By K. Richard Douglas
Few pastimes offer the tranquility of fishing. Staring out at the water, whether it is a lake, the ocean or a river, can calm the nerves as time passes and the anticipation of the next bite on the line awaits. Many a fish tale has emerged from these tranquil or exciting fishing forays; about the big one that got away or the battle that was eventually won by the person holding the fishing pole.
Jessica Wilkolak, CBET, who works for Fitzsimmons Hospital Services in its Cleveland Division has spent a fair amount of time challenging fish to take the bait. She has enjoyed the pastime since she was a child.
“I first became interesting in fishing when I was little. My uncle – on my dad’s side – had a boat and would take us out on Lake Erie to fish for perch,” Wilkolak remembers.
“We would fish here and there during summers, but it has only been recently, in the past two years, that I took up steelhead fishing. I was online looking for fishing reports for Lake Erie, but came across a local Cleveland Metroparks fishing report, that talked about inland lakes and river fishing. I saw some of the pictures of huge steelhead fish that people had caught in the nearby Rocky River and I was like ‘You can catch huge fish like that in the river?’ I knew I had to try to catch one. I was hooked,” Wilkolak jokes.
Since that epiphany, Wilkolak and her dad go out fishing whenever the opportunity presents itself. It might be every weekend if the weather cooperates. If the river is in good condition, those outings can even happen after work for an hour or two. Because northern Ohio can mean a long winter, the pair has even tried their hand at ice fishing, without a whole lot of luck.
A Seat by the River
The river has turned out to be Wilkolak’s preferred destination for locating the perfect fishing spot.
“Mostly, I like to fish for steelhead in the Rocky River,” she says. “I like catching them because they’re the biggest. During fall and spring are the best times to catch steelhead. In the winter, we go ice fishing on smaller inland lakes for stocked trout. Summers are usually spent fishing for bass or perch out on Lake Erie. Trolling for walleye is next on my list.”
“I’ve spent lots of time scoping out various spots along the river where I think the fish may be holding. It can be tough to find a spot to yourself – where the fish are – during steelhead season though,” she adds. “There’s always lots of people out.”
Once in awhile, those steelhead will end up on a dinner plate. Wilkolak has filleted them herself, but finds the process a little distasteful. She admits, when cooked right, they are delicious though.
The One that Got Away
Those who fish often have tales of woe, tales of challenges and tales of triumph. Wilkolak is no different.
It comes with the pastime.
“My favorite fish story was the first time I caught a steelhead. My dad and I had been trying for weeks to catch one,” she says.
“After I read about these fish online and how you could catch them in the river, I became obsessed. I tried all different types of bait; all different types of lures. Lost tons of hooks on snags at the bottom of the river, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t catch one.”
But then one day she knew she had snagged something.
“I was so excited I started yelling ‘fish, fish,’ ” Wilkolak recalls. “My dad ran into the water with the net as I got it closer to shore and got him. I was so excited. I was jumping up and down yelling, and high fiving my dad.”
“Some other fishermen walked by and just gave us this weird glance like ‘Oookay.’ I think they were just jealous,” Wilkolak muses. “It was the biggest fish I had ever caught; 24 inches.”
But just as often as those who fish recount the successes, there are always the stories about the monster that got away.
“Recently, I was out fishing and was having a great day,” Wilkolak says “I was able to land seven fish, but at one point I had an eighth one on the line. I was trying to pull it closer to shore and my dad was trying to get it in the net; but it was too big to fit in the net.”
“Now, I’ll tell you there is a website I visit called TheRockyRiver.com and they have something called the 30/10 club,” Wilkolak explains. “If you catch a steelhead that is 30 inches or longer, or 10 pounds or more, send them the picture; you can be in the club. That fish may have qualified, but I lost it before we could get it in the net. But you bet I’ll get one someday.”
Fishing is just a pastime though. Wilkolak trained and works as a biomed, repairing and maintaining equipment.
“I got my associate degree back in 2005 and was able to find a job working for a local hospital equipment rental company — Fitzsimmons Hospital Services,” she says “I will have been working there for 10 years this summer. I got my CBET certification about three years ago. I’m the only biomed that works in our Cleveland office. When equipment comes back from a rental, it can be pretty beat up and dirty. I clean the equipment as well as check the functionality of it before it goes back out for another rental,” Wilkolak explains.
“If anything is broken, I order the parts that are needed and make the repairs. Our company rents out all sorts of stuff from ventilators, bipaps, infusion pumps, wound pumps, and bariatric beds and wheelchairs, to name a few. I like having the variety of equipment to work on. It helps keep things interesting,” she says.
Hobbies
Although fishing may be her main pastime, it is by no means Wilkolak’s only hobby.
“I like to tie my own fishing lures, so fly tying (is a hobby). I also enjoy doing some computer gaming. When the weather is lousy and I’m not fishing I can usually be found playing Diablo 3,” she says.
In addition to some gaming and creating fishing lures, Wilkolak loves travel.
“I try to go somewhere new every year or so,” she says. “Some of the places I have visited and experienced are: doing the wild cave tour at Mammoth cave (National Park) in Kentucky, snorkeling and deep sea fishing in Aruba, visiting the Mojave Desert in California, [and] storm chasing.”
That last pursuit nearly put an end to Wilkolak’s fishing days. Her experience as a storm chaser was intense, as seen in the video on 1TechNation.com.
“And, this year I’m planning to visit the Redwood National Forest in California and next year finding a spot to view the solar eclipse in totality,” she says.
From the shores of the Rocky River to adventures elsewhere, this biomed has plenty of stories to tell.
Find more information about the Civil Air Patrol at www.gocivilairpatrol.com.
