Carlton

29-pound Chinook takes $4K top prize in fishing derby

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 August 2015 at 12:00 am

Holley man catches second biggest fish in derby, wins $700

Photos by Tom Rivers

CARLTON – Paul Czarnecki holds a 29-pound Chinook salmon that won the Orleans County Fishing Derby, which started Aug. 1 and continued until Aug. 16.

Czarnecki is a charter boat captain and owner of Tri-State Charters. He took Georgia Barkdoll of McConnellsburg, Pa., out fishing and she reeled in the 29-pound fish, which won the $4,000 grand prize in the fishing derby.

Barkdoll was unable to attend today’s awards ceremony at the Carlton Recreation Hall. Czarnecki said the fish was caught about 300 feet below the surface of Lake Ontario just off the shore from Point Breeze.

Bill Silpoch of Holley holds a 26-pound, 8-ounce Chinook, which won the $500 prize for first place in the salmon disvision and also another $200 for biggest fish caught by an Orleans County resident.

Silpoch, a senior building maintenance worker for Holley Central School, caught the fish on Friday at about 5 p.m. off Point Breeze. He was fishing on the Intimidator Sport Fishing charter owned by Mike Lavender.

Silpoch said he takes about three charters a year with family, including his sons, ages 11, 10, and 7. The winning fish was the biggest one he’s ever caught. It was about a 20-minute battle to land the salmon after it was hooked.

Mike Ayotte, former owner of Captain’s Cove in Carlton, caught the biggest rainbow trout at 12 pounds, 14 ounces. Ayotte now lives in Port Charlotte, Fla. Each of the division winners received a $500 check for first place.

Jared Wise, 17, of Rochester was fourth in the lake trout divsion with this fish that weighed 15 pounds, 0 ounces.

There were 644 participants in the derby, which is organized by the Albion Rotary Club. There were $8,800 in checks given to the top five anglers in four fish divisions, plus the grand prize winner.

Stan Allen, one of the derby volunteers, reads off the winning number for a prize held by Bill Downey, president of the derby. The Albion Rotary Club has been organizing the derby for more than 30 years.

For more information on the leaderboard and the derby, click here.

Ham radio operators get some glory on International Lighthouse Weekend

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 August 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

POINT BREEZE – Ham radio operators from throughout the world, including at Point Breeze in Orleans County, are communicating with each other this weekend as part of International Lighthouse Weekend.

The Orleans County Amateur Radio Club has been sending and receiving signals by the Oak Orchard Lighthouse. They were there on Saturday when a “solar storm” made it difficult to get signals from out of the country.

Jim Salyer of Gasport, left, and Paul Mulford of Le Roy make a connection with a ham operator at a Long Island lighthouse on Saturday morning.

The ham operators are back today until 5 p.m. Last year they made 400 contacts around the world. This weekend, due to weak signals, they may only get about 100 contacts.

“We’re having fun,” Mulford said. “That’s what this hobby is all about.”

Jim Salyer said many of the ham operators are creative, building their own radios and antennas.

The ham operators, as part of the international weekend, want to promote lighthouses and also their hobby of amateur radio.

29-pounder is new leader in fishing derby

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 August 2015 at 12:00 am

POINT BREEZE – A 29-pound Chinook salmon caught by a Pennsylvania resident is the new leader of the Orleans County Fishing Derby with only three days left in the contest.

Georgia Barkdoll of McConnellsburg, Pa., reeled in the 29-pound, 0-ounce fish on Thursday. It is in the lead for the $4,000 grand prize. It knocked a 25-pound, 5-ounce salmon off the top of the leaderboard.

The derby started on Aug. 1 and continues until Aug. 16. The Albion Rotary Club puts on the annual event.
Other division leaders include:

Salmon: 25 pounds, 5 ounces – Joseph Miller of Harrisburg, Pa.;

Rainbow trout: 12 pounds, 14 ounces – Michael Ayotte, Port Charlotte, Fla.;

Brown trout: 14 pounds, 5 ounces – Chad Kennedy of Marlborough, Mass.;

Lake trout: 17 pounds, 12 ounces – Mike Engle of Hamlin, NY.

There is $8,800 in cash prizes up for grabs in the derby.

For more information on the contest, click here.

Fishing Derby has changes in leaderboard

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 August 2015 at 12:00 am

A Pennsylvania man is the new leader in the Orleans County Fishing Derby, which has $8,800 in prize money, including $4,000 for the biggest fish.

Joseph Miller of Harrisburg is atop the leaderboard with a Chinook salmon that weighed 25 pounds, 5 ounces. The derby started on Aug. 1 and continues until Aug. 16. The Albion Rotary Club puts on the annual event.

Other division leaders include:

Salmon: 25 pounds, 4 ounces – Thomas Huth of Mogadore, Ohio;

Rainbow trout: 12 pounds, 5 ounces – John Jankowski of Sloan, NY;

Brown trout: 14 pounds, 5 ounces – Chad Kennedy of Marlborough, Mass.;

Lake trout: 17 pounds, 12 ounces – Mike Engle of Hamlin, NY.

For more information on the derby, click here.

Pennsylvania woman is new leader in OC Fishing Derby

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 August 2015 at 12:00 am

There is a new leader in the Orleans County Fishing Derby, which started on Aug. 1 and continues until Aug. 16 with $8,800 in prize money up for grabs.

Nicole Brown of Hummelstown, Pa., leads the derby with a 24-pound, 12-ounce Chinook salmon. Grand prize in the derby is $4,000.

The first place winners in four divisions – Chinook, rainbow trout, brown trout and lake trout – all receive $500.

The first place winners, as of the end of Friday, include Salmon: Charlie Eulitt of Oak Harbor, Ohio, 24 pounds, 5 ounces; Rainbow trout: Nicole Brown of Hummelstown, Pa., 11 pounds, 5 ounces; Brown trout: Chad Kennedy of Marlborough, Mass., 14 pounds, 5 ounces; and Lake trout: Mike Engle of Hamlin, NY, 17 pounds, 12 ounces.

Terah Slack of Medina also is leading with the $200 bonus award for biggest fish caught by an Orleans County resident. She reeled in a 22-pound, 2-ounce salmon.

Besides $4,000 for the biggest fish and the $500 for the four division leaders, there is $300 for second place, $200 for third, $100 for fourth and $50 for fifth.

For more information on the derby, click here.

Sheriff identifies man in accidental drowning

Staff Reports Posted 7 August 2015 at 12:00 am

CARLTON – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office is releasing the name of last night’s apparent drowning victim in the Oak Orchard River.

William E. Rowe, 67, was a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio. He came to the area with three friends earlier this week to participate in a 3-day fishing charter on Lake Ontario.

Mr. Rowe jumped from the Kenyonville Road bridge at about 7 p.m. on Thursday after talking with teenagers who had been jumping from the bridge. Firefighters and law enforcement officers searched for his body for about 90 minutes. He was found at 8:43 p.m.

Rowe’s death is believed to be accidental, Sheriff Scott Hess said today. No foul play is suspected. The investigation by the Sheriff’s Office is continuing and includes the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Rochester.

Sheriff releases more information on Carlton drowning

Posted 6 August 2015 at 10:52 pm

Photo by Tom Rivers – Fire departments and law enforcement personnel search the water in the Oak Orchard River near the Kenyonville Road bridge after a man jumped and drowned this evening.

Press Release
Sheriff Scott Hess

An adult male from Cincinnati, Ohio is dead tonight, the apparent victim of a drowning in the Town of Carlton.

The incident occurred at 7:15 p.m., in Oak Orchard River off the Kenyonville Road bridge, in the hamlet of Kenyonville. The victim, who had been in the area since Tuesday for a three-day Lake Ontario fishing charter, approached a group of teenage girls who were jumping off the bridge into the river.

He asked them if he could jump too and then did so without any objection. According to the witnesses, the man surfaced briefly and then submerged. He did not re-surface.

A crew from the Carlton Fire Department recovered the body at about 8:45 p.m. He was pronounced dead by Orleans County Coroner Scott Schmidt, and taken to the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Rochester. His identity is being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin in Ohio.

In addition to the Carlton FD, crews from the Albion and Lyndonville Fire Departments assisted in the search for the deceased. The Sheriff’s Marine Unit was also on-scene.

The incident was investigated by Deputy A.A. Breuilly. He was assisted by Sgt. G.T. Gunkler, Sgt. D.E. Foeller Jr., Lt. C.M. Bourke, and Chief Deputy T.L. Drennan. State Troopers from the Albion barracks also assisted at the scene.

Man drowns after jumping off Kenyonville bridge

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 August 2015 at 9:49 pm

Photos by Tom Rivers

CARLTON – A 67-year-old man drowned after jumping off the Kenyonville Road bridge this evening.

Several fire departments and law enforcement agencies responded to the recovery effort. The man was found at 8:43 p.m. near the two boats at the far right in the top photo, the west side of the bridge on Oak Orchard River.

The man is from Cincinnati and was in town with friends for a charter fishing trip, one of his friends said. The man had been drinking and went for a walk down the bridge. He was staying with four other friends at the Lake Alice Cottages by the bridge.

Several teen-agers were out on the bridge in late afternoon and early evening, jumping into the Oak Orchard River. The man’s friends thought he was just going for a walk on the bridge. But then he jumped from the bridge.

“I don’t know why,” one of his friends said.

The bridge is a popular spot for people, mostly teen-agers, to jump. The water is about 20 feet deep near the bridge.

A 9-1-1 call went out and firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 7:18 p.m.

The bridge is a popular spot for teen-agers during the summer, neighbors said. One woman drove by the bridge at 4 p.m. today and she said there were about 15 teens on the bridge, jumping off.

“We need more police patrols,” she said.

There is signage warning people to not swim or dive, but neighbors said the teens do anyway.

“This should put a scare into the kids,” a neighbor said. “If one of them slipped on the guard rail and hit their head, they’d be gone.”

The man from Cincinnati and his friends had a big day on a charter boat, catching several big Chinook salmon, one of the friends said. They had planned to go to a casino in Niagara Falls tonight, before boarding their plane for home tomorrow.

One of the visiting fishermen instead called the wife of the man who drowned, telling her about the tragic death of her husband.

Firefighters and law enforcement officers tried to keep onlookers from getting on the bridge.

Firefighters searched both sides of the bridge until the man was found about 90 minutes after he drowned.

23-pound salmon now leads OC Fishing Derby

Staff Reports Posted 5 August 2015 at 12:00 am

There is a new leader in the Orleans County Fishing Derby after a Pennsylvania man reeled in a 23-pound, 4-ounce Chinook salmon on Tuesday.

Mark Cippel of Ford City hooked the fish that holds the top spot – the $4,000 grand prize in the fishing derby that continues until Aug. 16.

There were other additions to the leaderboard after Tuesday, including Jeff Newman of Lyndonville. He leads the salmon division with a 21-pound, 7-ounce Chinook. He also is in the lead for the $200 bonus prize, given to the Orleans County resident who catches the biggest fish in the derby.

The leaderboard also includes a 14-pound brown trout caught by April Johnson of Rochester to lead that division and 17-pound, 12-ounce lake trout by Mike Engle of Hamlin.

The derby is still waiting for its first fish in the rainbow trout division.

The derby, which is sponsored by the Albion Rotary Club, gives out $8,800 in total prize money. Besides $4,000 for the biggest fish, the four division leaders each get $500, followed by $300 for second, $200 for third, $100 for fourth and $50 for fifth.

For more on the derby, click here.

New leader in fishing derby

Staff Reports Posted 3 August 2015 at 12:00 am

Day 2 of the Orleans County Fishing Derby brought changes to the leaderboard.

A 17-pound, 12-ounce lake trout caught by Mike Engle of Hamlin is the new leader in the derby, which started on Saturday and runs until Aug. 16. The angler who catches the biggest fish in the derby wins $4,000.

The leaderboard also includes a 14-pound brown trout caught by April Johnson of Rochester to lead that division.

The top lake trout include a 15-pounder caught by Jared Wise of Rochester, and a 14-pound, 1-ounce lake trout reeled in by Garrett Rusin of Brockport.

The derby is still waiting for its first fish in the Chinook salmon and rainbow trout divisions.

The derby gives out $8,800 in total prize money. Besides $4,000 for the biggest fish, the four division leaders each get $500, followed by $300 for second, $200 for third, $100 for fourth and $50 for fifth.

There is also a $200 prize to the Orleans County resident who catches the biggest fish.

The derby is sponsored by the Albion Rotary Club. Last year, a 27-pound, 7-ounce Chinook salmon won the derby.

For more on the derby, click here.