Touchstone Award Winner – Podcast 2025 Lake Effect is a journey through all things Lake Erie, its tributaries and near-shore realms. The Great Lakes are the largest body of fresh water on earth and while Lake Erie is the second-smallest and most shallow lake with just two percent of the Great Lakes’ water, it holds 90 percent of the biomass (fish and other living things). We’ll visit scientists, anglers, charter captains, farmers, tourism officials, boat-restorers, historians and a host of others who have an affinity for the lake through either proximity, work or a simple love of the greatest Great Lake. Have Questi...
Latest episodes
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Portage River Paddling
Bryan and Amanda Floro (and their children) have operated this little patch of paradise since 2016. What originally began as a ho-hum kayak and canoe rental operation has blossomed…
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No Bones About It
Robin Shatto has been cleaning fish at Wild Wings Marina in Oak Harbor for 40 years. Her daughter Holly has been doing the same since the age of five – with an electric knife! Let’…
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Mario Campos: Walleye Run Guru
Mario Campos has been operating Maumee Tackle for decades and knows all there is to know about the world-famous walleye run, which happens every spring. And yes, world famous – fol…
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Shining Light on the Greatest of the Great Lakes
Ben Simon, Shores & Islands marketing director, talks about the ins and outs of promoting Erie and Ottawa counties in Ohio. The greatest attraction is Lake Erie, he says, but there…
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Heineman’s Winery: A Deep-Rooted History
Fifth generation winemaker Dustin Heineman talks about growing up on South Bass Island and operating the family vineyard. His great-great grandfather Gustav, a German immigrant, be…
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Keeping the Lake Erie Islands Connected
Let’s visit the bustling Erie-Ottawa International Airport in Port Clinton and chat with Kara Clifford, chief pilot and director of training at Griffing Flying Service. We’ll also…
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Back to the Wild
For decades Mona Rutger has operated Back to the Wild in Castalia, a few miles from Sandusky Bay. She and her dedicated staff at the wildlife rehabilitation center have taken in an…
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Beach Glass
Catawba Island resident Cathy Coffman has turned her hobby, scouring beaches for old glass, into a long-time business on Kelleys Island. She uses beach glass and stones of various…
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Big Taxi, Small Island
While most people think of taxi cabs as a big city thing, on Lake Erie’s Kelleys Island, taxi cabs are the only thing for folks who don’t drive or have had a few adult beverages. T…
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Wooden Boats Raised From the Dead
Kenny Kreutzfeld began working on vintage wood boats when he was a kid. And now more than 50 years later he’s still at it, operating K & M Restorations in Marblehead. From turn-of-…
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Alberto Rey: Rivers, Art & Kids
Alberto Rey fled Cuba with his parents as a child. More recently he retired as a distinguished professor from SUNY –Fredonia. The painter, Orvis-endorsed fly fishing guide and cons…
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Vicki Finnegan, International Grandma
Let’s visit with long-time Kelleys Island resident Vicki Finnegan and Ploy, one of her many “adopted” grandchildren. Ploy (Wassana Prommanat) is one of many international students…
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Marsh Life
Dick Carstensen is one of thousands of landowners nationwide who participates in one of several programs that pays for or shares the cost of improving or restoring wetlands or crea…
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Biggest Week in American Birding
Kimberly Kaufman, executive director of Black Swamp Bird Observatory in Oak Harbor talks conservation, birds and the Biggest Week in American Birding, which takes place in early Ma…
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Lake Erie Advocates
Mike Ferner and Susan Carter have been tireless advocates for Lake Erie during the last decade. Their organization (formerly Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie) is not afraid of contr…
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Marblehead Lighthouse
Retired educator Sue Hartman has been tending to the Marblehead Lighthouse for years. As a member of the Marblehead Lighthouse Historical Society, she’s involved in day-to-day oper…
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The Castalia Fish Hatchery
At the Castalia Fish Hatchery, ODNR employees are tasked with producing about a half million rainbow trout and steelhead each year. Superintendent Andy Jarrett supervises the opera…
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East Harbor Ice Fishing
On Lake Erie’s Western Basin, East Harbor is hands-down the most popular and consistent ice fishing spot. During years when the lake doesn’t provide fishable ice, East Harbor alway…
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Lance Valentine’s Dream Job
Let’s meet Michigan resident and charter captain Lance Valentine, who walked out of his banking job without notice more than two decades ago to become a “fishing educator.” Huh? We…
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The Other End: New York's Lake Erie
Dave Barus talks about promoting fishing and the outdoors at the eastern end of Lake Erie, in Chautauqua County, New York. In addition he talks conservation, massive muskies, and a…