43
My holiday wish list
While I’ve fished when the weather was far colder than the forecast for Christmas Day, I won’t be trucking out to the lake Friday.
But that’s not to say I don’t have fishing on my mind this holiday season. Like hundreds of other Youngstown-area anglers, I think the extended season is awesome. If it stays warm until April, and then heats up to summer, I’ll be a happy fisher.
In the meantime, many local people are filleting fresh-caught crappies and walleyes that no doubt will be part of Christmas Eve feasts. And while they’ve been busy sharpening their knives, I’ve been making my list for Santa Claus.
So with the holiday as my inspiration, I have emailed my requests to the North Pole. Here’s hoping one of these “gifts” helps make your future fishing trips fun.
Topping my list is my wish for the preservation of the great vegetation that has taken root at Mosquito Creek Reservoir. Without question, Mosquito is a better fishery today than a generation ago, thanks in large part to the recent proliferation of aquatic grasses and hundreds of acres of lily pads.
The greenery provides shelter for game and prey species and serves as a nursery for the young of just about every kind of fish and other fauna that lives in and near the lake.
I also have asked Santa to continue the trend of great smallmouth bass fishing at Lake Milton. Recent hatches have been highly successful, based on the number of keeper-size smallies at Milton over the past several years.
A healthy smallmouth bass fishery is good for many reasons. The fact the fish are accessible to anglers who fish from Milton’s banks and docks contributes to opportunities for more anglers to experience the excitement of hooking and fighting bass.
Few freshwater fish are as sporty as smallies. They are the kind of fish that creates fishing fanatics for life.
I’m also wishing for another year of great crappie fishing in the Youngstown area. Crappies have gained stature among local sport anglers, transcending from table fare to a species sought for the sheer fun of chasing after them.
More and more anglers are getting pretty sophisticated in their pursuit, using GPS positioning and sonar to find and stay connected with schools of crappies. Thanks, too, for Ohio’s implementation of a size limit to recruit more fish into the true “keeper” category.
Santa and the elves, it turns out, are generalist when it comes to their favorite kind of fishing. They like anything that bites, which makes it easy for the Jolly Ol’ Elf to understand my request for continuing success at Pymatuning Reservoir.
Few lakes in our part of the world offer such top-notch fishing for walleyes, crappies, largemouth and smallmouth bass, yellow perch, muskies and catfish. Pymatuning is the gift that keeps on giving.
Speaking of great gifts, what’s better than a day on Lake Erie? Santa can stuff anglers’ stockings with Erie vouchers, good for perch, steelhead, smallmouth bass and, of course, world-class walleye fishing.
My Christmas wish list could go on and on. By nature, anglers can never get enough of a good thing. I could ask for more great exposure like that which our region will enjoy when Major League Fishing and the Outdoor Channel air in early 2016 the tournament action shot here in July. But I don’t want to overload Santa’s sleigh this year.
I do have one more request, however, before my list is complete:
Please deliver a safe-boating, accident-free and fun-filled fishing year for all. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!