The North Coast Fly Fishers are hosts for a great winter road trip idea Saturday, Jan. 12 — the Northern Ohio Fly Tying Expo.

The event is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Building Y at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland Ohio, just 90 minutes from Erie on Interstate 90. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for youths 13 to 18, and free for those under 12. Scouts in uniform also get in for free.

There’ll be plenty of tying, especially Dennis Potter’s all-day seminar. And beginners will be able take their turns at tying.

But there also are many Great Lakes-specific seminars on topics such as steelhead fishing, fishing for smallmouth bass, trout fishing in Pennsylvania, strike indicator fishing, inland Ohio trout fisheries and more.

The Conneaut Lake Park Volunteer Fire Department’s first Fishing Contest on Pymatuning Lake is scheduled for May 26 from 6 a.m. to noon. Fish will be measured at the Linesville boat launch.

Pre-register or sign up May 25 from 6-10 p.m. at the department’s truck room, 11965 Route 618, Conneaut Lake. Registration and check-in on the day of the contest is from 5-6 a.m. at the Linesville boat boat launch. Entry fee must be paid by start time.

Entry fee is for the three-division tournament is $10 for anglers 16 and older, $5 for those 13-15 and free for anglers 12 and younger.

Fish must be measured or in line for measuring by 12:15 p.m. in order to count.

Payout is 20 percent of the purse for the longest musky; 20 percent for longest walleye; 20 percent for longest bass; 15 percent for longest carp or catfish; 10 percent for longest perch; 10 percent for longest crappie or white bass; and 5 percent for the longest sunfish or bluegill. If a particular species isn’t entered, the purse will be integrated into the remaining species categories.

Pennsylvania and Ohio fishing rules for Pymatuning apply. Fishing is permitted from shore and boat; all persons in a boat must be entered in the contest.

For information, visit the website, call (814) 382-5349 or e-mail clpvfd@zoominternet

Ohio saw a sharp drop in its statewide deer harvest during the 2011-12 seasons, registering 20,000 fewer reported kills than during the 2010-11 seasons.

Pennsylvania’s preliminary harvest report is due in mid-March.

Brian Kightlinger, of Venango, scored not one but two trophy bucks during archery seasons in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Kightlinger killed his Pennsylvania buck Oct. 19 from 12 yards.The 8-point dressed out at 185 pounds and green scored 114 0/8 inches.

Kightlinger shot his Ohio buck Nov. 4 from 18 yards. The 9-point that dressed out at 185 pounds and had a green score of 125 2/8.

Kightlinger is the Pennsylvania regional scorer for the Northeast Big Buck Club. Anyone interested in having their buck scored for the NBBC Record books can contact him at Kighty7@gmail.com or visit http://nbbcpa.wikispaces.com.

Union City resident Dave Lefebre finished 23rd Friday after two days of fishing on Lake Erie in the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open out of Sandusky, Ohio. Keith DiLuzio of North East finished 62nd among co-anglers.

The top 12 anglers and co-anglers qualified for today’s final tournament round.

Watch Saturday’s weigh-in at 3:30 p.m.

The longest national scenic trail in the country is just an hour or so away from Erie, and you’re invited to set foot on the North Country Trail June 4 to celebrate National Trails Day.

The Clarion County Chapter of the North Country Trail Association will have a hike June 4 at 10 a.m.from the Fire Tower in Cook Forest State Park to the Highland Drive trailhead.

Meet at the Cook Forest Fire Tower parking lot at 10 a.m. Transportation will be provided back to the starting point.

If interested in attending, contact Devin Callihan at (814) 319-5058 or cla@northcountrytrail.org.

The Allegheny National Forest Chapter of the NCT has a hike and trail maintenance planned near Kellettville. Call (814) 484-7420 or e-mail nct001@verizon.net.

Friends of Oil Creek State Park will perform trail maintenance that day and could use a hand. Call (814) 775-0292 or e-mailkcubbon@gmail.com.

Here are other events scheduled for Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York.

The New York deer harvest for the 2010-11 seasons was up by around 3 percent, following Pennsylvania’s report of a 2 percent increase during the same seasons.

Hunters in New York killed more than 230,000 total deer and 107,000 adult bucks — around 5,000 more bucks than in 2009.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission showed an estimated 122,930 antlered deer kills this past fall and winter, a 13 percent increase over the 108,330 killed in 2009-10.

Ohio reported a harvest of 239,260 deer.

An Ohio sheriff’s department involved in the 2009 rescue of more than 100 ice anglers from deteriorating ice on Lake Erie believes he’s found a way to help finance future, costly rescues.

The News-Messenger reports that Bob Bratton wouldn’t mind adopting a Colorado method in which each hunting license and fishing license sold includes a 25-cent search-and-rescue fee. That helps cover rescues such as the one on Lake Erie, which the Coast Guard said cost it nearly $250,000. Other emergency personnel also were involved, adding to the cost.

The sheriff might have a fight on his hands if he intends to see the idea through. The newspaper contacted the ODNR’s Gino Barna for comment:

“The Division of Wildlife would never be interested in that,” said Barna, law enforcement officer for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, Lake Erie Law Enforcement Unit. “That would never happen.”

The Legislature would have to approve any license fee increase if such funding ever were proposed in Pennsylvania. Would you support such an increase if it came to that in our state?

Ron Ames with his Ohio 10-point:

The Mock Scrape Buck