# Fish ohio master ??



## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

This season is winding down quickly, Did you achieve your Master Angler award in 2016 ? What species of fish?
I have never send for any pins but I do" normally " get at least 4 species that qualify for fish ohio .
This year I caught hybrids( a few) many carp, White Bass ( only one) and drum ( only one) and a cat fish that was right on the border line (but I didn't pinch his tail )
Most years I catch a fish ohio rock Bass but they proved too elusive for me this season along with a 20in Smallie. 
Good luck and keep Fishing !


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## fishin red (Aug 29, 2008)

garhtr said:


> This season is winding down quickly, Did you achieve your Master Angler award in 2016 ? What species of fish?
> I have never send for any pins but I do" normally " get at least 4 species that qualify for fish ohio .
> This year I caught hybrids( a few) many carp, White Bass ( only one) and drum ( only one) and a cat fish that was right on the border line (but I didn't pinch his tail )
> Most years I catch a fish ohio rock Bass but they proved too elusive for me this season along with a 20in Smallie.
> Good luck and keep Fishing !





garhtr said:


> This season is winding down quickly, Did you achieve your Master Angler award in 2016 ? What species of fish?
> I have never send for any pins but I do" normally " get at least 4 species that qualify for fish ohio .
> This year I caught hybrids( a few) many carp, White Bass ( only one) and drum ( only one) and a cat fish that was right on the border line (but I didn't pinch his tail )
> Most years I catch a fish ohio rock Bass but they proved too elusive for me this season along with a 20in Smallie.
> Good luck and keep Fishing !


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## Bigguy513 (Jun 7, 2015)

Funny, I was just looking over my notebook for 2016 last night and comparing it to 2015. I was talking with someone who had asked about how I "take notes" on fishing. My Answer: "half of it is nonsense", like drawings and diagrams that probably have no meaning and things I hypothesize that are probably totally wrong, but I do keep track of catches, bait/lures, and water/weather patterns for what it's worth. Forgot about a couple of my 2016 catches until then.

I have never sent in for the Master Pin, but I do register _one_ FishOH species a year for the collector's pin and it's usually the first Carp or Drum I catch LOL. _I'm not a big fan of the registry being made public for many reasons_. The rest of my catches are untraceable to others or dead. 

*Top 2016 FishOH Species Log:*
Freshwater Drum - 24"
Hybrid Striped Bass - 31"
Channel Catfish - 28"
White Bass - 19"
Sauger - 19"
Carp - 29"
Crappie - 13"
_LMB - ?? (didn't measure but it was notable)
Saugeye - ?? (didn't measure but it was notable)
_
My goal is to eventually have time to start chasing some local SW OHIO Musky and crack that 36" mark. I've seen them in Caesar's Creek and below the dam there but just haven't spent the time to get into them big boys.


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## fishin red (Aug 29, 2008)

Yes, I did. Caught 6 qualifying fish bluegill, crappie, white bass, drum, smallmouth bass, and largemouth bass(2 fish). It was a good year, also got master angler last for the first time.


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

Nice job Fishing red and Bigguy, sounds like you both had Great Fishing in 2016.
Congratulations and I hope this year treats you both well.
I forgot to add crappie to my list, It was my first fish ohio of 16 , I think it was still February, I'll have to check the date on a few pictures. I'm still hopeful to get a fish ohio saugeye on the fly-rod but I know I'm running out of time.
Good luck and keep Fishing


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## Bigguy513 (Jun 7, 2015)

garhtr said:


> Nice job Fishing red and Bigguy, sounds like you both had Great Fishing in 2016.
> Congratulations and I hope this year treats you both well.
> I forgot to add crappie to my list, It was my first fish ohio of 16 , I think it was still February, I'll have to check the date on a few pictures. I'm still hopeful to get a fish ohio saugeye on the fly-rod but I know I'm running out of time.
> Good luck and keep Fishing


Do you register all your catches?


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## SMBHooker (Jan 3, 2008)

I caught some fish this yr...All good quality fun. I've never kept track of Fish Ohio much tho but I doubt I qualified for any.... Normally just chasing the 20 inch river bronze trophy and that doesn't even qualify FO. 

Still chasing the 20 "er.........


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## Rooster (Apr 8, 2004)

Nope…not even close!

In fact, although I have been fishing almost exclusively for crappie during 2016, I have yet to even catch a single FO crappie. Plenty of 12”+ fish, but none have made it to the 13” mark.

Oh well, I’m excited to try again next year!


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

Bigguy513 said:


> Do you register all your catches?


 No- None, one reason is I don't carry a tape, I just have a few marks on most of my Rod's at 15" - 20" 25. "- 30 " so I'm really guessing but those measurements put me in the ball park for most of the species I target and I normally error on the large side and I don't pinch any tails
I do like looking at the list of waters the "fish ohio" fish are taken from.
Good luck and keep Fishing !


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## fishin red (Aug 29, 2008)

Bigguy513 said:


> Do you register all your catches?


Yes, I register all fish that qualify.


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## dytmook (May 3, 2015)

I don't think I got anything that was Fish Ohio worthy. First year having any smallmouth success. Caught a personal best saugeye. Few other fish, nothing amazing but I learned a lot this year.


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## ML1187 (Mar 13, 2012)

Only got 2 this year ... was a really down year for me size wise compared with the rest of the crew. But still fun none the less !


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## Cat Mangler (Mar 25, 2012)

Got my master pin(at least still waiting on it) for 16. My first flathead at the 35" mark, a 24" Saugeye, a 29" gold carp and 7 channel cats all from 26-30". My first time breaking 30" and 10#'s on channels, but I had Salmonid's help!


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## Cat Mangler (Mar 25, 2012)

ML1187 said:


> Only got 2 this year ... was a really down year for me size wise compared with the rest of the crew. But still fun none the less !


I feel your pain but, in the crews you run with, smaller doesn't always mean small! Lol you've pulled some pigs dude!


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## Eatsleepfish (Aug 3, 2008)

You'll just have to wait for my end of year report which is coming soon for all of the details, but yes, I did manage MA this year with 30 total FO catches. I actually had a very rough year as well and lost many great fish. At least I managed a few good ones


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

Cat Mangler said:


> I feel your pain but, in the crews you run with, smaller doesn't always mean small! Lol you've pulled some pigs dude!


Yea and my hat's off to the gentlemen who consistently catch Fish Ohio smallmouth, IMO it's the most difficult award to achieve in our area, A fish ohio carp and hybrid seem to be the least difficult at least for me. 
I wish dnr would add gar to their list. 
Good luck and Good Fishing !


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## Bigguy513 (Jun 7, 2015)

garhtr said:


> Yea and my hat's off to the gentlemen who consistently catch Fish Ohio smallmouth, IMO it's the most difficult award to achieve in our area, A fish ohio carp and hybrid seem to be the least difficult at least for me.
> I wish dnr would add gar to their list.
> Good luck and Good Fishing !


Funny, I almost posted this the exact thing the other day. I think they need to make adjustments. The hybrid needs to be bumped up to 25" or 26" imo. Gar need to be added and I feel like smallmouth needs to be 19".


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

I've enjoyed reading this thread. I only fish lake erie and I've caught some white bass, drum, and walleye that would have made the list. but this yr wasn't one of them. I did get a 31" walleye but it was my only good one. and I didn't catch any drum or white bass that was of any size. I've never applied for a fish ohio pin. but I do enjoy catching ohio fish. good luck to you all in 2017.
sherman


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

Bigguy513 said:


> Funny, I almost posted this the exact thing the other day. I think they need to make adjustments. The hybrid needs to be bumped up to 25" or 26" imo. Gar need to be added and I feel like smallmouth needs to be 19".


I'd like to see gar added, (one of the most under- utilized resources in our waters) maybe 46" would be a good place to start and I agree hybrids should be a minimum of 25 and maybe 28 ?? and carp should be bumped up a few inches also, maybe 30"
A 26 " Buffalo is pretty tough to find--- maybe some day it'll find its way on the list.
Good luck and keep Fishing !


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

sherman51 said:


> I've enjoyed reading this thread. I only fish lake erie and I've caught some white bass, drum, and walleye that would have made the list. but this yr wasn't one of them. I did get a 31" walleye
> sherman


 Nice job Sherman a 31" walleye is a trophy anywhere and everywhere !
I wish I lived a little closer to Erie but I would probably spend too much time chasing walleye and smallies in summer and steelhead the rest of the year.
Good luck and Good Fishing !


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## Bigguy513 (Jun 7, 2015)

garhtr said:


> I'd like to see gar added, (one of the most under- utilized resources in our waters) maybe 46" would be a good place to start and I agree hybrids should be a minimum of 25 and maybe 28 ?? and carp should be bumped up a few inches also, maybe 30"
> A 26 " Buffalo is pretty tough to find--- maybe some day it'll find its way on the list.
> Good luck and keep Fishing !


Gar for sure, love catching them early in the spring. They jump and burn drag like crazy. When I hear ppl talk about killing them purposely bc the are overpopulated or trash fish it really bugs me. They are the oldest freshwater fish other than sturgeon and are masters or survival. 

Hybrids is tough for me to personally pin down. 26" is a big fish typically, I'd be happy with that. That's where I really start getting excited about a fish. At 28"-29"-30" and we start talking mega-fish. IMO 21" is slightly above average (that's what she).


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## SMBHooker (Jan 3, 2008)

garhtr said:


> Yea and my hat's off to the gentlemen who consistently catch Fish Ohio smallmouth, IMO it's the most difficult award to achieve in our area, !


I'll take that as a slam... Personal slap in the face


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

SMBHooker said:


> I'll take that as a slam... Personal slap in the face


 We all know the people catching--- 20 inchers every season,You, ML, Flannel, Osg, saugeye tom , just to name a few and I'm jealous, (but I'm getting mine next year)
Good luck and keep Fishing !


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## SMBHooker (Jan 3, 2008)

garhtr said:


> We all know the people catching--- 20 inchers every season,You, ML, Flannel, Osg, saugeye tom , just to name a few and I'm jealous, (but I'm getting mine next year)
> Good luck and keep Fishing !



I was only joking....I've never had the pleasure of a 20 inches of smallmouth in hand.


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

SMBHooker said:


> I was only joking....I've never had the pleasure of a 20 inches of smallmouth in hand.


I've seen the monsters you gentleman catch and I'm always impressed !
 You may need to buy a new tape measure ? --- Your fish always look large.
Good luck and Good Fishing !


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

the 1st walleye I caught was in a little small lake near my home. I was ice fishing for crappie with minnows. had 3 lines out and the middle line took off. I was using 4# line on a small reel. when the fish got where I could see it I thought it was a big carp. then I seen the eyes and knew it was a walleye. when I brought it in it was tangled in the other 2 lines. I took it to the bait shop and it was 29 1/2" long and weighed 9 1/2 lbs. and the fish caught me to. from that time on I've been hooked on walleye fishing. and its cost me a fortune, LOL.
sherman


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## ML1187 (Mar 13, 2012)

garhtr said:


> I've seen the monsters you gentleman catch and I'm always impressed !
> You may need to buy a new tape measure ? --- Your fish always look large.
> Good luck and Good Fishing !


Oh no we don't use tapes Gar... we use bump Boards 
They always come up just short of that magic 20! 

I've never caught a gar... maybe get one next year !


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## EStrong (Jul 23, 2014)

ML1187 said:


> I've never caught a gar... maybe get one next year !


It's a love hate thing on the Gar. Fun to catch and land, but once you land them, YUCK! If the gar are on, you'll lose lures when they bite through your line. It also becomes a real hate thing when you're targeting flatties and these things just go through all your live bait. They got me so ticked before while chasing flatties I switched up to steel leaders just to catch the bait stealers, lol. I do plan on targeting them this coming year as I made some rope lures just for them. There's a couple of spots down here just thick with those things. I've seen a few 50inch plus ones swimming around without a care in the world. I do CPR on most gar, some turn into cut bait, lol.


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## oldstinkyguy (Mar 28, 2010)

They really do need to adjust the lengths. 26 inches for a carp is way too easy. A 21 inch hybrid is a nice one but just that, a nice one not a trophy. And 21 inches for a saugeye and 16 inches for a sauger are too easy as well. On the other end of the scale a 20" inch smallmouth is probably too hard. Most of the smaller streams around here probably don't have one in them. I remember several years ago Mike Teach posting he had caught something like 20 smallies over 18" that year. A friend of mine who fishes small creeks told me he thought that was impossible. I didn't tell him but that's pretty much how many I catch around here if I fish a lot that year. It probably is impossible in the creeks my friend fishes. But even in the best streams around here you have to catch a whole bunch of 18 and 19 inch fish to maybe catch a 20". 19 inches is a lot more reasonable, in a lot of our creeks and streams a smallmouth can die of old age without coming close to 20" . To say catching one is comparable to catching a 21 inch saugeye or a 26 inch carp that weighs eight pounds is just silly. And someone like stripey guru Rob might catch 75 or a 100 FO hybrids. I do really enjoy looking at the stats on fish ohio fish tho even if it is flawed.


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## EStrong (Jul 23, 2014)

I do agree some of these qualifying lengths should be modified whether shorter or longer. But on the other hand, sure it's great if you land a nice FO, or several. The question one must ask is, am I fishing for bragging rights or personal enjoyment? It's not always the end result, but the journey one takes to the end result. I'm pretty sure I didn't pull any FOs this year, but I caught at least a dozen species. I enjoy taking an idea on a technique, lure modification, equipment change; or scouting places I've not fished and having all that come together and work by catching some fish with it, whether big or small. Over the years I've caught 17 and 18 inch greenbacks that weighed more and put up more fight than some 20+ ones I've caught. It's all about perspective. Sure, I love to put up pics when I catch a nice fish, we all do. I've been fishing for over 40 years and never dragged a camera out with me until it was embedded in my cell phone (maybe a few times I brought the old 35mm), I also never took a tape measure. And guess what? I caught some absolute hawgs back in the day. Even without the pics and FO pins, I savor the experiences I had whether I nailed them that day or got skunked. To add: the FO pin thing isn't a big deal to me since you can get on the site and lie 4 times and get the MA, lol.

That's my 2 cents, nothing here I said is directed at anyone or meant to be negative, it's just my opinion. Even though I do value success and big fish on my runs, I also value the overall journey to get there.

Fish Well and Be Well, E...


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

EStrong said:


> It's a love hate thing on the Gar. Fun to catch and land, but once you land them, YUCK! If the gar are on, you'll lose lures when they bite through your line. It also becomes a real hate thing when you're targeting flatties and these things just go through all your live bait. They got me so ticked before while chasing flatties I switched up to steel leaders just to catch the bait stealers, lol. I do plan on targeting them this coming year as I made some rope lures just for them. There's a couple of spots down here just thick with those things. I've seen a few 50inch plus ones swimming around without a care in the world. I do CPR on most gar, some turn into cut bait, lol.


what the heck do you use to cut gar for cut bait?? we were down on dale hollow running trot lines and caught a gar. later we ran out of bait for the trot line. we tried cutting the gar up for bait. we ended up using a large hunting knife and beating it with a rock to get through the tough skin on the gar. but we got it cut up and used it for bait. but we didn't catch a thing on the gar meat.
sherman


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## SMBHooker (Jan 3, 2008)

Not sure when I learned of the Fish Ohio program but it was long after I had been chasing a 20"er for years. Heck, I've been chasing a 20" smallmouth years before I found OGF. If you chase smallmouth long enough you quickly learn the aim of targeting a 20" class specimen is a mighty challenge. I'm not much of a multi species guy but if u want a real challenge go for this goal in a local stream.


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## SMBHooker (Jan 3, 2008)

I will say this....When/if I get a FO smallmouth I'd hate to get the pin and it be of another species. I would like to see them give out pins of the actual fish you qualified for...that be pretty cool.


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## EStrong (Jul 23, 2014)

sherman51 said:


> what the heck do you use to cut gar for cut bait?? we were down on dale hollow running trot lines and caught a gar. later we ran out of bait for the trot line. we tried cutting the gar up for bait. we ended up using a large hunting knife and beating it with a rock to get through the tough skin on the gar. but we got it cut up and used it for bait. but we didn't catch a thing on the gar meat.
> sherman


Mini hacksaw with a medium or low TPI blade.


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## EStrong (Jul 23, 2014)

SMBHooker said:


> Not sure when I learned of the Fish Ohio program but it was long after I had been chasing a 20"er for years. Heck, I've been chasing a 20" smallmouth years before I found OGF. If you chase smallmouth long enough you quickly learn the aim of targeting a 20" class specimen is a mighty challenge. I'm not much of a multi species guy but if u want a real challenge go for this goal in a local stream.


Completely agree! Pin or not, catching a 20inch smallie in SW Ohio waters is extremely hard to do.



SMBHooker said:


> I will say this....When/if I get a FO smallmouth I'd hate to get the pin and it be of another species. I would like to see them give out pins of the actual fish you qualified for...that be pretty cool.


Considering all the quality smallies you catch I'm shocked you've not hit a FO yet. What's your PB so far? I'm guessing you've been within 1/2 or 1/4 inch of a FO seeing some of your catches.


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## Bigguy513 (Jun 7, 2015)

SMBHooker said:


> I will say this....When/if I get a FO smallmouth I'd hate to get the pin and it be of another species. I would like to see them give out pins of the actual fish you qualified for...that be pretty cool.


I'd be very carefully posting any qualifying 20" smallmouth catches on the FishOH website. Guys can search and rank specific waters for certain species. I can promise you they do it too, because I know some. You're just inviting more competition to your fishery. Sure you may have your own honey holes with big fish. But they'll eat up all those 14"-18" fish that develop into the 20"+ trophies. Soon you'll be void of 20" fish. Since I've been on OGF. The smallmouth fishery in SW OH has blown up. When I started fishing a while back in the area I used to have a creek that held tons of 14-16" fish. It was tiny. It got posted on OGF and next thing you knew there were two guys with a bucket back there and it's been dead to the world now ever since. Just saying... doesn't take much to destroy a certain fishery anymore. Having said that, it's why I only ever register a FishOH carp for a pin lol.


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## EStrong (Jul 23, 2014)

You mean like this? LOL... I've only registered a few FOs that I've had. I put them in "Other Streams or Rivers" or "Private Waters" for that reason. Paranoid, no. Cautious, maybe....

Fish Ohio Catch Report
Year: 2016
Species: Smallmouth Bass
Water Type: All
Location: All

OTHER STREAMS OR RIVERS
3/24/2016 25.00
4/15/2016 22.00
4/23/2016 20.00
4/24/2016 21.00
4/26/2016 20.00
5/8/2016 20.00
5/17/2016 20.25
5/17/2016 20.25
5/22/2016 20.00
5/27/2016 20.25
7/2/2016 20.00
8/3/2016 20.00
8/20/2016 20.75
9/1/2016 21.00
9/8/2016 20.25
9/29/2016 21.00


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## Bigguy513 (Jun 7, 2015)

EStrong said:


> You mean like this? LOL... I've only registered a few FOs that I've had. I put them in "Other Streams or Rivers" or "Private Waters" for that reason. Paranoid, no. Cautious, maybe....
> 
> Fish Ohio Catch Report
> Year: 2016
> ...


Genius, I didn't realize you could do that I guess.


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

Odnr made a few changes to the fish ohio progam, most notable 18 " is a Fish Ohio SM, inland WB now 14' and added gar and suckers to the list and a few other changes.
Good luck and Good Fishing !


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## FishermanMike (Nov 28, 2012)

Thanks for sharing! That makes a lot of sense for the Smallie change


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

FishermanMike said:


> Thanks for sharing! That makes a lot of sense for the Smallie change thanks for sharing


 I was gonna mention that there's already a thread in the lounge started by Smb and I was gonna add a link but my boss actually thinks I should be working, stttrraannggeee woman.
Good luck and Good Fishing !


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## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

Think I got 10 species, not sure now that they have the new lower lengths on the odnr site. At least I got the Smallmouth before they lowered it.




  








21.5" creek smallie




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rustyfish


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Feb 13, 2017











  








44" 42# flathead (2)




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rustyfish


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Feb 13, 2017











  








15# channel




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rustyfish


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Feb 13, 2017











  








15873267_1584327611594874_9982756209127719_n




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rustyfish


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Feb 13, 2017


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

I must be one of "those" people who will never be happy with this program but I was glad to see gar added to the list but I thought it should have been over 40" and every Buffalo I catch this season will be over the 20" fish ohio sucker minimum but it's a good start .
Good luck and Good Fishing !


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

garhtr said:


> I must be one of "those" people who will never be happy with this program but I was glad to see gar added to the list but I thought it should have been over 40" and every Buffalo I catch this season will be over the 20" fish ohio sucker minimum but it's a good start .
> Good luck and Good Fishing !


Someone was not thinking with this one. There should have been two categories for suckers just like the state records. Buffalo and sucker other than buffalo.


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

Flathead76 said:


> Someone was not thinking with this one. There should have been two categories for suckers just like the state records. Buffalo and sucker other than buffalo.


I agree but since it's a on the honor system ( I won't even send for any pins) they probably don't take it to seriously. I gotta believe Odnr is gonna be sending out a lot more pins and master awards in 17.
Good luck and Good Fishing !


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