The most important part of any fishing trip: caution

It's January, but that doesn't necessarily mean we'll be ice fishing this weekend.
Reports from around the area are that a few anglers are venturing out to their customary ice-fishing holes. They are not on foot dragging sleds, but huddled in their boats pushed by outboard power.
Early this week, the open-water anglers at Mosquito Creek Reservoir were catching a few walleyes and crappies while vertical jigging with metal baits such as Sonars, Silver Buddies, Vib-E's and Cicadas. The deep freeze that descended over the area Wednesday interrupted the fishing, but this weekend could see the water open enough again to permit access for boaters.
Temptation
It's tempting to get such an early start to the 2006 fishing season, but anglers need to exercise extreme caution. Water temperatures are barely above freezing and any accident out on the lake can result in tragic consequences.
Those who go out this time of year in northeastern Ohio need to do double- and triple-checks on their boats' seaworthiness. This is no time for leaky hulls, dead batteries or stalling outboards.
Life jackets need to be worn, not just handy. Anyone who falls overboard has only a few minutes before hypothermia takes its toll on the body. It's a good idea to make sure you have a system to get back in your boat if the unthinkable happens and you end up in the water.
Midwinter anglers also need to be careful around the boat ramps to avoid slipping on ice that forms on the pavement. It's also a good idea to have a bag of sand handy in case you return to the ramp in the evening and the air temperature has slipped below freezing. A thin layer of ice can form on the pavement, making it nearly impossible to pull the loaded trailer out of the lake without the help of a little sand around the tow vehicle's back tires.
Anglers also should be watchful of the wind direction and whether it has the potential to blow ice back around the entrance to ramp areas. The lake may appear to be wide open, but the cold weather has created skim ice that can shift and pile up at marina entrances, making it difficult to navigate safely back to the dock.
Options
There are options, of course, for those who want to fish but aren't quite ready to pull the boat out of the garage.
Spillways below the dams at Mosquito, Milton and Shenango offer midwinter fishing for walleyes, crappies and other species.
Jigs tipped with minnows and worked slowly through holes and eddies are the best bet this time of year. Remember, the fish will be sluggish in the cold water, so keep your bait's movement in sync with the temperature: s-l-o-w.
Another option is checking out the steelhead action on Lake Erie tributaries. The snow that fell earlier this week is melting into the Erie drainages, creating a fresh flow of water that will activate the steelies that are wintering in the streams.
Small flies, tiny jigs and live bait offerings will trick the fish as they work the tributaries' current breaks.
Those who want to stay closer to home may find crappie in the deeper water around bridge openings on the reservoir causeways and marina breakwalls. A bucket of small, lively minnows and a slip-bobber rig on a light spinning outfit is all you'll need if the fish are biting.
Again, however, the most important part of any fishing trip is "caution" regardless of where you fish this time of year. Mistakes in January can result in a whole lot more than an inconvenient soaking.
jwwollitz@aol.com