JACK WOLLITZ Event promotes fun on the river

What's more fun than kids fishing, giggling and tossing stones in the water on a fine summer evening? Toss in nature tours and some foot-stompin' music, and it really couldn't get much better.
The Mahoning River Consortium is banking on an upcoming event in Warren to show the potential for the fun that can be had on our Valley's namesake waterway.
Dubbed "Reeling by the River," the consortium's event is set to begin at 4 p.m. next Saturday at the Warren Community Amphitheater in Perkins Park. Reeling by the River features a variety of activities, including a fishing derby for children, nature and historical tours, and a performance by the Juggernaut Jug Band.
Formed to promote appreciation for and cleanup of the Mahoning River, the consortium has designed Reeling by the River as a family evening.
Raising awareness
"The potential for recreation on the river is significant," said Kim Mascarella, a trustee and secretary of the Mahoning River Consortium as well as environmental director for Eastgate Regional Council of Governments. "With Reeling by the River, our objective is for people to discover there really is life in the Mahoning and that it could be much better if the river is cleaner."
The consortium has been working to demonstrate the value of cleaning up the river and to generate support for a large-scale dredging project to remove many years of pollution-laden sediment from the river's bed.
Reeling by the River is co-sponsored by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber's Education, Civic and Cultural Foundation, Chapter 23 of Muskies Inc. and the Ohio Department of Natural Resource's Division of Wildlife.
Mascarella said one of the event's key events is the children's fishing derby. Registration begins at 4:30 p.m., with fishing to begin at 5 p.m.
Helping the kids
Members of the Muskies Inc. chapter have volunteered to assist. They will help children bait their hooks, cast their lines and unhook their catches.
Children who enter the fishing derby should bring their own rod, reel and tackle. Bait will be provided.
The kids will be fishing for a variety of species. The water that flows around the perimeter of Perkins Park is home to smallmouth bass, walleyes, muskies, rock bass, bluegills, catfish and carp.
The Mahoning River's path through Warren includes gravel shoals bordered by deeper runs, where the game species prowl, weed beds and fallen trees that harbor a variety of fish.
One thing is for certain: Those kids who are fortunate to hook a big fish will have a battle on their hands. Muskies, some of them 15 pounds and larger, carp topping 10 pounds and smallies and walleyes in the 3-pound class are distinct possibilities.
In recognition of the temptation to while away time between bites, the agenda includes a stone-skipping tournament for children and adults. Participants should bring at least six unaltered skipping stones.
The ODNR's wildlife division will host a casting derby for children.
Other events
Ohio EPA also will have personnel on hand to challenge Reeling by the River visitors to identify aquatic insects. Warren's Alex Bobersky will conduct tours of historic points of interest around Perkins Park. Other tours will showcase some of the great trees that line the riverbank.
Beginning at 8 p.m. in Warren Community Amphitheater, the Juggernaut Jug Band will play a combination of jazz, ragtime and swing music on washboards, washtubs and kazoos.
The band's appearance is part of the "Saturday Night Specials" presented by the Fine Arts Council of Trumbull County.
With such a diverse schedule of events, it's certain that by the time the crowd heads home next Saturday, Reeling by the River's goal to raise awareness about the Mahoning's potential as a recreation spot will have been met in grand fashion.
jwwollitz@aol.com