Hello my name is John Clark and I founded the Western Ohio Walleye Club to bring together fishermen and fisherwomen who share the lov e for Walleye and Saugeye fishing. We were all in need of a group of people to share fishing ideas,the competitive spirit, and good times. The club was started in 1997. I still remember having six people show up for our first meeting. I never imagined the club would grow so fast. Since I started the club Marc Colwell has been my right hand man. I don't know if the club would be where it is today without the help of Marc and other members. There are too many people to mention in the last 13 years helping out, and it would take up to much space to name everyone that's had a hand in making this the great Club it is.
I believe that every club member gets something from this club, whether its friendship, new fishing experiences, fresh fishing knowledge, or just the love to talk walleye and saugeye fishing with fellow anglers. We have been running a walleye and saugeye circuit for the past 11 years. If you don't own a boat don't count yourself out of fishing our circuit. If you let me know early in the year before the circuit starts I put the word out to our members and so far we have been able to match anglers with a boat with anglers to anglers without. One of those first six club members started our club without a boat and the only water he fished was the Stillwater River. His time was spent wading the stream for smallmouth bass with his spinnning gear. As of 2009 he has fished our circuit for 10 years with another club member. He has also fished two Cabela's National Championships and obtained several fish Ohio walleyes along with other speices fish awards fishing with other club members. This is a great example on what our club is about, creating lasting friendships.
Like I said you don't need a boat to become a member. You don't need to fish tournaments to become a member. Many of our members are also bank anglers and can relate spots and techniques and experiences on many lakes in Ohio. Many firiendships and connections have been made through the club. There's no better way to know when the bite's on than having friends that live near the lakes willing to let you in on whats happening across the state. This can make the difference of scratching out a fish or catching a limit during a road trip, and with the price of gas and bait we all need to make every outing count. Several of our members have also gone onto successfully compete on the PWT, MWC and other circuits across the nation.
All you need to become a club member is a $20 annual membership fee. Membership for anyone not fishing tournaments or advertising is $10 annually. Membership includes newsletters, access to tournaments and club website activities. As the website grows there will be a message board, place for your photos and other members only areas.
One last thing that I need to do is thank our club sponsors for thier support., whether it is products or gift certificates. They are another big reason the club flourished. We all know our sponsors want to sell product that is what their companies are supposed to do. But these products catch walleyes as you can tell by the results or our tournaments. More events are won using Reef Runner Lures, Mack Lures and VIBE's than we could of ever predicited. The one thing I'd like everyone to know is that everyone of our sponsors have helped Marc and myself make our club grow in other ways. We had their help setting us up with other contacts, helping the word get out about the club, or fishing the tournaments and hanging out with our club members afterwards, they have shown that they care about the sport of fishing and helping us promote walleye fishing on the whole.
