It's that time of year when our waters start to produce

At risk of stating the obvious -- here goes -- our fishing season finally has begun.
Two weeks of mild temperatures and sunshine have warmed up our waters to the point where walleyes, crappies and bass are stirring. The food chains in local reservoirs, ponds and streams have turned on as solar energy heats up the water.
By no means have we reached optimum temperatures for any of our popular species -- except for steelhead -- but we are at the point where it's worth investing a few hours to shake the dust off our fishing equipment.
I ventured out Thursday evening to nose around the warming shallows at Mosquito Creek Reservoir. My objective was to find a few largemouth bass that had made their move to the cover around the rim of the 7,000-acre Trumbull County fish factory.
Walleye anglers were all over the place, many in boats drifting over the familiar early spring hot spots. Others were wading the south end's gravel- and sand-bottom points, tossing jigs tipped with minnows.
Crappie anglers were having modest luck plucking spunky slabs from the deeper cover and structure, as well as the rocks in Mosquito's marina areas and the Ohio 88 causeway. Tiny jigs dressed with maggots or little minnows were producing.
We even had a few bass snatch our baits.
Year after year, Mosquito is one of the first local waters to start producing. It's relatively shallow and has massive skinny-water flats that warm more quickly than the deeper waters at Berlin, West Branch, Milton and Shenango.
Regardless of the species for which you are fishing this time of year, the operative word is slow. That's s-l-o-w. Water temperatures are still in the upper 40s and, in a few isolated areas, the very low 50s, which means the fish are only beginning to show interest in eating regularly.
Walleyes and crappies tolerate the cold better than bass, but they nonetheless are not inclined to chase down a fast-moving jig until the water is a bit warmer. Anglers who have the patience to crawl their baits over the bottom cover or drag them slowly across the flats will get far more strikes than those who are casting and reeling as though they are whipping up a fancy meringue.
Ditto for those who are after early spring bass. Spinnerbait should move no faster than what is necessary to turn the blades. Jigs and plastics should be inched through the cover.
So go slow for the best bet for fast action.
Big cat
Beaver Township resident Will Van Pelt reports the receding ice revealed the potential his 3/4-acre pond has for producing big fish.
Van Pelt was out picking up sticks around his property when he noticed a big fish bobbing near the shore of his pond. On closer inspection, he discovered the creature was a channel catfish, likely from a stocking he did many years ago.
Unfortunately, the catfish was dead. But it measured 32 inches in length, a far cry bigger than the bluegills and bass that he and his neighbors typically pull from the pond.
jwwollitz@aol.com