As temperatures drop, fishing action improves

As the season slips closer and closer to Halloween and our region’s reservoirs dip from balmy to breathtakingly chilly, the fishing action has been inching back up into the skinny water.

The bass were up in the shallows last weekend when I fished Berlin Reservoir, willing to bite a crankbait bouncing off the rocks and soft plastics dabbled around the few docks not yet dragged up onto dry land. Reports from several sources also indicate walleyes are working the banks for baitfish in the low-light hours, and anglers are catching them on Rapalas and other jerkbaits.

But the best midautumn shallow water action at popular fishing spots such as Mosquito, Berlin, Milton and West Branch undoubtedly is provided by panfish.

Crappies and bluegills, the tastiest specimens, have moved to near-shore cover and feeding actively now that the water temperatures are in the low 60s. And the good news is the bite will only get better as we head toward Thanksgiving.

Panfishing is to anglers what plinking is to shooters — plenty of action, rarely a dull moment and lots of variety in targets.

Anglers who know where to find a school of hungry crappie can enjoy hours of fun. The same can be said about bluegills; find one and you’re likely to stay busy until you run out of daylight or bait.

It’s also not uncommon to find both species intermingling, particularly in October. An algae-covered brush pile or stack of wood pallets is a haven for the creatures at the bottom of the food chain, and panfish find easy pickings among the variety of small baitfish and crustaceans.

Tiny jigs dressed with one-inch minnows are a great combo for tricking the crappies. Maggots and waxworms also are good jig-tipping choices.

The little jigs are perfect for fan-casting the vicinity to locate the fish. Toss them out — on 4- or 6-pound-test line, let them sink to the desired depth and then slowly retrieve them through the likely strike zone. If there are any crappie in the area, they’ll readily strike such irresistible offerings.

Jigs also are great for dangling under a slip-bobber rig. Set the float to the depth you think the fish are using, and move it up or down until you make contact with the crappies.

Little jigs also work well on bluegills, especially the hand-sized specimens that rise from their summer hangouts to enjoy the fall feast.

Bluegill anglers also hang tiny ice-fishing spoons under their floats and bait them with maggots, waxworms, garden wigglers and bits of nightcrawler.

Good spots with the potential to yield enough panfish for a family fish fry include the docks at Lake Milton, the Ohio Route 88 causeway and the breakwalls at the Mosquito Creek Reservoir state park marina, the U.S. 224 and Ohio Route 14 bridges over Berlin, and the Rock Spring Road causeway at West Branch and the marina on the reservoir’s east end.

Mosquito’s dam and spillway also are good bets for autumn crappies.

At Shenango Reservoir, north of Hermitage, Pa., panfish anglers enjoy good action at the Route 18 bridge in the lake’s midsection and the Route 846 bridge on the west end.

Check them out this weekend, and visit them often until the lakes freeze over. When the bite is on, they’ll provide some hot action on even the chilliest of fall days.

jwwollitz@aol.com