At Mosquito, fish almost ready to take the bait

The Big Three among Youngstown-area anglers – walleyes, crappies and largemouth bass – will be the featured attraction as spring settles over the region.

Earning the most attention for all three species will be Mosquito Creek Reservoir. It is historically the first local lake to begin yielding walleyes, crappies and bass to the season’s earliest fishing efforts.

At more than 7,000 acres, Mosquito is the largest impoundment in our corner of Ohio, but it also is the first to warm up to temperatures that suit the big three species.

Walleye anglers begin connecting right after ice-out, which should be pretty much a done deal in the next several days, with the crappies and largemouths usually getting on their spring bite as soon as the shallow water starts to nudge the 45-degree mark.

Ohio Division of Wildlife, in its recently released “Fishing Prospects” report for Northeast Ohio, has glowing words for Mosquito. Walleye and crappies earn an “excellent” rating, based on creel, electrofishing and gill- and trap-net surveys over the past six years.

Mosquito’s largemouth bass get a “good” grade, while northern pike prospects there are judged to be “excellent.”

Walleye accounted for 38 percent of the total fishing time at Mosquito. And that is without question a result of the fact Mosquito is heavily stocked. Some 14.5 million fry were stocked there in 2008.

The “Fishing Prospects” report estimates nearly 38,000 walleye measuring 13 inches or longer swim in Mosquito. Harvested walleye averaged 14.7 inches, based on a 2006 creel survey.

Crappie earned 20 percent of the fishing time on Mosquito. Excellent numbers of fish measuring 8 inches or longer are reported, with a good number of them topping 10 inches, and a few stretching past the 12-inch mark.

Mosquito’s crappie harvest research shows that the average “kept” fish was 11.7 inches.

Largemouth bass fishing at Mosquito attracts nearly 20 percent of the total fishing time. The Division of Wildlife’s spring 2006 electrofishing surveys shows a high number of fish topping the 12-inch size minimum, with 11 percent of the shocked fish larger than 15 inches.

One surprise in the “Fishing Prospects” report is the “excellent” forecast for northern pike at Mosquito. While anglers occasionally hook up with pike while seeking Mosquito’s game and panfish species, northerns have not garnered a lot of management attention from the division’s fish managers.

Crews netting walleye in March and April 2007 for artificial spawning efforts observed pike of all lengths in the nets – including some that may have exceeded 40 inches. Based on those observations, the division has rated Mosquito as “excellent” for northern pike this year.

Bluegills, white bass and channel catfish also scored “excellent” grades in the 2009 forecast. Creel surveys in 2006 indicated that the average harvested Mosquito bluegill measured 7.4 inches, while kept white bass measured 11.8 inches.

Some 64 percent of the channel cats in a 2006 netting measured 16 inches or longer.

The best news of all, naturally, is that all of these fish – the Big Three species in particular – will soon be pulling at the end of our lines.

jack@innismaggiore.com