JACK WOLLITZ Some best bets for the next few weeks

F ish are not exactly jumping into the boats, but the action is beginning to show an upward trend.
Mild, sunny weather early last week brought a lot of boats out of storage as anglers scratched the itch to catch early season walleyes and crappies.
Mosquito Creek Reservoir was one of the busier waters.
Reports indicate anglers are catching a few fish. The most productive technique has been drifting slowly over channels and points with live-bait rigs.
Walleyes and crappies have begun to feed on the deep breaks, and most of those who are experiencing success are working areas between 15 and 20 feet deep.
Water temperatures are still in the high 30s and frosty mornings are still capable of producing a bit of skim ice around the shore, so limit catches haven't been the norm yet. Another week of mild weather should heat up the fishing to springtime levels.
Best bets in the next couple of weeks will be Mosquito, Berlin and Lake Milton for walleyes and crappies. Once the Ohio River settles down from the snow and rain runoff, smallmouth bass will be catchable. West Branch also may yield a few tiger muskies as they start moving toward the banks in search of shad.
Walleye wonders: Want to see some big walleyes? Ever wonder about the source for the fry that are stocked? How about something interesting to do next Sunday afternoon?.
Curious walleye buffs will want to check out the open house from 1 to 5 p.m.
April 1 at the Pennsylvania Fish Commission's Linesville Fish Culture Station near Pymatuning Reservoir.
Bob Kucher of McDonald knows all about it. Kucher is a member of the Mosquito Lake Association, activists with a keen interest in Trumbull County's largest reservoir.
"I took my grandson to the open house last year and we found it really interesting," Kucher said.
Demonstrations will include egg stripping and sorting of brood fish.
Kucher noted the Linesville hatchery is the source for the walleyes stocked in northeastern Ohio reservoirs.
To get to the hatchery, travel to Andover and cross the Ohio 6 causeway into Pennsylvania, where the highway becomes Route 285. Go east to the flashing lights and turn left, then go a mile to a stop signal. Turn left and travel past Pymatuning's upper spillway to the Fish Culture Station.
Headache: Every angler with appreciable time on the water has been stricken once or twice with some kind of painful experience. A hook in an arm, a lost lunker, a snapped rod tip, even a long day squinting into the glare off the water-they all can lead to a headache.
With that in mind, BC Powder has signed on as title sponsor of the B.A.S.S.
Federation Championship April 26-28 in Mobile, Ala.
"BC Powder/B.A.S.S. Federation Championship sponsorship provides us with multiple opportunities to reach our core consumer both locally and regionally," said Jack Voller, BC Powder's brand equity manager.
The deal is the latest example of professional fishing attracting sponsorship from outside the angling community. Besides such traditional sponsors as Ranger Boats and Mercury Outboards, B.A.S.S. works with such companies as Chevrolet Trucks, Long John Silver's Restaurants, Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, Kumho Tires, Platinum Visa/First USA, GMAC Insurance and Gore-Tex, all of whom seek to capitalize on their angling support to reach consumers.