Valley’s fishing spots produce mighty muskies
The big dog in our local waters is a fish with a mouthful of teeth that would scare a dentist and a fight that would give Kelly Pavlik a run for his money.
We’re talking muskies — the fish of legend and lore among all manner of anglers, from those who spend their lives in passionate pursuit of them to those who accidentally hook them while fishing for bluegills with a Snoopy outfit.
Our area is blessed with excellent muskie waters, even though the northwoods lakes in Wisconsin, Michigan, New York and Canada may be more famous destinations for the big bruisers. Milton, West Branch, Pymatuning, Berlin, Leesville and several other nearby lakes support catchable populations of muskies and annually yield some magnificent specimens.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife keeps track of anglers’ reports about muskie catches, and recently released its list of the best waters in the Buckeye State. Our area made the list thanks to Berlin, Milton, West Branch and Pymatuning.
The best local muskie lake is clearly Leesville, in Carroll County. The wildlife division’s tally showed a total of 272 muskie reports through Aug. 31, with 68 of them in the “huskie” category (40 inches or longer) and 194 in the honorable mention classification.
One Leesville muskie topped the magic number of 50 inches, a length that muskie fans consider to be a true trophy-caliber fish.
Milton also yielded a 50-incher this year, along with eight huskies and 88 honorable mentions. A total of 123 Milton muskies were reported to the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
West Branch, meanwhile, produced 94 reported muskies, six of which were huskies and 80 that earned honorable mention status.
Setting the pace
As catch-and-release sentiment continues to gain in popularity, muskie anglers appear to be setting the pace. Some 98 percent of the reported muskie catches ended with live releases, according to the wildlife officials.
That means the 30-inchers have a good chance of growing to huskie proportions, and the 40-inch muskies now have the opportunity to eat more shad and stretch out to the 50-inch mark.
To hook up with fish at West Branch, Milton and other Ohio waters, muskie anglers troll big plugs and bucktails. They also cast the flats, channel edges and points with the same lures. At West Branch, in particular, muskie anglers look for big fish prowling the outside edges of the extensive weed beds.
I rarely fish specifically for muskies, but catch them by accident with enough frequency to know that they also love bass lures. I’ve taken many 3-foot-long muskies while casting spinnerbaits and topwater lures in the Mahoning River section of Lake Milton.
They also eat soft plastics and jigs pitched into the weeds, stumps and lay-downs at West Branch, and I’ve caught small muskies at Berlin while working crankbaits down the side of fallen trees.
Nothing gets an anglers attention quite like a muskie hook-up, especially when you set the hook in expectations of jerking a 2-pound largemouth out of the cover or pulling a 12-inch crappie out of a brush pile. A 36-inch muskie packs plenty of pulling power and, if you don’t break the line on the set, you’re in for quite a tussle.
Good muskie fishing remains through on our local lakes, and the big dogs, the really big dogs, will be feeding actively to prepare for the long winter. For some really heavyweight action with the toothy critters, October is pretty hard to beat.
jwwollitz@aol.com