Fishing forecast for area lakes is excellent
A lot of fishing attention will be directed at Berlin Reservoir this year as the popular lake continues to perform as one of the region’s better crappie waters.
What’s more, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has announced that its Division of Engineering and a private firm have designed a new boat ramp for Berlin. Construction will begin in June.
The crappie fishing forecast at Berlin is excellent, much to the delight of the growing number of anglers who are learning and employing sophisticated tactics to catch the slabs that populate the reservoir.
Berlin’s crappie corps ranges from the cane pole minnow-and-bobber crowd to those in vessels decked out with high-tech sonar, GPS-guided trolling motors and rod-holder arrays that make the boats look like porcupines. Everyone will catch them this spring and summer, if the ODNR forecast is accurate.
“Berlin produces great numbers of both white and black crappie each year, but has a very good size structure as well for both species. Berlin is one of the highest quality crappie fisheries in Northeast Ohio,” said an ODNR news release.
Part of the credit for the improved crappie fishing must go to the recent efforts to fortify the lake’s habitat. The Division of Wildlife, in partnership with Mahoning County Green Team, has placed thousands of recycled Christmas trees in Berlin in recent years.
Many of the pine piles are accessible from shoreline perches. For details about where to find the brush piles, call the Division of Wildlife District Three office at 330-644-2293.
Berlin’s western upper end, a haven for many anglers who want to escape the busy buzz of the main lake from Ohio 14 north to the dam, soon will be more reachable by boaters. A new ramp will be built off German Church Street not far from Ohio 225.
The site is U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property managed by the ODNR Division of Wildlife. Funding is through state gas-tax money from the Division of Wildlife’s Boater-Angler Fund.
The ramp will have a two-lane launch and 77 vehicle and trailer parking spaces, plus 16 vehicle-only spaces.
Construction will start in June, and completion is expected by December. The ramp will be open for use for the 2017 boating season.
While Berlin will continue entertaining crappie anglers, the muskie community will be celebrating another banner year at West Branch, according to the ODNR.
The Portage County lake last year topped the Muskie Angler Log for Ohio waters.
“This lake is known for producing fish, but the number of large fish reported has been high, making West Branch a true trophy fishery,” the ODNR news release said.
Mosquito Creek Reservoir, as would be expected, is heading to another banner year. ODNR said Mosquito has the densest walleye population of all Ohio inland waters.
“Mosquito is known for producing great catch rates of walleye from 14 to 18 inches, but anglers who are familiar with the lake and the fishery regularly catch walleye up to 28 inches,” said the ODNR.
ODNR offers help with seasonal tactics. It recommends anglers call the Division of Wildlife District Three office in Akron at 330-644-2293.
With a weekend like the one that started this morning coupled with the ODNR’s forecasts, fishing our local waters seems like a very, very good idea.