It was early afternoon during another weekend at Walter C. Best Wildlife Preserve in Munson Township.
It was early afternoon during another weekend at Walter C. Best Wildlife Preserve in Munson Township.
Fishing platforms encompassed its lily pad waters and bright skies were busy.
It’s about a two-mile trip for the Keysers.
Chris Keyser brought his daughters, Leah, 10, Kenzie, 7, and Ellie, 4.
This trip, they are minus mom, Jamie, and youngest sibling Christopher.
Leah, who was introduced to fishing at age 3, said it is basically her favorite thing, besides cheerleading.
“Her grandfather (Jamie’s father) encouraged all of us to fish and learn together as a family,” Chris said, a former three-sport high school athlete from Medina who planted roots in Munson Township.
Chris and Jamie met as freshmen at Kent State University.
Chris soon entered the Marine Corps and did three tours of duty in Iraq and Africa.
When not carrying tackle boxes and fishing rods, his girls carry dreams of becoming an engineer, teacher and singer.
But, now, they are content spending quality time along the shoreline with their dad or casting lines from their grandpa’s boat at Pymatuning Reservoir.
“Fishing is a great way to bring our family together,” Chris said. “Children learn life lessons through fishing. That’s part of what’s cool about it. And, they learn to always see the bright side of things.”
Geauga Park District Biologist Paul Pira concurred on the great memories parents can make with their kids fishing.
“Some of our more popular places for shoreline fishing are WC Best Preserve, Claridon Woodlands, Big Creek Park, Swine Creek Reservation and Orchard Hills Park,” Pira said. “All these places offer nice access for people to fish and are on our rotational stocking schedule, so there are always fish to catch.”
He added, “If you are lucky enough to have a boat, kayak or canoe, then be sure to fish at Bass Lake Preserve (you will need a special boating permit available free online) or look into Headwaters Park.”
Chris said his kids have learned many life lessons from fishing — such as patience; plan well, but expect nothing; the worst scenarios can have the happiest outcomes; don’t let one negative ruin your fun, keep trying; be flexible; and fish stories can be as big or small as you’d like them to be.
“We’ve fished for four or five hours and not had a single bite,” Chris added. “In addition, we have spent hours packing, picking out fishing outfits — keep in mind we have girls — rearranging the tackle boxes, buying stuff, loading gear, getting excited.”
Then they head home empty handed and put everything away.
“We tell them that sometimes you will catch a fish right away and other times, you won’t even get a bite or you will hook it and lose it,” Chris said. “I can’t tell you how many times we’ve gone through dozens of worms and missed all the fish. We teach our kids that you can do all the planning and preparing in the world, wear the luckiest fishing shirt, use top-notch gear and still nothing might happen. The point is that every experience is wonderful and we get to spend time together, as a family.”
“We have been so thankful for our local parks and the opportunities to fish and be outdoors during the pandemic,” Chris added.”We have taken full advantage of the opportunity to spend more uninterrupted time together fishing and enjoying nature.”
Andrew Pegman, an English professor from South Russell Village, and his son, Andrew Jr., fish at least twice a week, usually at Beartown Lakes, Walter C. Best Wildlife Preserve and Bass Lake.
“We’ve caught bass, catfish, crappies, perch and more sunfish than we can count,” Andrew said. “We are incredibly grateful to live so close to excellent fishing and outdoor resources in Geauga County. We try to utilize the parks as much as possible. As difficult as Covid-19 has been, it has been a great opportunity for us to bond in the outdoors and learn about nature.”
Andrew Jr. said he loves fishing with his dad.
“The most exciting part of fishing is when my bobber goes underwater,” he said. “I don’t care if it’s a big fish. I love catching any fish.”
They’ve also seen osprey and bald eagles snatching fish from the lakes.
“Most importantly, we are creating memories and instilling a love and appreciation for nature in Andrew,” his dad said.
Curtis Wagner is the fisheries management supervisor of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, District Three, which covers fisheries management activities for Northeast Ohio — a 19-county region including Geauga County.
Wagner said they are seeing an increase in fishing license sales and more use of fishing access sites and boat ramps. He said boat and kayak sales are much higher than average, as well.
“Folks are using this time and the unfortunately closure of so many alternative activities to instead get outdoors and try fishing and boating for the first time or rekindle their participation in these activities,” he said.
A number of recent changes and improvements have been made in the fishing license system, Wagner said.
“Anglers can easily purchase fishing licenses online and keep them electronically on their mobile devices,” he said.
Fishing licenses are now valid from the date of purchase for a one-year duration — as opposed to the prior Feb. 28 expiration date, Wagner said, adding a customer can opt to have their fishing license automatically renew after one year, similar to setting up your home bills for auto payments. Multi-year licenses offer savings and convenience.
“It is wonderful that Ohioans are getting out and enjoying this great activity,” Wagner said.
Although the dog days of summer can be slow, catfish are biting at LaDue and as the water cools into fall, fishing for crappie, bass and sunfish will pick up.
“Geauga County is beautiful,” Wagner said. “I consider it a blessing anytime I get to travel through or to Geauga.”
