The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Getting hooked on fishing fun
If anyone has ever embodied the “Gone Fishing!” idiom, it’s Don Moore. But for Moore, who owns Harbor Bait and Tackle in Painesville, it’s been literal, as his passion for fishing has taken him all over the world.
“My absolute favorite place to fish is New Zealand,” the Mentor resident said. “Runnerup is Costa Rica. And I still love Florida fishing.”
While he, and many of his customers, enjoy the summer season, Moore said his actual best two months are October and November. “If the perch are biting, I have great summers, but the last two years, until we get the perch back, well….”
He leaves it at that, smiling, diplomatically choosing not to broach the “drama” surrounding sports fishermen, commercial fishermen and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
Not that Moore’s struggling, or deterred when it comes to operating his tackle business and talking shop with a large variety of anglers.
After 37 years of serving as a commercial pilot, running the flight department for National City Corp., which afforded him opportunities to fish “all over the world,” Moore decided to buy Harbor Bait and Tackle eight years ago to stay close to the sport he loves.
“I always had fishing equipment with me everywhere I went (when working),” he said. “Almost everything I did was international. Wherever we went, I usually had three to seven days of practically nothing to do but discover new fishing holes.
“I retired and bought this place because the only other thing I ever knew how to do was fish,” he said, laughing.
“I’ve fished all my life. Now, we try to get other people fishing and to be successful at it. And it’s been great. Here and there I try to get out to fish as much as I can, but I keep pretty busy with the store.”
Moore’s travels have allowed him to continue to learn more about the sport from others who share his passion, knowledge he’s happy to impart on others, especially novices who come to him for advice. Northeast Ohio, he believes, remains a premium location to fish, especially for steelhead, smallmouth bass, perch, when biting, and walleye.
“The walleye population in this lake is just tremendous right now,” Moore said. “There are a lot of people that troll for them and there are times when you’ll go out and in less than an hour have your 36-fish limit for six people.”
His interest matching his customers, Moore said he responds with enthusiasm when families bring young children in for their first forays into fishing, noting that for a lot of beginners, the summer provides the perfect opportunity to do just that.
“We do lot of stuff with them, and they have a ball,” Moore said.
“I have to give most of the credit to Lake Metroparks. They stock all the time, too. They do an excellent job. They’ve worked hard to increase access points for families where they can really go catch a fish, rather than just be bored. It does require patience, especially for younger people who are just learning.
While Harbor Bait and Tackle may look like a momand-pop operation, both inside and out, it would be dismissive to cast the business in that light.
Moore has regulars coming in from Canton, Akron, Columbus, Pennsylvania, and even as far away as Baltimore and Canada.
“We’ve seen people from everywhere,” Moore said. “Even though the folks in Pennsylvania have their own steelhead and trout fishing, they choose to come here more for the access — plus, a lot of fishermen like to travel.”
Mentor resident and longtime Harbor Bait and Tackle regular Roger Aulicino can attest to Moore’s assertion.
“I know a professor at Ohio State University who used to go out to Oregon to go steelhead fishing, where they’re bigger, but would maybe get one a day,” Aulicino said. “Here, in Lake County, you might get 20 or 30 a day on a good day. Our fishing is world class here for steelhead and walleye. I doubt you could find anywhere better.
“I used to go to Canada and catch little walleyes that look like cigars, but the walleye we get here are unbelievable. I even caught a muskie in the Grand River that was 46-and-a-half inches and 28 pounds. I always tell people, ‘If you’re not sure where to go, ask Don.’ That helps him out and he helps people who aren’t sure of themselves. He does a great job.”
In his eight years as owner, Moore has seen many changes in the sport, some of which he believes have been conducive to his success.
“I don’t care if you’re lake fishing or stream fishing, things have changed dramatically,” he said. It’s become very sophisticated. The biggest thing has been the electronics. They do everything now.
“The other thing has been the number of fish. The more successful the fisherman, the more others join. The nice thing about this area is that there are only a handful of days where I can’t send someone out somewhere to do some kind of decent fishing. At this point, I’ve built up a hell of a network, a big number of people who constantly contact me. The first couple of years, I believed everybody, where they’ve been, what they caught, now I know who to trust, not that fishermen would make up stories.”
Another change Moore has seen continue to build is the usage of kayaks, which he said gets fishermen up close to the lake’s shoreline where waters warm faster than the main body. With kayaks making less noise, the possibility to prosper increases, as fish coming to the shoreline are apt to frighten easier.
“It’s a great way to fish,” Moore said.
“They’ve got rod-holders set up on the kayaks now, and some kayakers will even troll for fish. Right now it’s easy because there are a lot of smallmouth bass right along the shoreline. You never used to see kayaks out there, certainly not as frequently as you do now. But it’s all about adapting, weather, equipment, everything.
For those deterred by perceptions that the sport costs an arm and a leg, Moore encourages people to be undaunted, especially when the area doesn’t experience Northeast winds.
“We look forward to not having those,” he said. “That, many times, turns these fish off on the lake. If you’ve got any other wind, people are going to get out there and catch a lot of fish. It’s not hard, either, there are techniques that are easy, and you don’t need a lot of expensive equipment, just a desire to get involved.
“Come out and have fun. Don’t miss out on this. It gets kids out and away from the couch. We’ve had a lot of interest, in the last two years, from young folks. It’s so cool to hear them come back in here and share their stories.”