Every New Year’s Eve, Port Clinton releases a 20-foot, 600-pound fiberglass fish from a crane at the stroke of midnight. “If Georgia can drop a peach, why can’t we drop a walleye?” reasons Tom Brown, the city’s mayor and chairman of the Walleye Madness at Midnight Committee. After all, Port Clinton is the Walleye Capital of the World. For the past dozen years, thousands of locals have endured chilly weather to hang out underneath the ginormous aquatic creature. They begin gathering up to eight hours before the fish falls, participating in tailgating parties that rival anything happening outside Browns Stadium. Area eateries dish up walleye chowder, walleye sandwiches, walleye chips, and walleye popcorn. A local vineyard even pours glasses of Walleye White. Plus, ice sculptors craft — you guessed it — walleyes out of giant ice cubes.
Sun., Dec. 31, 4 p.m.
This article appears in Dec 27, 2006 – Jan 2, 2007.