ANGLING TIPS Jack Wollitz

OK, the weather isn't exactly what we were expecting for the first week of March, but it's getting toward walleye time.
Many local anglers are waiting for the rivers to stabilize so they can get out there and fish for big walleyes that make the run up into shallow gravel shoals.
March is the month that brings out those who have learned the fine art of bumping a 1/8-ounce jig around the walleye spawning areas. They pull up their waders and stake out spots below dams and around other river locations that historically attract spawners.
Jigs with marabou dressings or twister tails are the preferred lures. Some add a minnow to sweeten the jigs even more.
To work the jigs, use spinning outfits spooled with line just heavy enough to survive the nicks that are inevitable thanks to the rocks through which the lures must maneuver.
Near Youngstown, the good river runs are below the dams at Mosquito and Milton.
Other places that often produce nice catches of early-season walleyes include the causeways at Berlin and Mosquito. The dam at Mosquito is another hot spot. All of them start yielding fish within a day or two of ice-out.
The tailrace areas can be productive throughout the day, while the dam and causeway fishing holes tend to yield their better catches in the low-light hours and even after dark.
Lake Erie walleyes, meanwhile, soon will be running up the Maumee River, the scene each year of some serious elbow-to-elbow fishing.
The main attraction there is the size of the walleyes. Erie feeds its walleyes very well, and fish topping 10 pounds show up in good numbers during the Maumee spawning season.
The near-shore walleye fishing - whether on the local lakes and rivers or Lake Erie - continues throughout March and into April.
And once the walleyes have retreated to their lake homes, the white bass show up. But that's a story for another Saturday.
jwwollitz@aol.com