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Snow this winter turned the ranges of Camp Perry white, a beautiful scene many National Match competitors never see when they are shooting the National Matches in July in 90+ degree weather. |
CAMP PERRY, OH – Looking out from the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) Headquarters building during the first few frigid months of 2014, a parade of trucks and SUVs could be seen filling the parking lot of Petrarca Range, as a sea of people flowed from the vehicles. No, they weren’t shooters anxious to get the National Matches underway. A
LURE more so than the ALLURE of Camp Perry brought a wave of fishermen, hoping to plunge into an ice fishing dream vacation in the frozen wonderland of Lake Erie.
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Full parking lots in January at Camp Perry - an
unusual sight but many visitors made the trip to venture out
onto Lake Erie. |
During the countless days of subzero temperatures that overtook one of the coldest winters in Northwest Ohio history, Lake Erie froze as much as 24 inches or more in some areas – creating the ideal surface for an ice fishing season that hasn’t been seen in nearly two decades.
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| The Camp Perry Beach was also filled to capacity as
fisherman made their way onto the frozen ice. |
Camp Perry, with its public beach and prime location, became a hotspot for local and out-of-town fisherman. Just as during the National Matches, travelers from as far as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and other states navigated towards the shore of Lake Erie for a few days of fellowship, fun and sport.
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| The winter gear at Camp Perry included 4-wheelers, sleds,
fishing poles, tackle boxes and such. |
Hundreds of pickup trucks hauling trailers with snowmobiles, ATV’s and ice shanties blazed down the main drag of Camp Perry and camped out along the garage doors of Petrarca Range and the beach shoreline. Shooters seen during the summer months dragging rifle cases and equipment along the roads were now transformed in winter into fisherman toting tackle boxes and long fishing poles.
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| The famous Camp Perry pier was surrounded by frozen ice
this winter. In a month or two, it will be filled with
fisherman. |
The anglers confidently trekked from the public beach area 4 to 5 miles from the shore across the thick ice, beyond the famous Camp Perry pier, to find the perfect spot for catching Lake Erie yellow perch and trophy-sized walleye – some weighing 10 pounds or more. Many of the fishermen reached their catch limits, while others only managed to catch a cold.
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| CMP North Staff members are counting down the days until
the 2014 National Matches. "Think Summer" has been a phrase
used around the water cooler quite often this winter. |
Now that temperatures are finally on the rise, the fisherman have packed up their gear and returned home with smiles on their faces as their ice fishing thirsts were finally quenched. With the ice beginning to break and the water once again starting to flow, so will the staff of CMP, preparing for the hordes of people who will return in July to the Camp Perry ranges to feed on the joys of the 2014 National Matches.
Whether winter or summer, Camp Perry seems to have a way of catching the attention of people all year round –
hook, line and sinker.
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The CMP looks forward to another great
National Matches with our National Match
partners, the NRA and the Ohio Army National
Guard. |
We hope to CATCH you on the famous Camp Perry firing line this summer! Registration for the National Matches begins April 1, 2014. More information about the National Matches can be found online at
http://thecmp.org/NM.htm. Participants are reminded to carefully read over the
2014 National Match schedule, as it has changed from previous years to accommodate the Palma World Championships.
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Winter Scenic Photos of Camp Perry |
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