Saturday, January 31, 2009
The temperature is too cold for the word to spread like wildfire, but those who are in the know are quietly catching nice walleyes through the ice at Mosquito and Berlin.
The lingering Artic weather that has closed schools and made driving more adventurous than it needs to be also has served to encourage ice fishers to pack up and trudge out across area reservoirs.
Reports last week indicate Mosquito has been productive, with Berlin offering pretty good fishing, as well.
Mosquito’s walleye population is fortified with annual stockings by Ohio Division of Wildlife’s fisheries managers. The lake is known to produce numbers, but subkeepers often are the only walleyes willing to take ice anglers’ baits.
This year, however, reports are that enough good-sized fish are being caught to justify the effort to get out to them.
The customary hot spots on Mosquito’s south end are getting some attention from anglers, but the better fishing has been coming from the north end, as far up as the buoy line that marks the beginning of the wildlife refuge’s off-limits area.
Walleyes between 18 and 20 inches have been reported, with several icers jigging up limit catches in 8 to nine 9 of water on the north end flats.
Anglers say jigging Rapalas, Cicadas and Swedish Pimples are working well, especially when sweetened with minnows or Berkeley Gulp baits.
Berlin’s ice fishing has been best on the ends of points north of the U.S. 224 causeways. The same lures that are producing at Mosquito are working at Berlin.
Both reservoirs also are giving up crappies and yellow perch.
Anglers are reminded that Berlin’s walleyes must measure 15 inches or more if you want to take some home for dinner. Fish under 15 inches must be returned to the water immediately.
Surveys ID best prospects
Ohio Division of Wildlife District Three, which includes 19 counties in our corner of the state, have compiled survey data that indicates where anglers should fish to improve their chances of hooking up with their favorite species.
Northeast Ohio’s best bets for largemouth bass, for instance, are at the Portage Lakes in Summit County and LaDue Reservoir in Geauga. Survey data show they are the most consistent producers of both numbers of bass and size.
The division reports that Guilford Lake in Columbiana county surprised survey crews with the size of its largemouths.
For the bass “trifecta” – largemouth, smallmouths and whites – Berlin, Milton and Pymatuning get the nod as the best opportunities.
Crappie fans will agree with division data that indicate Berlin and Mosquito are tops. Dale Walborn Reservoir in Stark County and Guilford also earned high marks, while Highlandtown in Columbiana County produces very large pumpkinseed sunfish.
Pymatuning offers an excellent opportunity to hang a trophy walleye, according to the survey data, while Mosquito is the place for numbers, thanks to a large 2007 year class of walleye.
The division surveyed approximately 43,000 acres of water and captured, identified and cataloged more than 52,000 individual fish in the ongoing project to monitor populations.
With such impressive numbers, Youngstown area anglers should continue to enjoy good fishing close to home in 2009 and beyond.
jwwollitz@aol.com