By Leo Shane III
Gannett Columbus Bureau

COLUMBUS - For 15 years Anna Mae Saum and her students have been fishing for support to make the smallmouth bass Ohio's state fish.

This week they finally got a bite.

Tacking it onto an unrelated bill, House lawmakers approved an amendment celebrating the bass as Ohio's aquatic symbol. The bass beat out the walleye and yellow perch.

"It started out in my civics class ... when one boy asked why we don't have a state fish," said Saum, principal of Holy Rosary School in Auglaize County.

The Senate and governor still must approve the designation, but the House decision Thursday is the first major step for the smallmouth backers' lengthy campaign.

Though the state fish designation is wholly symbolic - no programs or preservation efforts will accompany the title - the debate over which fish to laud has been surprisingly contentious.

Rep. Tony Core, R-Rushylvania, the top legislative bass supporter, had to fend off an attempt from yellow perch backers.

That debate drew giggles from other representatives, which in turn drew a mild rebuke from House Minority Leader Rep. Chris Redfern, D-Catawba Island.

Redfern has pushed to make the walleye Ohio's official fish.

He won OK for an amendment creating a "Lake Erie - Walleye Capital" license plate.