JACK WOLLITZ Trout, walleye, crappie start off

Local anglers are breaking the ice on the 2002 fishing season, thanks to fat and feisty trout at Pine Lake and walleyes and crappies at Mosquito Creek Reservoir.
Pine Lake, one of the Consumers Ohio Water Co. reservoirs, has been stocked with a ton of trout. Anglers started catching rainbows last weekend and will find them willing to bite as long as the supply lasts.
Trout fishing is a put-and-take opportunity at Pine each year, as the stocked fish cannot survive the hot summer in the shallow lake. Anglers can hook up by tossing out salmon eggs, flavored Berkley Power Baits and nightcrawlers. Others pick up trout by casting small spinners and spoons.
The trout tend to roam and can be taken from any of the three major access areas at Pine Lake - the inlet at the south end, the concrete dam to the north, and the bait shop area at mid-lake.
Pine also has a plentiful population of crappies, bluegills and yellow perch that are beginning to stir.
Anglers who wish to try their luck at Pine are reminded it is a pay lake.
Get your permit: Stop at the bait shop off Ohio 7 to buy your fishing permit.
At Mosquito, meanwhile, the icy blast that blew across the area early last week put a temporary halt to most fishing. As the week advanced and the weather warmed, however, the early-season venturers began working again for crappies and walleyes.
Anglers should remember that a large amount of ice-cold water is draining into Mosquito and other reservoirs, so one key to getting bites will be working baits slowly.
Prior to last week's blizzard, some success was reported on the far northern end of Mosquito, as anglers worked the buoy line with jigs and minnows. At the south end, a few anglers were picking up fish while drifting live bait rigs over the stump flats and points.
Ups and downs on the thermometer and barometer are making fishing difficult right now, but a warming trend and stable conditions will contribute to better times very soon.
Fishing professor: Dr. Jeff Hahn, a sociology professor at Mount Union College in Alliance, is back in the classroom following a stellar performance in the recent Ranger Boats Millennium Bass Tournament.
Hahn, a veteran competitor in Ohio bass tournaments, finished seventh in the co-angler (amateur) division of the Millennium on the Mobile, Ala., delta.
The field included some 300 professional and amateur anglers.
David Dudley of Manteo, N.C., won the pro division and earned $700,000.
That's considerably more than Hahn pocketed, but the Mount Union professor nonetheless earned bragging rights as one of this area's top bass anglers.
Hahn was paired each day with a different pro partner. He started the tournament with Dion Hibdon, a former BASS Masters Classic winner from Missouri, and boated three nice bass while working a shallow-running crankbait around shoreline cover.
He was able to add to his catch during each round, surviving the cut to the top 20 after the second day, and won $9,000.
An avid angler since childhood, Hahn has fished competitively for nearly 20 years. He has notched numerous victories in northeastern Ohio tournaments, many thanks to his skill with crankbaits.
"The weather was really cold during the Millennium and the bass weren't biting very well, so the strikes I got were mostly of a reaction nature," Hahn reported in explaining his success in bouncing plugs around the cover.
That's a good tip to remember when encountering difficult conditions anywhere - including here in Ohio. Lethargic fish can be teased into hitting even when they aren't in a feeding mood.
You may not win nine grand, but at least you'll stand a chance of getting your line stretched by a nice bass.
jwollitz@shermanassoc.com