Angling Overdrive May 2004

Angling Overdrive

Mixin' it up for outdoor fun

By Dave Kidd

With the roller coaster ride of spring slowly giving way to the stable weather that accompanies the month of May, outdoor enthusiasts from northeast Ohio often find themselves in somewhat of a quandary.

The question no longer remains whether to go out or not, nor is it pertaining to the environmental conditions that have left us at their mercy for the last few months.

Quite simply it is a welcomed dilemma, one that can be overcome with careful planning.

The problem, if it can indeed be called so, is the presence of a multitude of options that an individual must choose from. It can be frustrating to know of several "hot bites" for a variety of fish and only have the time to target one or two. Add to this the fact that the spring gobbler season is still going strong.

Phone rings, Berlin walleye are going nuts on crankbaits cast to the shoreline willows, muskie are pounding spinnerbaits and jerkbaits over the weeds at West Branch and Leesville, huge Lake Erie smallmouth are devouring soft craws and tube jigs on the breakwalls, rock humps and shell beds off of the entire north coast, and the list goes on and on.

THE PLAN

Be in the woods before dawn, hopefully get a shot at one of those three Toms you have previously located. If your back at the truck by noon you can get home and have your boat hooked up by 1:30 p.m., somewhat later if you bagged your bird.

Here is where it gets fuzzy. The trailer is connected but the truck and your brain both are in neutral as you sit in your drive still pondering where you will go and what to take.

Muskie rods or ultralights? Both. Cranks, spinners or jigs? All of the above. Crawlers or leeches? Yes.

Sound confusing? Well it can be. Although I don't know of a cure all, I can offer a few suggestions that might alleviate some of the stress. If you have a favorite quarry you can opt to pursue that particular species. Pehaps you are fond of several kinds of fish so you may want to target those bodies of water that contain several if not all of the species you seek.

For instance, if you want walleye, crappie, largemouth, smallmouth and white bass, spend a day in Mill Creek on Berlin Reservoir. If you want to nail muskie, saugeye, striped bass and wipers (hybrid striper), that's an easy pick, West Branch Reservoir.

Most of these species, with the exception of the stripers and the hybrids, can be found throughout the northeast's ample supply of waters. In short, there is something biting somewhere in any body of water in the district.

In any event it is often the ardent angler who loads the boat and truck with a variety of tackle to be prepared for any presentation he or she may need to make. I am in no way implying that everything that one owns need be taken, but simply a diverse array of baits and rods capable of multi-species angling should be considered.

Often you may find the aforementioned kinds of fish inhabiting the same areas. One cast may produce a walleye, the next a crappie and then perhaps a white bass. The diversity in the fish can only be rivaled by that of the means of taking them.

Crankbaits, jigs with plastic and/or live bait, plastic lizards, worms and a huge variety of other offerings will all produce at various time throughout the month.

May is without question my favorite month of the year. Fish feed heavily at this time, some to build up their energy for the soon-coming spawn and some to replenish what energy they lost during the spawn.

For either reason, the point is that they are feeding which in turn spells FUN for area anglers.

This month take the time to enjoy the outdoors here in the northeast. Walk the woods, launch the boat, catch fish and breathe the fresh spring air. It's great to be alive.