NORTHEAST OHIO OPEN WATER FISHING YEAR IN REVIEW

As another rewarding angling season all too quickly winds down for many, it is time for us to take a break from autumn's last few dwindling days to look back nostalgically on 2009 and utilize our reporting stations (thanks to you all!) , readership, the Division of Wildlife,and our www.buckeyeangler members to combine with our own impressions, and rank our area fisheries as best we can by species of fish, top five each.Fisheries were judged not so much on past reputation and stocking stats, but rather on sheer fish caught and their relative size.> Here then are the top five District #3 per specie, for 2009:

LARGEMOUTH BASS

5.Lake Milton- 15'' limit continues to accomplish good things here. Evenings around the lake's relatively few precious docks a favored pattern 4. Lake Erie- inshore breakwalls and docks bite has become a common alternative for many, not just as a bad waves alternative anymore. 3. LaDue Reservoir- Geauga County favorite's mid-lake section continues to be a key area producer for many 2.Portage Lakes- not a banner year.Suffered through a curious late summer period of ongoing doldrums. Still awfully productive. 1.MOGADORE RESERVOIR- production still ongoing right now. Weedline edges bite on soft plastics and Traps gave way to summer topwater frog bite that was nearly as productive and more exciting.Late season deepwater crankbait bite (daytime) now gives way to (evening) buzzbait frenzy.

SMALLMOUTH BASS

5.West Branch- revisits category after extended hiatus. Population seems to be growing in sizes, if not sheer numbers. 4. Berlin Reservoir- infrequent early spring action topped by autumn points and deep water humps bite on blade baits and jigs. Better average size than West Branch. 3. Milton- continues to surpass this lake's encouraging bigmouth bite, even for average size.South side stands out 2.Lake Erie- good catches continue to be more elusive all the time, even as the comparatively less alarming walleye drop off gets all the press and wailings of concern. Will the true glory days ever return? 1.CUYAHOGA RIVER- with the smallmouth's now decided supplanting of the largemouth's premier status on all stretches but the Edison Pool, the easier access for most, greater fighting ability per pound, economic concerns and sheer numbers, the inevitable ascension of the river to the top spot had to happen.

BLUEGILL (INCLUDES REDEAR,SUNFISH,WARMOUTH,PUMPKINSEED)

5.Cuyahoga River- has all the species and sub-species in impressive numbers, if not always impressive sizes. 4.Portage Lakes- every lake in system has its own personality, and good numbers of often decent-sized panfish. 3.Lake Punderson- deeper than at most other lakes, but cold and sweet from these mountain-like waters. 2. LaDue- bottlenecks and weedy backbays remain the favored haunts of many of these nice 'gills. 1.MOGADORE- not what it once was, but that once lofty status certainly isn't threatened by any other fishery either. Redears stayed a little deeper than usual in this cool year, confounding many.

CATFISH

5.Berlin- area around old ramp continues to produce many quality channels. 4.Erie- more than a little iffy consumption-wise, but you could do worse than fish off these breakwalls on a hot summer's night. 3. Milton- start hitting surprisingly early in the year here, and some nice ones available. 2. Mogadore Reservoir- decade-old stocking of channels has positively and utterly transformed what was once just a haven for brown bullheads. 1.CUYAHOGA RIVER- we're largely talking legendary Edison Reservoir, of course, though LaDue and Rockwell more than hold their own. All the species are somewhere along the way, and deeper holes harbor the stuff of which dreams are made.

CRAPPIE

5.Cuyahoga River- arguably this fabled fishery's most under-appreciated specie.Pike, bass, and cats get all the attention, but check out the deeper sides of the Gorge Pier with a bucket of minnows some evening. 4.Portage Lakes- widespread throughout the system, with Turkeyfoot often best for size. 3.Berlin- average size may best its sister lake, but West Branch has the numbers. 2.West Branch- J-Lake area a sleeper.Rock Spring's Road area the most fished. 1.MOSQUITO RESERVOIR- easy ongoing champ in this category. Cemetery and Pikie Bay regions notorious.

MUSKIE

5.Erie- few and far between, but islands harbor more than a few. 4.Berlin- seldom discussed but much in evidence this past year, especially in July. 3. Clear Fork- a favorite of the hard core. 2. Milton- not one of the better year's here, but still a standout. 1.WEST BRANCH- good solid season here in 2009.

NORTHERN PIKE

5. West Branch- some nice ones came out of here this past spring. 4. Milton- a fun surprise for more than a few muskie trollers here. 3. Mosquito- if only we could fish the off-limits areas...You can actually hear the carp in their death-throes back there. 2.LaDue- doesn't measure up to the downriver hotspots, but certainly superior to other area lakes and reservoirs. 1.CUYAHOGA RIVER- again an easy choice.Tops in the category for numbers, size, relative health, and reproduction -by wide margins.

YELLOW PERCH

5.LaDue- lots of numbers, not much size. 4. Lake Hodgson- successful stocking of several years ago needs repeated. 3.Lake Milton- "off-season" blade bait bonanza just getting under way hereabouts. Surprising size. 2. Mogadore- emergence as inland Erie option well-deserved. Head southwest from islands west of Rt.43 and plumb the deeper holes. 1.LAKE ERIE- again, best perchin' of the year for the heartier just getting under way. Limit raise overdue.

TROUT- many of those newly-stocked specimens so unsuccessfully pursued in spring soon after go deep and bite even more readily just prior to when this private lake hangs it up for the year. 4. Rocky River- most underrated and accessible of the major Erie tribs.Runs clear to Montrose, and so do the steelhead 3. Punderson- clear, clean, deep,productive, and amazingly underfished. 2. Conneaut Creek- remote but ongoing king of the tributaries, a particular favorite of Keystone Staters. 1. ERIE- summer steelie spoon bite combined with autumn small-boat slow -troll successes along breakwalls and shipping lanes becoming too popular and notorious to not emphasize

WALLEYE

5. Milton-winter might be better than summer, ice or no.

4. Mosquito- lots of numbers but too often the crappie are bigger.

3. Berlin- has its moments, but there simply aren't enough of them.

2. West Branch- spring minnow & jig bite on mid-lake humps re-emerged nicely in later summer. 1. Lake Erie- precarious indeed hangs the crown. Walleye bite increasingly unreliable in midst of economic downturn = increasing numbers of anglers trying inland options.

Let the arguments begin!

LOCAL CHARTER PRO AND FRIENDS MAKE FAIRPORT HARBOR TRIP A HIT

Followers of this column and our Web site probably know that I have in the past hardly expressed any affinity for trolling, regardless of specie. I'm the first to acknowledge the utter efficiency of the troll, its just that it has always seemed a bit less sporting and detached than jigging or other more conventional methods. Much of my preconceived bias against trolling techniques would significantly change by the end of this day.

The overwhelming advantage of trolling is the precision of keeping a multiple number of baits in the perceived "strike zone" while at the same time covering vast expanses of water in search of active walleye and steelhead. Tournament walleye pros will tell you the only time trolling is not the very most deadly means of attaining of a walleye limit is when the bite has effectively shut down. It is usually only then that trolling takes a back seat to more vertical presentations, like jigging. This is when the fish are so spooky, and their congregate strike-zone so small, that more aggressive horizontal methods such as trolling or bottom-bouncing with crawler harnesses may well serve to scare off more fish than it attracts. This was decidedly not the case recently when myself and nephew Danny of the "Buckeye Angler" pro staff, expert cameraman Stefan Welch of Welch Productions, and fellow Field High alum Jeff Hamilton and his wife Wendy, a Rootstown native, owners of Hamilton's West Branch Bait & Tackle, all met at the Grand River Marina on a weekday morning. Our goal was to film our first-ever Central Basin trolling show for the "Buckeye Angler" television program. It was overcast and a threat of rain loomed. I'm frankly always leery of whom we take our time to schedule filming sessions with. Travel and film crews are big expenses. It becomes increasingly important to pick our spots and research potential fishing scouts and partners prior to scheduling our seasonal shooting schedule, while at the same time being careful not to offend anyone. No such concerns this day. I'd heard through the Erie grapevine for some time how "Reel Time" charters Captain Mike Arnold could search out limits when others couldn't.The added plus that he was a local out of Diamond and a show sponsor to boot, sealed the deal. Mike eased the 33ft. Trojan Mid-Cabin with its two 502 cubic-inch Cadillac engines(!) outside of the breakwalls just past 8a.m.We headed northwest to about 68 ft. of water and more than one head nodded off during the smooth one-hour ride. Mike's pantheon of electronics is impressive indeed.

With a well-forecast and increasingly ominous front encroaching from our west, we knew every fishable minute was precious.The Okuma fiberglass trolling combos loaded with 20lb. Power Plus braid tied to . mono leaders were dispensed with due speed even as Dipsey Divers and Jet Divers were hurriedly but expertly affixed.Planer boards were similarly dispatched to the system post haste. The baits would indeed be Michigan Scorpion Stinger spoons arrayed in a variety of colors. Stingers are a thin spoon, much unlike Little Cleos and K.O. Wobblers, whose very flimsiness seems to contribute greatly to their unique action. It sure wasn't long after we decided on our order of turn that Jeff let out a yell and Danny leaped to the transom to reel in a gorgeous walleye at the end of 150ft. of line. A lot of great fun ensued as even larger walleye were nailed but what excited us all was the fact that the two acrobatic steelhead trout we hooked were the biggest creatures of the morning ! They were also a lot more fun-trolling or not-than a lot of my bassin' friends might prefer to believe. We wound up doing so well and keeping so busy that our trip being cut short by the impending front was hardly the negative development we it otherwise might have been. This kind of boat has little trouble beating a mere weather front back to the dock in comfortable, enjoyable fashion.

Awaiting us at almost adjacent "Brennan's Fish House" was a lunch even better than Capt.Arnold promised it would be. Jeff and Mike were both great company for our trio and Wendy was a picture of grace and tolerance as she listened to that full table of fisherman tell their stories, exaggerations, and lies about the sport we all share and love.

On the ride home, I think it was Stefan who mentioned that it was no surprise that the long-time "West Branch Bait & Tackle" locale has experienced such a resurgence in both business and reputation since people like the Hamilton family took over the reins barely five seasons ago. I guess sincerity, honesty, and family values still count for something...

I want to personally thank Jeff for his unexpected role as defacto first-mate on the boat that day. Clearly, his expertise at his store comes not so much from what he hears as what he himself has experienced. Good luck trying to benefit from this kind of expertise at your local "Mart" store. You too can experience such refreshing expertise at Hamilton's West Branch Bait & Tackle

(330-297-9901).

Stow native Capt.Mike Arnold of "Reel Time"Charters (216-509-6180) is every thing they say he is.Knowledgeable without being uppity, helpful without being patronizing, consistently productive for a variety of species (they say he's an absolute perch machine), and with just enough of an Andy Griffith-like countenance to make everybody feel at ease and welcome. Come to think of it, his good friends the Hamilton's place now reminds me as a sort of Floyd's Barber Shop for anglers. You know, no pressure and everybody's welcome to just stop by and chew the fat on a rainy day, since the nicer days are now way too busy there. Though the impact of their businesses now spreads throughout the entirety of northeast Ohio and beyond, we are indeed awfully fortunate to have fishing industry representatives like this headquartered right here in Portage County.

Oh yeah, Goober says "hey".

HANG ON FOR BASSIN'S TOPWATER SEASON!

Just a little while back I had occasion to stop by Mogadore Bait & Tackle to leave off a trolling motor in need of repair and get some line machine-spooled, a service I am now spoiled on insisting on after years of seeing the benefits of so doing back in our family's Tackleshack days (1985-2001).

While there I asked the unfailingly honest staff there for the current fishing news, since I'd be sending it in to the Record-Courier with all the others for that Friday's edition of our popular "Area Fishing Report." My ears perked up when I received the news that the top water bass bite had just broken loose across the lake. No angling news gets my antennae up quicker than hearing that this most special time of the fishing season is indeed upon us. Now don't get me wrong, bass-particularly largemouth- may engulf a top water offering at different times during the open water season. Smallmouth in particular seem far more inclined to do so on a warm autumn day than any other, no question. There is little doubt though that when it comes to maximizing ones chances at the precious top water frenzy, the primo calendar period for bass runs from approximately mid-July to mid-October, remembering the water temps cool after the air temperature does. Just as angling knowledge references the "spot on the spot" when considering the narrowing down of a promising area, it is similarly necessary for the savvy angler to try to narrow down a calendar period to the best possible day in a given promising week. After all, fishing days for some are sadly limited by such intrusions as work and family. How unfortunate. However, if you're able to manage some scheduling flexibility, here are some tips for maximizing your top water bassing success; first, after a cool front and/or rainy period, try to fish the third or fourth stable, warming day of the comeback stretch. This will provide the time for the fish to fall back into preferred patters while at the same time allowing a lake , pond, or reservoir to clear up sufficiently to allow the bass to forage successfully. Lakes and streams may take a little longer, based on the severity of the preceding storm and the sheer amount of precipitation , particularly upriver of where you might plan to try your luck.The very best days are very often those that exhibit a grey "ceiling" or "low sky" combined with high daytime temperatures. The bite will almost certainly peak at dawn and dusk because these are "low light" conditions that facilitate the widening of the predator's "strike zone". Ongoing conditions of such a nature can conspire to provide a bite that lasts all day. After spreading the promising news to fellow "Buckeye Angler" Kirby Romesberg of Cuyahoga Falls and our friend , hard-core Portage County basser Dave Hutson, we set out for Mogadore, arriving just prior to four p.m. and were in and loading up by nine p.m. or so.We launched from the Rt.43 ramp on this venerable and aesthetically pleasing electric-only fishery in two "bantum " style boats provided for us by the Sun Dolphin Company of Muskeegee Michigan. These plastic wonders are perfect for electric-only fisheries.

The good news is the three of us caught a number of fish on our topwater offerings, highlighted by Dave's two 22-inchers and one 20 incher and a bonus 17'' and 14'' to round out his catch.Kirby contributed a dandy 19'' beauty on one of those new Lucky craft spinnerbaits and my four best were a 14'', a 17'' and two fat 18'' lunkers, and I'll refrain from telling you just how many we missed amidst the additional smaller specimens we brought in.yours truly forgot the weigh scale but I'm pretty good at fish weight approximations after many years of doing so for customers and tournament anglers.Dave's fish may well have both been six-pounders , but I'd rather err on the side of team modesty.

Most of our fish were nailed around the islands and along the underfished (the we did see some slop fisherman trying their luck along Rt.43's southernmost ends) south and southeast areas.
Many thanks to the gang at Mogadore Bait & Tackle (330-628-9872) for another great tip and here's hoping you might run into us on our next journey out to Portage County's ''Great Grey Lady". I can assure you this wasn't our last trip out there this season-by far. -Jack

Stretch Your Budget - Fish Locally!

ECONOMICAL, CONVENIENT, AND PRODUCTIVE LOCAL FISHING TRIPS

Sometimes we just don't feel like going to the trouble of hitching up the big boat-providing we even have one. Sometimes we're a little short of cash, precluding any longer excursions.At still other times time itself severely limits our options to scratch that fishing itch. Fortunately, we live in an area of the country where our angling options are far greater, handier, and more economical than we sometimes realize. The most important variable, however, is that so many of these options can be extremely productive to boot. In these cases, you'll only need one outfit per attendee.Let's say a good choice might be a 5 1/2-6ft. light-action spinning rod matched to a reel loaded with 4-8 lb. test line. Light enough to offer some fun for panfish, and just stout enough to provide at least a fighting chance if a biggun' passes by, and the places I'm listing all offer that chance. So whether with live bait or not, with a little challenge funds-wise, and little time to get out for some fun after a summer dinner, here are some often overlooked choices for truly good fishing, all within minutes of the greater Akron/Kent/Ravenna area, and all accessible to the non-boater:

Fred Fuller Park(Kent)- take the winding road back to where the bridge spans the Cuyahoga to the adjacent softball fields. Not too deep or wide. Species: crappie, northern pike smallmouth bass.Favorite Bait:in-line spinners.

St.Peter's of the Field Church(Rootstown/Brimfield)- creek (Little Cuyahoga) runs by here on it's way to nearby Mogadore Reservoir. Species: panfish.bass,very occasional pike.Favorite Bait: minnows.

Cuyahoga River(Streetsboro)-leg that brushes along Rt.#303 contains some quality smallies.Species:smallmouth,pike. Favorite Bait: tubes.

Virginia Kendall(Peninsula)- down Kendall Rd. off old 8 north of Cuyahoga Falls.Pleasant setting features dock with ample room for the kids to pursue the pond's ample but individually smallish bluegill population. Dad can while away the time fishing amongst the weed pockets for largemouth, and there are some good ones.Species: bluegill, crappie, catfish, largemouth.Favorite Bait: redworms.

Cuyahoga River(Cascade Valley)- loaded with smallmouth, but be prepared to get wet and a bit mussed.Waders an option, though beware of some sudden drop-offs along this stretch's always-changing topograhpy. Species:smallmouth, warmouth, occasional pike and steelhead.Favorite Bait: tubes.

Mogadore Dock (Suffield)- clearly visible just east of Rt.43. Gets popular when the fall crappie bite beckons. Species: redear,largemouth, catfish,crappie. Favorite Bait: minnows.


Mud Brook (Cuyahoga Falls)-crosses Bath Rd. between Graham and State Rds. Rustic little time-killer.Species: bluegill, carp.Favorite Bait: dugworms.

Riverfront Park (Cuyahoga Falls)- widening stretch of the Cuyahoga just off the Front St. X-way exit.Very nice, with picnic facilities, restrooms, and drinking fountains. Species: bass, pike, crappie, panfish, carp, catfish,yellow perch,white perch, white bass. Favorite Bait: minnows. Curiously, city Parks & Rec. Dept. info still lists a non-existent canoe launch here.

Lake Rockwell Bridge(Mantua)- only legal means of sampling the Cuyahoga's least-pressured and most storied reservoir.Species: crappie,pike,largemouth, panfish.Favorite Bait: try topwaters.Careful maintaining legal status hereabouts, could get costly. Good Idea:call nearby Mark's Bait & Tackle (330-221-5213) for reliable info. Always worth stopping in there anyway.

Gorge Park Pier (Cuyahoga Falls)-best in fall for crappie and perch.Most visitors in the dark that SE corner is 25 ft. deep and SW corner is 35ft.So many visitors fishing down a foot or two wondering why no action.Sits on Falls side of legendary Edison Reservoir.Species: bluegill, warmouth, redear, yellow perch, white bass, largemouth, smallmouth, northern pike, crappie, bullhead, channel cats, carp, white perch. Wheelchair accessable. Little shade during day.

Well, there they are. All local, public, potentially productive, and near at least some numbers of everybody reading this.You may well find out that spending less time, money, preparation, and worry is a worthy pastime in itself. -Jack

ERIE SMALLMOUTH BITE TRENDS EASTWARD
by Jack Kiser

There is no longer any doubt among Lake Erie's smallmouth bass fishing fraternity that the days of the Western Basin being the big pond's preeminent bass fishery have gone the way of the hula hoop.

The islands of the area may well still be named after these glorious battlers, and an inordinate number of bass tournaments may still originate from that same old Sandusky-to-Lorain stretch, but the days of 100 fish days at Ruggles Reef or off Kelley's Island are now as much the stuff of past history as the Oldsmobile.

It is clear the residual effects of decades of tournaments that regularly displaced huge numbers og big spawning fish, and charter captains making at least a partial transition from walleye to bass (often without their boats even featuring any livewells at all) brought a largely uninformed and woefully insensitive tableau to their bass fishing that revealed the worst habits carried over from their walleye fishing that eventuated in either the outright keeping and eating of these valuable sportfish or smallmouth actually kept on stringers or in coolers like they were indeed mere walleye for end of the day photo ops, after which their carcasses were more than a few times witnessed thrown dead and dying into the waters in and around shipping lanes, harbors, and boat slips.

To be sure, other not so clear cut or easily understood variables may also be at work in Erie's ecosystem that may also contribute to or better explain the now obvious transition of smallmouth prominence from the west end-which, to be sure, still boasts more truly productive smallmouth days than any inland lake-to the east 's far superior bass waters that seem to improve exponentially as one heads eastward, promptly noticeable in the central basin's breakwall area's and drop-offs around Geneva, Ashtabula, and Ohio's current bass champ, Conneaut.The improvements continue seasonally heading eastward, towards the smallmouth nirvana to be experienced at Pennsylvania's Presque Isle and New York's Dunkirk shorelines. Savvy anglers have learned to remember that much as with walleyes and even yellow perch migrations that roam easterly as the open water season goes on, the bass fishing in the Western Basin peaks in April, the Central Basin most often in May, and the Eastern most often in June. Key variables hear include greater depths and consequently slower-to-warm waters the further eastward we move. Sadly, for many of us older Erie bassers, much spoiled by years of 100fish days of yore in the Western Basin, even at that end's current April peak it falls far short of even average days at the lake's other end.this is evidenced to at least some degree by the increasing number of the more prestigious tournaments that have in recent memory abandoned the general Sandusky area for venues closer to New York.

Here's hoping that a more enlightened and motivated generation of bass anglers can instill a new ethic that, combined with Ohio's long overdue closed season on smallmouth bass, will usher in not only safe maintenance of the eastern basin's bass bounties, but the eventual comeback of Erie's once predominant western locales.

*
Jack Kiser is the host of TV'S "Buckeye Angler", seen every Thursday evening at 7:30 and every Saturday morning at 6 on "The Cat", TV-35 in Cleveland and TV-29 in Akron (cable 14). You may reach him at his www.buckeyeangler.com Web site.