fishing adventure visit www.ohiodnr.com or call 1-800-WILDLIFE. Applications are accepted between Nov. 1 and March 1.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
degan@plaind.com, 216-999-6136
© 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.
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http://www.cleveland.com/outdoors/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1091784994304180.xml
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Castalia, Ohio - With his toes in the chilly water of Cold Creek, the 6-year-old struggled to slip a long-handled net under a trophy rainbow trout thrashing at the end of his grandfather's fishing line.
Patrick "Patch" Holmes had already landed his share of the big rainbows Thursday, a mean feat for such a small angler. But so had his sisters. Rebecca, 10, Stephanie, 9, and Kristina, 7, filling their grandfather's cooler with trout.
"This is the best thing that the State of Ohio has ever done for kids," said Dick Bokanyi, the Holmes' grandfather and a retired veterinarian from Grafton. He and his wife, Juanita, are avid anglers and hunters who tour the continent for slices of the outdoor experience. Closer to home, however, they found a bit of trout fishing heaven at the Ohio Division of Wildlife's Castalia State Fish Hatchery.
With one of four of the fabled Blue Holes on the 90-acre property - the only Blue Hole open to the public - the seemingly bottomless springs in the Castalia area spew thousands of gallons of 50-degree water into Cold Creek every minute. The temperature is just right for trout once nitrogen has been allowed to escape and the water has been infused with oxygen.
The Bokanyis had entered a lottery months ago to fish the trout-filled waters of Cold Creek, which winds through the western Erie County countryside around Castalia, just east of Sandusky Bay. They were surprised by the crowd of trophy trout that would gobble a nightcrawler wriggling on a hook suspended a foot or two under a small float.
The kids were fishing two at a time so a grandparent could keep an eye on each angler. It didn't take long for the young fishermen to squeal with trout fishing success.
"The fishing rocks," said one of the girls, beaming as her grandfather showed off their catch.
Big trout and little anglers created quite a scene.
"Patch hooked a really big trout and could hardly reel it to the net," said Dick Bokanyi. "So he ran away from the stream, pulling the big fish onto the bank. I'm having that one mounted for his bedroom back in Pataskala, Ohio."
The Castalia State Fish Hatchery has existed as one of Ohio's finest fishing holes for more than a century. The Division of Wildlife returned it to its former glory, making it a place for summer fishing fun with groups selected to cast for trout each weekday morning. The fishing area along Cold Creek is a peaceful stretch of winding stream, much like the nearby Castalia Trout Club, Rockwell Springs Trout Club and Sunnybrook Trout Club, which cater to affluent fly fishermen.
"Most of the fishermen who come here use spinning tackle and live bait," said David Insley, who has been in charge of the hatchery since Ohio purchased it for $1.35 million on Nov. 24, 1997. The visitors are generally everyday anglers who have their names drawn from the hopper each March.
The Castalia hatchery also raises rainbow trout for catch-and-keep stockings around Ohio. Most of those are foot-long fish. The ones swimming in Cold Creek are often bigger, including a 2-foot long trophy trout Bokanyi had nestled in an ice-filled cooler. The hook-and-line mark since the program began is 13 pounds, 9 ounces. A hefty 19-pound, 3-ounce fish was collected by hatchery workers last winter.
While the trout fishing has drawn rave reviews from those selected by the lottery, so does the Castalia Hatchery. Its main mission is raising steelhead trout, creating a cold-weather fishery that has lured anglers to Ohio from around the globe.
Insley's crew raises 400,000 steelhead trout here each year for Ohio's wildly successful stream fishing in northeastern Ohio. The fry arrive from Michigan's Little Manistee River, which has a premier strain of wild steelhead trout. Released at about a year old and 9 inches in length, they grow quickly in the big waters of Lake Erie and return to Conneaut Creek and the Grand, Chagrin, Rocky and Vermilion rivers to spawn. The silvery steelhead are a thrill for Lake Erie fishermen in summertime and wading stream anglers throughout fall, winter and spring.
It was with Ohio's steelhead trout program in mind that the Castalia Hatchery was purchased with prodding from then-Gov. George V. Voinovich, who is now an avid steelheader. The next major expenditure is already being planned. Design consultants are studying ways to expand the facility so Ohio fisheries biologists won't have to depend on Michigan for its steelhead trout eggs or fry, a project that will take two or three years to complete.
"It's all about a quality fishing experience," said Insley. "This is simply the best place in Ohio to raise trout for Buckeye fishermen."
To enter the 2005 lottery for a Castalia Hatchery fishing adventure visit www.ohiodnr.com or call 1-800-WILDLIFE. Applications are accepted between Nov. 1 and March 1.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
degan@plaind.com, 216-999-6136
© 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.
Print This E-mail This
http://www.cleveland.com/outdoors/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1091784994304180.xml
:)