Ho, ho … holy mackerel! It’s almost Christmas and the new year is just a short cast away.

The festive days ahead are a fine way to close out 2024. As we gather to celebrate with family and friends, it’s a great time to reflect on the fishing fun we’ve enjoyed over the past spring, summer and fall.

Winter weather has settled in, but we can ward off the gloom and the shivers with Christmas cheer and warm memories of walleyes, bass, crappies and steelhead.

Northeast Ohioans are fortunate to have good fishing waters so close to home. They are the anglers’ gifts that keep on giving.

Stocking stuffers include the plentiful panfish populations throughout the tri-county region.

Crappies were abundant in 2024. They are super popular at Mosquito and Pymatuning, where specialists found limits of slabs throughout the spring, summer and fall. Crappies also attracted lots of fishing attention at Berlin, West Branch, Milton and Shenango.

If safe ice forms over the next several weeks, crappies will continue to deck the halls and feed the families of sled-dragging anglers. Fresh-caught fillets are the perfect dinner for those who are hungry for winter fish fries.

Gift-wrapped treats were there for the taking throughout the season for the new wave of tech-savvy anglers. Forward-facing sonar has opened new frontiers for inland reservoir walleye and bass anglers.

Those with the wherewithal to invest in the new technology and who have advanced screen-reading skills were able to target fishable schools of bass and walleyes in our local waters and up their catch-ratios considerably.

Big box presents are major delights for those who can get out on our great Lake Erie. Of all of our local waters, Erie is the biggest treat.

Fishing trips on Erie are the kind which anglers daydream when the work-a-day world becomes burdensome. Fishing adventures on big water with good friends are the perfect present nobody will exchange because they do not fit.

Don’t know the size? Go for extra large on Lake Erie with trophy walleyes, spectacular steelhead, bountiful bronzebacks and jumbo perch. When the big lake is good, she’s truly very, very good, and anglers rarely regret their days spent off Ohio’s north coast.

Every year, especially during the offseason, I grow more appreciative of the wonderful gifts of our local lakes and rivers. Every trip is special, each trip is amazing and each catch is etched in my memory forever.

From kayak trips on the Mahoning and Shenango rivers to breakwater and causeway outings, and from pontoon boat drifts across Mosquito and Pymatuning to big boats riding Erie’s waves, the anglers of Northeast Ohio have had another year of fun and fulfillment.

To you and to all, I say let’s celebrate. Merry Christmas!

Jack Wollitz has celebrated the holiday season with readers of this column since 1988. Contact him at jackbbaass@gmail.com.