Courtney Trent casts his line from the bridge near Gordon Park - fierce Lake Erie winds at his face and the FirstEnergy power plant over his shoulder.
When he reels in a decent-sized perch, walleye or bass - which is often, he boasts - it means fried fish for dinner at Trent's Hough neighborhood home.
"There's plenty of good-eating fish in these waters," he said recently, squishing a chubby nightcrawler onto a hook. "A lot of people come down here to get fish to help feed their families."
That's what worries some Northeast Ohio environmentalists.
First, because the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has already issued a standing caution statewide - reinforced with handouts each time someone applies for a fishing license - against eating fish caught in Lake Erie too frequently because of potentially toxic mercury content.
Second, because FirstEnergy Corp. has requested a variance on an upcoming permit from the EPA - essentially asking permission to violate more stringent standards for mercury release into Lake Erie waters.
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