OCBS 2020 Christmas Party

OCBS 2019 Christmas Party OCBS was founded in the summer of 1984 at the old Rod Makers shop in Strongsville, OH. This marks our 35 anniversary season which is a mile stone for our club which should be celebrated. I am happy to announce that we will be holding a combination 35th anniversary and annual Christmas party on Thursday December 12, 2019 at the Winking Lizard Party Center at 25200 Miles Road, Bedford Hts., OH 44146. We will celebrate with a delicious catered buffet dinner featuring a menu of Chicken Piccata, Beef Brisket, Cavatelli Pasta Bake, Roasted Red Skin Potatoes, Green Beans, dinner rolls, soft drinks and coffee. There will be a cash bar. For all of you foodies, I believe this catered meal will be a big step up from the wings and bar food on the buffet at prior BW3 Christmas parties. We will start with a cocktail hour at 6 PM with a cash bar. Dinner will be served starting at 7 PM. Raffles will be at 9 PM. The cost of dinner is $15 for members and  guests which is a great deal. OCBS is paying $28.15 for each dinner, but we are only charging members $15 in order to keep the party affordable for all who want to attend. All members and guests in attendance at the party must pay for dinner. We will have a premium rod and reel raffle featuring both fly and center pin gear, a Chinese raffle, a 50/50 raffle, special deserts and lots of fish stories. The party room at the Winking Lizard Party Center can hold about 125 people for dinner which is the limit for reservations. John Beedlow will be in charge of Christmas reservations again this year. If you want to attend and share some holiday cheers with your fishing buddies, please make reservations by sending an email to OCBS@wowway.com or sign up at our October or November meetings. We are also requesting you to pre-pay for your dinner this year when making your reservation. If signing up by email, please mail a check (by November 30th) to: OCBS P.O. Box 29577 Parma, OH 44129 I am looking forward to celebrating the holidays and our OCBS 35th anniversary with all of you this December. It will  be a good time that you will not want to miss. Tom Blotzer OCBS President

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October 2019

O.C.B.S Speaker For October is Jeff Liskay O.C.B.S. IS CELEBRATING OUR 35TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR! OCBS founding member, Jeff Liskay, has been a self-admitted steelhead junkie for nearly four decades. From his home base in northern Ohio, Liskay has fished across the entire Great Lakes and is now reaching into Alaska, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and beyond. He is well recognized for both his two-hand casting and fishing skills and is a regular on the Spey gathering circuit as both an observer and a presenter. Liskay spends the warmer months prowling Great Lakes shoreline areas chasing warm-water species on the fly, but as the weather cools steelhead take over. He is considered one of the top guides on Ohio’s Lake Erie tributaries and is also in high demand as a Spey casting instructor.  He is an established speaker and presenter, giving numerous club and show programs each year.  Jeff is also a talented fly tier- his creations are generally simple, functional, fish catchers. Liskay is a Patagonia Fly Fishing Ambassador and a Pro Staff member for a number of companies, including Scientific Anglers and Scott Fly Rods.  He has been featured in books and magazines, on television, and in podcasts for his angling skills.  Liskay owns and operates Silver Fury Guide Service and Schools, where he focuses on the use of two-hand rods and swung flies for migratory fish. Jeff is a great speaker with over 40 years of steelhead fishing  knowledge that he wants to share with his fellow OCBS club members and friends. This is a meeting you do not want to miss. Hope you can attend.

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Kevin Kayle

September 2019

September OCBS Membership Meeting Kevin Kayle, DOW Hatchery Manager  Ohio Steelhead Program Update Thursday September 26, 2019   Program: Kevin Kayle, Ohio Division of Wildlife Hatchery Program Manager is our featured speaker this month. Kevin will report on the current state of the Ohio steelhead program and answer any questions we may have. Kevin always has a great presentation with a lot of information to share with OCBS members. Our club members are very fortunate to be able to learn about the latest news regarding the Ohio Steelhead program directly from a DOW manager. This will be another excellent meeting you will not want to miss. I hope you can attend.                                                                      Rod Raffle: St Croix 10' 6" Float Rod, Model AVS106MLF2, $270 Retail Location: Firehouse Grille and Pub 2768 Stark Drive Willoughby Hills, OH 44094 O.C.B.S. IS CELBERATING OUR 35TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR!  The Board of Directors are working to assemble a excellent group of speakers this season as well as a few surprises! We hope you all can attend our meetings and help us celebrate our 35th anniversary year! Our 26th Annual Steelhead EXPO will be held at Rocky River Nature Center on Saturday September 21st, 2019 9:00 am-5:00 pm (Doors Open At 8:30 a.m.)  Presented By The Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders and The Cleveland Metroparks and at Rocky River Nature Center Rocky River Reservation 24000 Valley Parkway North Olmsted, OH 44070   From I480, Exit at Clague Road Exit South on Clague Road to Mastic Road Turn right on Mastick Road Follow the Metropark Signs! Phone: Nature Center 440-734-6660                                        The Expo will cover fly and spey fishing, fly tying,                           spin fishing and center pin float fishing.                                   Conservation organizations will be on hand to                          educate about protecting our rivers. Local tackle shops will have displays with advice on the right gear.            EXPO SPEAKER SCHEDULE                                           9:00 AM  Tom Blotzer, President                                                          The Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders                                                          Welcome and Opening Notes            …

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April 2019

O.C.B.S April Speaker is Mike Veerhoef Mike Verhoef,  the owner of Fly Fitters guide service since 2003, fishing the rivers of SW Ontario and specifically along Ontario’s West Coast.  Mike was Introduced to a two hander in 2004 by a couple of fellow Gloomis pro staffer’s and quickly realized the benefit these long rods and line set ups would have to pursue steelhead on his home waters of the Maitland River! Mike was “hooked” and has been spey fishing ever since! He now spends anywhere from 60-80 days a year spey fishing and guiding clients with two handers!  From his home steelhead water in SW Ontario, to the Atlantic salmon rivers in New Brunswick and his cherished couple weeks a year in Skeena country of British Columbia!  You can learn more about Mike and what he offers on his www.flyfitters.ca website, or google him on youtube to see a number of his TV appearances from over the years, and also be sure to check out his www.speyfishingontario.ca website.  If you have an interest in learning about the steelhead fishing on the north shore of Lake Erie, Mike will be on hand to answer your questions. Mike has a lot of good steelheading information to share with us. This should be another great meeting that you will not want to miss Rod Raffle: G Loomis 9” 6” Classic Steelhead Spinning Rod GLX STR 1141S Meeting               Buffalo Wild Wings Location:             8465 Pearl Road                               Strongsville, OH 44136                               440-243-9464 Date and Time:  Thursday April 25, 2019 at 7:30 PM    Spring Cleanups and Kids Day Programs O.C.B.S. supports and volunteers for the following projects. It is always important to clean up the rivers we fish. It is also important to help develop future fisher-men and fisher-women by supporting and volunteering to help and teach at metroparks kids days programs. May 4      Conneaut Creek Clean Up May 4,5   Black River Clean Up May 11    Lake Metroparks Arnie’s Anglers Kids Fishing Derby at Hidden Lake May 18    Grand River Clean Up May 18    Cleveland Metroparks Kids Fishing Derby at Wallace Lake May 19    Cleveland Metroparks Kids Fishing Derby at Ohio and Erie Canal Jun 1       Rocky River Clean Up                                 Summer Break  June to August  2018 - 2019 OCBS Championship Series Steelhead Tournament Final Results Congratulations to John Rhoades First Place winner of the 2018-2019 OCBS Championship Series Steelhead Tournament.  John’s Largest six fish total measured 161.5 inches. Ken Harper captured second place with six fish totaling 158. inches in length.  Adam Hillman placed third with six fish measuring 157.25 inches in length. Awards will be presented at the 7 April 2019 Membership meeting at BW3 in Strongsville followed by the Tournament Raffle. Mark your calendar and plan on attending the event. John Beedlow Jr. Tournament Director Place Name Steelhead Checked In (Length) 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total 1 Rhoades John 24.00 24.50 25.00 27.00 28.50 32.50 161.50 2 Harper Ken 25.25 25.50 26.00 26.00 26.50 28.75 158.00 3 Hillman Adam…

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March 2019

 March OCBS Membership Meeting Thursday March 28, 2019 Captain Joe Beno Steelhead Fly Fishing Tips and Techniques Joe Beno grew up in northern Ohio fishing Lake Erie for walleye and perch. He is an avid outdoorsman and has been for a little over a decade. His drive for fishing led him to start exploring different species in high school. Fishing for anadromous fish, especially steelhead became his favorite species. He guides in Alaska during the summer months and in Ohio for steelhead during the winter. Chasing steelhead in Washington, Alaska, Michigan and Ohio has helped him grow as an angler and a guide. He is a passionate angler and enjoys helping others gain enjoyment for the sport he loves. This should be a great meeting. I hope to see you there.           Rod Raffle:       G Loomis 9” 6” Classic Steelhead Spinning Rod GLX STR 1141S Meeting             Firehouse Grille and Pub Location:          2768 Stark Drive                         Willoughby Hills, OH 44094                         Phone: 440-943-4983 Time:               Meeting starts at 7:30 PM March Board of Directors Election If you have any questions regarding becoming a board member, please call Les Ober, our OCBS Secretary, at your earliest opportunity.We will hold our 2019 Board of Directors Election at our March Meeting. Any club member in good standing can be a board member. If you want to get involved in your club this year and help improve the Lake Erie steelhead fishery, consider serving on the board of directors. We presently have a few openings and encourage your participation. OCBS officers serve 2 year terms . Their current terms run from March 2018 through March 2020 and are not on the March 2019 ballot. President: Tom Blotzer Vice President: Wael Dardir Secretary: Les Ober Treasurer: Matt Hainzey Board of directors are elected each year for a one year term. The following members are nominated to serve on our board of directors for a one year terms that run from March 2019 to March 2020:  Paul Deunk Jeff Liskay Mike Durkalec Joe Moravec John Beedlow Jr. Scott Grossnickle Jerry Darkes Bob Hajek Jim Dykes John Smoggie Chris Ebbeson OCBS Steelhead Tournament 17 March 2019 Results The 4th Leg of the OCBS “Members Only” Steelhead Tournament was held on Sunday 17 March 2019.  A bright sunny day with morning temperatures in the low twenties and  afternoon highs in the upper thirties.   The Legacy streams were just coming into shape and held good numbers of fresh fish which pushed in with the latest rain event.  Water temps were in the upper thirties and the bite was pretty hot, but the majority of fish landed were under 24 inches in length. A total of 14 fish that measured 24 inches or greater in length were checked in. All in all a good day to be out with plenty of hookups. Congratulations to Ken Harper who placed first with two fish measuring 26.50 and 26.00 inches.  Adam Hillman and John Smoggie Jr.…

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February 2019

Notice: New 2019 Ohio Fishing Licenses are required by March 1st 2019! This February is the OCBS Annual Steelhead Workshop           Come and join us in an evening of education, camaraderie and fun. This meeting is one you do not what to miss, the meeting is focused around getting to know your follow members and education. No matter if you have been running up and down the rivers for twenty plus years or just getting started in the game, you will lean something new. We will have eleven learning stations set up around the room covering everything from 101 spin to near shore lake trolling, throw in some fly tying and anything to do with the fish that we love. See you all soon! Location is Buffalo Wild Wings, Pearl Road, February 28, 2019 at 7:30pm. Jeff Liskay OCBS 2018-2019 STEELHEAD TOURNAMENT Next Tournament dates are: 17 March 2019, 7 April 2019 CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES STEELHEAD TOURNAMENT                                                                                          9 December 2018  3rd Leg               FISH FISH TOTAL  # Name #1 #2 LENGTH 1 Harper Ken 28.75 25.25 54.00 2 Bryda Chris 27.50 26.50 54.00 3 Hillman Adam 26.875 26.875 53.75 4 Cradock Dave 26.50 26.00 52.50 5 Telep Justin 26.00 25.50 51.50 6 Vaughn Brad 25.00 24.00 49.00 7 Rhoades John 24.50 24.00 48.50 8 Krause Keith 24.00 24.00 48.00 9 Smoggie John 25.00   25.00 10 Smith Casey 24.50   24.50 11 Reynolds Rick 24.00   24.00 12 Annandono Mike     0.00 13 Beedlow John III     0.00 14 Beedlow John Jr     0.00 15 Blotzer Tom     0.00 16 Calkins Brian     0.00 17 DiRuggiero  Shane     0.00 18 Dykes Jim     0.00 19 Fronck Jon     0.00 20 Furlong Chris     0.00 21 Gibson Joe     0.00 22 Grossnickle Scott     0.00 23 Hartman John     0.00 24 King Frank     0.00 25 Kress Kyle     0.00 26 Kress Paul     0.00 27 Lancaster Ray     0.00 28 Moravec Joe     0.00 29 Ober Les     0.00 30 Pavlick Bill     0.00 31 Pavlick Tony     0.00 32 Singleton Larry     0.00 33 Tancak Eric     0.00 34 Warren Mark     0.00 35 Whal Bill     0.00                                                                                                                                            …

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January 2019

January 31st Speaker At the Firehouse Noted Michigan fly fisherman, Kevin Feenstra, will be the featured speaker at the January 31 Ohio Central Basin Steelheader meeting at the Firehouse in Willoughby Hills, OH. Kevin’s passion is swinging flies for migratory fish, but he loves to fly fish for any predator that swims.   He now resides in Newaygo, Michigan, guiding around 200 days/year on the Muskegon River System (and fishing whenever he can).   His flies have been published in books, magazines, and online and he has written articles for international, national, and regional fly fishing magazines. Kevin is featured in a handful of DVDs and has authored current DVDs for steelhead and smallmouth bass. His most recent title is “Striking Steel” a DVD about Midwestern steelhead fishing.   Other current titles are “Searching for Steelhead” and “Big Appetite, small mouth”. All OCBS meetings are open to the public and free. You do not need to be a member to attend. Date: January 31, 2019 Time: Meeting starts at 7:30 PM Place: Firehouse Grille & Pub 2768 Stark Drive Willoughby Hills, OH 44094   OCBS 2018-2019 STEELHEAD TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES STEELHEAD TOURNAMENT                                                                                          9 December 2018  3rd Leg               FISH FISH TOTAL  # Name #1 #2 LENGTH 1 Harper Ken 28.75 25.25 54.00 2 Bryda Chris 27.50 26.50 54.00 3 Hillman Adam 26.875 26.875 53.75 4 Cradock Dave 26.50 26.00 52.50 5 Telep Justin 26.00 25.50 51.50 6 Vaughn Brad 25.00 24.00 49.00 7 Rhoades John 24.50 24.00 48.50 8 Krause Keith 24.00 24.00 48.00 9 Smoggie John 25.00   25.00 10 Smith Casey 24.50   24.50 11 Reynolds Rick 24.00   24.00 12 Annandono Mike     0.00 13 Beedlow John III     0.00 14 Beedlow John Jr     0.00 15 Blotzer Tom     0.00 16 Calkins Brian     0.00 17 DiRuggiero  Shane     0.00 18 Dykes Jim     0.00 19 Fronck Jon     0.00 20 Furlong Chris     0.00 21 Gibson Joe     0.00 22 Grossnickle Scott     0.00 23 Hartman John     0.00 24 King Frank     0.00 25 Kress Kyle     0.00 26 Kress Paul     0.00 27 Lancaster Ray     0.00 28 Moravec Joe     0.00 29 Ober Les     0.00 30 Pavlick Bill     0.00 31 Pavlick Tony     0.00 32 Singleton Larry     0.00 33 Tancak Eric     0.00 34 Warren Mark     0.00 35 Whal Bill     0.00                                                                              …

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2019-2020 OCBS Meeting Dates

2024-2025 Ohio Steelheaders Meeting Dates and Locations WHEN / WHERE? Guest Speaker September 19, 2024Emerald Necklace Marina CafeLakewood, OHGuest Speakers:Curt Wagner Dow District 3 Fish Supervisor &Ann Marie Gorman, Fisheries Supervisor atFariport Harbor Fish StationOctober 24, 2024Firehouse Grille & PubWilloughby Hills, OHGuest Speaker:John BreedloveNear Shore Trolling ExpertNovember 19, 2024Emerald Necklace Marina CafeLakewood, OHGuest Speaker:Danny ColvilleColville Outfitters OwnerDecember 5, 2024Winking Lizard Party CenterBedford Heights, OHChristmas Dinner PartyJanuary 16, 2025Emerald Necklace Marina CafeLakewood, OHOCBS Steelhead FishingWorkshopFebruary 20, 2025Firehouse Grille & PubWilloughby Hills, OHGuest Speaker:Kevin FeenstraFly Fishing Author and MI GuideMarch 27, 2025Emerald Necklace Marina CafeLakewood, OHGuest Speaker:Roger HinchcliffLamiglas and FishUSA ProstaffSteelhead Manifesto BloggerApril 17,  2024Firehouse Grille & PubWilloighby Hills, OHGuest Speaker:John BrochueOrvis Westlake Store ManagerFly Fishing Instructor THANK YOU to our OCBS Sponsors Craig Lewis Joe MoravecKen HarperBrian KellyJustin TelepDon MathewsSteve BruggerJohn BrochueKevin KayleMike DurkalecJeff LiskayJerry DarkasBob HajekPaul DeunkMike Durkalec

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