Put-in-Bay Gazette Mar. ’25- Winter Fun

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Winter Fun

It has been a great year for ice fishing and fun on the ice, but warming weather looks like the ice won’t be around forever. With all that, it appears the walleye population around the islands was reduced a bit as fishermen and women pulled out some impressive catches.

Dan Petro, along with his sons and friends, pulled out a fine catch of 76 keepers over one weekend in February. Longtime islander Sara Booker caught her first walleye through the ice.

Even if you weren’t into ice fishing, the ice still proved to be a great place to have fun. Many PIBers took their 4-wheelers to Middle Bass for some fun at Walleye’s. The ice trail was not just a one way, as people from Middle Bass also came to dine and drink at Topsy’s or the Forge and grocery shop at the Hardware Store. Others enjoyed ice skating at the makeshift rink between the Boardwalk and A Dock. Some, like Deacon Jim O’Donnell, checked out the ice shoves by Buckeye Island and elsewhere around the islands. Embracing a wonderful winter as the islanders do, with ice skating, ice parties, and lots of fishing, is something that is thriving on Put-in-Bay this winter.

Winter 2025 will certainly be remembered as a good one. There is one bit of bad news though. The new ramp on the West Shore is starting to break up where it goes into the lake, and it needs repairs for people to safely use it. Rob Hard from the Black Squirrel accepted a donation of $200 from John Hine to help save the ramp. Much more will be needed to make the repairs.

Put-in-Bay Quick Links

• Things To Do At Put-in-Bay
• 2025 Put-in-Bay Event Calendar
• Our Favorite Places To Eat At PIB
• Put-in-Bay Ferry Service

On Another Note….

One of the issues gripping many communities is the number of homeowners who are renting their property on their own or through AirBnB or similar platforms.

Kelleys Island’s Village Council passed legislation last year to control rentals. To rent your property you need an electrical inspection of your property, plus certification from the local fire department that your property is safe. Put-in-Bay’s Village Council has similar legislation on its table.

Recently, the State of Ohio Legislature has again introduced Short-Term Rental legislation through Senate Bill 104. It is regarding a potential state law that would ban local jurisdiction of rental properties, in other words, any house on the island could potentially become a short-term rental.

putinbay.com Top Lodging Picks For 2025 At The Bay

Those opposed to rentals say that it’s been shown that short-term rentals increase property values rapidly, further increase property taxes, limit affordable housing, increase rental market prices, limit homeownership, impact seasonal employment and housing, increase police presence for noise, trash, overcrowding and parking issues and disrupt quality of life.

Apparently, zoning laws in both the village and township haven’t been enough to control the surge in uncontrolled rentals on the island.

Local ordinances requiring inspections and the like make it more difficult to rent legally, but like many ordinances that are passed with good intentions, they are rarely enforced if ever. Bit by bit, people start disregarding the law altogether.

If passed, the bill before the legislature would fully prohibit local entities (townships, villages, etc.) statewide from being able to impose any local regulations, oversight or enforcement on properties being rented short-term.

What will happen at Put-in-Bay concerning rentals is still up in the air. Stay tuned!

Putinbay.com is proud to present these Put-in-Bay Gazette articles from the March 2025 issue.

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