Area boasts variety of fish, anglers with special skills

Our area is blessed with a lot of water populated by a variety of fish species, one result of which is a corps of anglers with specialized skills.
It's no secret that the same skills one would use to catch a limit of Lake Erie walleyes just don't matter much for the angler who wants to fill a bucket with Mosquito Creek Reservoir crappies. Nor do the flipping talents of a skilled bass fisherman translate into instant success for the individual who prefers the peace and solitude of working a quiet stretch of a trout stream in western Pennsylvania.
Somewhere out there, however, is a person who is the best angler in our region. I wonder whom that individual might be.
He or she possesses a refined set of senses so sharp that it is easy for that person to read water and know where the fish live. Our best angler has motor skills far superior to the average fisherman and is able to present a lure expertly and repeat those presentations time and time again. The best of the best know exactly which lures to tie onto their lines and instinctively understand when it's time to change.
I've fished with a number of excellent anglers. Some of them live right here in the counties around Youngstown. And some of them reside in other regions of the United States and make their livings as professional anglers.
The common denominator among those great anglers is the repeatability of their successes. They hardly ever return to the dock or trudge back to their cars with their shoulders slumped under the burden of a failed outing.
Who's best?
So I have a question for readers: Who's the best angler you know?
Is it Dan Mansky, the Youngstowner who jumped into the big leagues of professional bass fishing in 2004 and demonstrated he could compete with the stars?
How about Jim Breedlove or Anthony Naples, both of whom score consistently high in tournaments staged by the Western Reserve Walleye Association on lakes like Mosquito, Berlin, Pymatuning, Milton and Tappan?
Is it Chris DePaola of Austintown, who proved he's more than a great muskie fisherman during the recent steelhead expedition reported here last week?
Maybe it's Nick Prvonozac of Warren, another pro bass angler who without question has won more boats in tournament competition than any local fisherman? Could it be his older brother, George, whose success is equal to Nick's?
Or is it perhaps Greg Hromiko, the Columbiana man who won the 2005 Youngstown/Mahoning Valley United Way Bass Classic and is a top angler in Ohio Valley Bass Anglers?
Another possible nominee could be Ed Falatic, of Warren, who knows more about crappies than just about anybody else in the area and is a regular fixture around the shallow cover at Mosquito.
More possibilities
Our list also might include Mark Franko of Cortland, who earned Mohawk Valley Bass Club's 2005 Mr. Bass title while winning five of the organization's tournaments this year.
We'd also have to consider Ron Learn, the seven-time Mr. Bass in Mohawk Valley Bass Club who has his sights set on the FLW Stren Series in 2006.
Without question, the list of nominees could include many more than the folks mentioned here.
So whom would you pick as this area's Angler of the Year?
Drop me a line with your nomination (via e-mail to jwwollitz@aol.com or regular mail to 2160 Renwick Drive, Poland, OH 44514).
We'll tally the votes and report on the secrets of success of the area's best of the best.
jwwollitz@aol.com