A tale of two lakes: ice on and ice off

It was the best of ice, it was the worst of ice.
The recent warming trend we experienced seems to have been a double-edged sword for some in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys.
On one hand, the warmth presaged the promise of spring with all the attendant outdoor activities -- fishing, hunting, boating -- warmer-weather experiences indeed.
On the other hand, this January thaw in February experience heralded the first faint peals of the last-call bell for ice-fishing in 2004.
Shenango Reservoir
At Shenango Reservoir, those few days of flirting with spring were enough to rend a fissure down the entire length of the lake.
"Conditions are deteriorating fast," said Pete O'Connell, resource manager for the Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the reservoir.
"We have quite a bit of flow from the Shenango River coming into the reservoir -- it's warmer river water," he said. "A channel has opened up down the entire length of the lake and there is a lot of open water."
O'Connell said that the danger this presents is when the colder weather returns, as it was expected to do by today, new ice forms on the melted areas that is not as strong or thick as it was originally. The problem is further compounded when that thinner ice is covered over with snow.
"You get areas we call 'tiger traps,'" O'Connell said. "It's like the traps set in the jungle for tigers where a hole was dug and then grass and branches laid over it.
"You can't tell where the safe ice is," he said, adding, "This is what you have all over the place here."
O'Connell said that the staff at Shenango is prepared if an accident occurs.
"We've definitely reviewed ice rescue procedures," he said. "Hopefully, we won't need it."
Despite the melting ice, he said, there have been anglers out on Shenango.
"Anglers are still out on the lake," he said. "We don't encourage it because the ice does not form or melt at a uniform rate."
He said that before the melting, anglers were doing well at Shenango catching quite a bit of crappie and bluegills.
Mosquito Lake
At Mosquito Lake, the tale of the ice is a bit different.
Although the action has not been up to past years on this popular ice-fishing lake, there have been some productive areas worth reporting.
Oscar at Causeway Bait and Tackle says that although the fishing can't be considered hot, it's "still pretty good."
The shop, a great place to stop for a chat, minnows, crawlers, lures or what have you, is also probably the best place to get the most up-to-date info on ice fishing at Mosquito.
"There's been some nice catches of walleye and crappie," he said. Mostly, those catches have been reported from the deeper area of the lake, he said.
He added that the Bazetta Fire Department recently checked the ice depth when they were practicing rescue techniques at the lake.
He said the fire department and ice-anglers reported that the ice on the lake is still around 14 inches, despite the warmth. However, Oscar said there is a visible pressure crack on the ice at the middle of the state Route 88 causeway that bisects the reservoir.
"The ice is kinda thin by the causeway, too," he said.
braun@vindy.com