JACK WOLLITZ Cooler fishing season enters the final phase

One thing about this summer, we've heard few laments about those hot, dog-day doldrums that typify August in year's past.
In fact, the water temperatures have remained relatively cool, thanks to an overabundance of rain and the cloudy weather patterns. As a result, the fishing has been different, in some cases actually better, than what we usually encounter in late summer.
But now we're looking over the threshold to September and - oh my goodness - another fishing season is winding down. We still have plenty of time to enjoy our sport, however, and actually have some of the best fishing of the year just ahead.
Walleye anglers will see a resurgence as the fish get more aggressive in the shorter days ahead.
Fairly steady
At Mosquito and Pymatuning reservoirs, where the walleye fishing has been fairly steady this summer, the action will improve as bigger fish move up. Those who work the sand bars and weed lines should hook up with walleyes that average a shade better than those that were biting a few weeks ago.
Berlin's crankbait bite will warm up in September as trollers work the gravel humps, sandy points and breaks with shad-colored lures. The best action will be from the Route 14 bridge down to the dam.
Bass fishing also will start to improve again in the weeks ahead. Best bets for nice catches of smallmouth bass are Lake Erie and the Ohio River.
Big smallies have been hitting all summer up on Erie. The fish have ranged between three and five pounds throughout the lake, with excellent catches reported off locations within 90 minutes of Youngstown.
The fishing has been simple, with anglers needing merely to drag soft plastic tube baits on jig heads heavy enough to get the lures down to the structure in 20 to 25 feet of water. That same tactic will produce throughout September and the balance of the fall season.
Peak in October
Ohio River smallmouths averaged 12 to 15 inches in July and August, but bigger fish will be more common in the next six to eight weeks. Action on smallies ranging around three pounds will peak in October.
At dawn, river anglers score with topwater plugs and buzzbaits worked over shallow structure. As the sun climbs each day, the action often switches to crankbaits and jigs bounced off the rocks and through the current breaks.
Largemouth bass also will become more aggressive in the upcoming weeks. Lures flipped to shallow cover will trigger strikes as the bass wait to ambush shad.
Stumps and laydown trees at Berlin and Shenango are good places to explore for September largemouths. With the water up higher than usual this year, the weed lines at Mosquito will yield good catches, too.
Ohio River largemouth fishing could also be good in the next few weeks. While smallmouth bass have become more dominant in the New Cumberland and Pike Island pools of the Ohio, they also hold healthy populations of largemouths.
Look for Ohio River largemouths in the cover in the creeks, as well as places where weeds grow up off the sandy bottoms in the main river.
Flip soft plastic baits and jigs and crank spinnerbaits around such places to score on the bass.
Improved fishing
As we get deeper into September, the crappie fishing also will improve. The fish will move back to the shallow cover, often congregating in large numbers around brush piles and wood pallets planted as structure.
And don't overlook the opportunity to get in on the great yellow perch action on Lake Erie. Anglers often limit out quickly on perch in 40 t 50 feet of water off Ashtabula, Conneaut and Geneva in September.
Summer may be waning, but the fishing certainly isn't. Now is the time to plan for a few more visits to your favorite water, where the prospects for bigger fish get better every day.
jwwollitz@aol.com