JACK WOLLITZ Different weather, different tactics

Northeastern Ohio anglers, after months of dodging thunderbolts and torrential rainstorms, now are dealt a new hand.
The cool, wet weather has evaporated under a clear sky and hot sun. Water levels are returning to normal and the temperature is rising. Anglers who had their fish pinpointed two weeks ago will have to make adjustments now.
The wet summer certainly did have an effect on fish in local reservoirs.
With water levels pushing well over the normal summertime shorelines, those fish that typically live in shallow water - bass, bluegills, catfish and carp, for example - moved to lawns, parking lots, picnic tables and swing sets.
There even were reports of carp on the fairways at Mill Creek Golf Course following one particularly heavy rain.
Walleyes, which inhabit deeper, off-shore areas during the summer, could be caught on the "normal" shoreline breaks a few weeks ago.
At Mosquito
Today the walleyes are back where they should be - on the channel breaks and main lake flats, humps and points. At Mosquito, the walleyes will be out on the weed lines.
The bass are back under the docks and stumps and the catfish are cruising the causeways and river channels.
Reports from the lakes indicate the fishing isn't fantastic, but it's not impossible either. As conditions - water levels, clarity and temperature - continue to stabilize, the fish will settle into their typical behavior patterns.
All in all, it should be a good time to get out to Pymatuning, Berlin and Mosquito Creek reservoirs to troll for walleyes. Reports are a few walleyes are hitting chartreuse and shad-colored crankbaits.
Muskie action
Muskie anglers are picking up fish - some topping 40 inches - at West Branch and Lake Milton.
Bass fishermen have returned to beating the banks at most of the area's reservoirs, with spinnerbaits, small crankbaits, plastic tubes and jigs proving most effective. The topwater bite has been fairly productive early and late in the day.
Best largemouth bets in the upcoming week will include Mosquito, which is not a place bass anglers typically visit in August. Because the water has remained high this summer, however, the bass are relating to the weed lines that ring much of the lake. Down on the Ohio River, the current continues to move at a pace that is faster than in most summers, and that's been good for the smallmouth bass fishing around East Liverpool and Wellsville, as well as upriver in Pennsylvania water.
River anglers are scoring early each morning with topwaters. As the day advances, they are picking up nice smallmouth bass - most between one and two pounds, on crankbaits and spinnerbaits worked around places where points and gravel washes create current breaks.
Ohio River report
Those who visit the Ohio River for the smallmouth action stay alert for topwater bursts where shad are flying under chomping hybrid stripers. The hybrids, a cross between a striped bass and a white bass, range up to 10 pounds or better and herd the baitfish up against the surface.
They are more than willing to smack a popper or surface walking bait, and will wallop a crankbait burned through their school.
Fishing will continue to improve as the summer wears on and September approaches. That's not a guarantee, of course, because this year has delivered a lot of false promises as the rain clouds billowed up over the horizon.
But it does appear as though the near future's weather patterns are a bit drier than those we endured for most of the summer.
I'll be out there, always optimistic that the next bite is just a cast away. Regardless of the forecast, however, I'm keeping my Gore-Tex handy.
jwwollitz@aol.com