Army Veteran & Son’s First Ever Lake Erie Walleye Experience

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 Geneva, Ohio 8/4/24:

Today our Nonprofit organization Cast It Forward had first time Lake Erie walleye anglers Ramses I and his son Ramses II on board with us for their first ever Lake Erie walleye experience.

Ramses, who served in the US Army, wanted to share all that our Great Lake had to offer with his young son. We were honored to provide that opportunity to them.

We concentrated our efforts in 70’ of water targeting suspended schools of fish positioned just above the thermocline at 50’-60’ down. We also marked and caught fish higher in the water column ranging between 30’ - 40’ down.

The surface water temperature read 77 degrees, winds N at 12 mph, waves 1’-3’ and building, water clarity 4’, barometric pressure 30.12 InHg and trolling speed 2.4-2.7 mph.

A variety of lures proved to be very successful. Walleye Nation Creations SB (Short Bill) Reaper in Blue Shiner run behind a Dipsey at a 0/94’, Dipsey / Stinger combo’s run at 3/120’ and 0/ 110’ and #30 & #40 Jet Divers paired with Badmo & Stinger Spoon combos all consistently caught fish today.

Please join us thanking Ramses for his service to our country. We thank him and his son for joining us today for their very first Lake Erie walleye adventure.

 7/25/24: Today our nonprofit organization Cast It Forward spent the day with the fun, spirited youngsters from the Boys & Girls Club of NEO.

The Boys & Girls Club’s mission is "to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens".

We are honored and proud to do our part in helping them fulfill their mission.

We shared time today fishing and learned about how to properly cast and retrieve, safely handle and release fish, enjoyed the outdoors, and talked about our responsibility to respect nature and to leave our outdoor areas better than how we found them.

After a tasty cookout lunch, and at the end of our day together, we talked about the benefits of spending time outside and the joy of sharing the experience with others.

With the goal of encouraging continued participation in our great sport and awe-inspiring outdoors, we then provided each participant with their very own brand-new fishing rod / reel combo, stocked tackle box, fishing hat, fishing shirt, "how to" fishing book, and custom frisbee.

It was a fun filled, active day spent with the great kids from the BGCNEO, and we look forward to sharing time outside with them again soon.

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As a Nonprofit Organization, we survive and thrive through the aid and support of others.

Today’s event was funded by the Akron Community Foundation and the Akron Beacon Journal courtesy of their Millennium Fund for Children grant program.

We offer our deepest appreciation to the Akron Community Foundation and the Akron Beacon Journal for their support in making today’s event possible for the children from the BGCNEO. 

 7/20/24: Recently, our organization Cast It Forward was invited to participate in a weekend retreat put on by the Legacy of Honor organization.

Legacy of Honor’s mission is “Serving those who serve us”, and their goal is “to serve Veterans, First Responders and their Families by standing with them when they need our help “.

Attended by over 40 veterans, first responders and their families, our purpose was to provide a fun, outdoor fishing element to the weekend’s activities.

After a brief instruction period, the guests and their families spent a few action filled hours together catching fish from a stocked pond located on the event’s property.

Afterward, in the spirit of our mission to “Cast It Forward”, we then gifted each participant their very own fishing rod / reel combo, stocked tackle box, “how to” fishing book, and fishing hat to continue their fishing journey.

We are grateful for the opportunity to have shared our great sport and awe-inspiring outdoors with the Legacy of Honor veterans, first responders and their families. We look forward to spending outdoor and fishing time with them again soon.

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As a Nonprofit organization we survive and thrive through the generosity of others.

Today’s fishing outing and fishing related gifts given to each Legacy of Honor participant was made possible through the support of the CCH Healthcare Company.

CCH Healthcare operates skilled nursing facilities and rehabilitation centers across Ohio and North Carolina. “We believe that the highest standards of healthcare include compassion, dignity and respect”.

We offer our deepest appreciation and sincerest, heartfelt thanks to CCH Healthcare for their support in our mission.

 7/11/24: Today our Nonprofit Organization Cast It Forward welcomed awesome families from the Down Syndrome Association of Northeast Ohio.

During the day’s activities attendees were instructed on proper cast and retrieve techniques, treated to an extended boat ride on our organization’s Hewescraft Boats ProV200 HT ET vessel, enjoyed a delicious cookout lunch and of course, caught lots of fish!!!

At the end of our day together and in the spirit of our “Cast It Forward” mission, we provided each participant with their very own fishing rod / reel combo, stocked tackle kit, fishing hat, fishing shirt, and “how to” fishing book.

It was a fun day spent with this inspiring group and we look forward to spending time together again soon with the great people from the DSANEO.
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As a Nonprofit Organization we survive and thrive through the aid and support of others.

Today’s event was made possible through the support of the Smooth Moves Seats Boat Seat Company.

“Smooth Moves knows what every angler wants – more time on the water with less back pain. An expert in pneumatic and mechanical shock suspensions, Smooth Moves shock-absorbing boat seats cuts through even the toughest waves”.

We offer our deepest appreciation and heartfelt thanks to the Smooth Moves Seat company for their support in making today’s event possible.
 

 6/25/24: Today our Nonprofit Organization Cast It Forward welcomed awesome families from the Down Syndrome Association of Northeast Ohio.

During the day’s activities attendees were instructed on proper cast and retrieve techniques, treated to an extended boat ride on our organization’s Hewescraft Boats ProV200 HT ET vessel, enjoyed a delicious cookout lunch and of course, caught lots of fish!!!

As we wrapped up our time together and in the spirit of our “Cast It Forward” mission, we provided each participant with their very own fishing rod / reel combo, stocked tackle kit, fishing hat, fishing shirt, and “how to” fishing book.

It was an awesome day spent with this inspiring group and we look forward to spending time together again soon with the great people from the DSANEO. 

 6/4/24: Our Cast It Forward mission is to share our great sport and awe-inspiring outdoors with those who otherwise would not have the opportunity.

In this spirit, today we welcomed avid young anglers Parker and Max along with their dads Tim and Robb for a morning of great walleye action.

Walleye Nation Creations Reapers in “Atomic Shad” and “John Deere 60’- 110’ back unassisted, along with Tommy Harris custom painted baits “Nemo” and “Green Goblin” 80’ - 140’ back unassisted, and Dipsey / Stinger combos at #0 40’ - 75’ back was our program today.

Water visibility was 4’, winds were W @ 8 mph with dense fog for most of the morning, barometric pressure read 31.00 InHg, water surface temperature 66 degrees and trolling speeds run between 1.7 - 2.0 mph.

 5/31/24: Today our Nonprofit organization Cast It Forward had first time Lake Erie walleye anglers Don and his son Shane on board with us for a great morning of fast walleye action.

Don, who served in the US Army National Guard, wanted to experience all that our Great Lake has to offer with his son.

We concentrated our efforts in 48-52’ of water targeting suspended schools of fish and were fortunate to share a great morning together of catching fish and enjoying our Great Lake.

The water temperature read 63 degrees, winds SW <10 mph, water clarity 5’ , barometric pressure 31.31 InHg and trolling speed 1.8 - 2.0 mph.

A variety of lures proved to be successful. Walleye Nation Creations Reapers in Atomic Shad, John Deer and Tommy Harris custom painted “Nemo run unassisted 80-100’ back, and the Dipsey / Stinger combo run at 0 setting 40’-60’ back also contributed to the cause today.

 5/21/24: Today our Nonprofit organization Cast It Forward had the honor and pleasure to have Amanda and Ashley, two Iraq war veterans, on board with us for a great morning of walleye action.

Ashley, an Akron native, had never been on Lake Erie nor had she ever caught a walleye before. Amanda a native of Louisiana, also joined us during our adventure to fish, and provide support for her fellow female vet.

We concentrated our efforts in 40’-48’ of water targeting suspended schools of fish. We had a great morning together of catching fish, telling stories and simply enjoying our Great Lake.

Please join us in thanking Amanda and Ashley for their dedicated service to our country.

The water temperature read 65 degrees, winds SW <10 mph, water clarity 5’ , barometric pressure 31.01 InHg and trolling speed 1.8 - 2.0 mph.

A variety of lures proved to be successful. Walleye Nation Creations Reapers in Atomic Shad, Wonder Bread, John Deer and Tommy Harris custom painted “Patriot” run unassisted 60’- 100’ back, and the Dipsey / Stinger combo run at 0 setting 40’-60’ back also contributed to the cause today.

 5/19/24: Recently our Nonprofit organization Cast It Forward had the honor and pleasure to have four Erie County area veterans Mike, Marty, Steve, and Chuck on board with us for a morning of unbelievably fast and productive walleye fishing.

Walleye Nation Creations Reapers in “Wonderbread”, John Deere”, “Atomic Shad” and Tommy Harris painted “Patriot”60-100’ back and Bandits 80’-120’ unassisted along with our Dipsey / small Watermelon Stinger spoon combo using a “0” setting 40’-60’ back all consistently produced fish for us today.

The lake’s surface temperature read 65 degrees, water visibility 4’, winds calm, barometric pressure 31.09 InHg, and trolling speeds were run between 1.7 -2.0 mph.

It was a fun and much deserved morning on the water for these worthy veterans, so please join us in thanking Mike, Marty, Steve and Chuck for their service to our country. 

4/22/24: Today our Nonprofit organization Cast It Forward welcomed members from the Ottawa County based Team VIAC Training Center, an organization dedicated to veterans by “giving back through life changing experiences “.

With the warming water temps and unstable weather patterns recently, the lake and fish conditions are changing on a daily basis. Today we spent the day searching for and catching a mixed bag of spawned out fish. Although the fishing was somewhat inconsistent, we still managed to put a nice box of fish in the boat.

The lake’s surface temperature read 52’, winds were WSW @ 10, water clarity 2’, trolling speeds 1.5 mph and barometric pressure at 30.15 inHg. Walleye Nation Creations Reapers in Anti-Freeze and Wonder Bread 100-120’ back, Tommy Harris custom painted Night Stalker 80’ back, and Reef Runner “Cat / Dog” 60’ back all produced today.

Please join us in thanking this fun group of Team VIAC members, Nick, Woody, Chuck, and Cassie for their service to our country and community.