By Greg Keefer

Early spring is conventionally regarded as the best time of the year to target big northeastern Ohio bass, and the situation is no different this year. The area's lakes are warming up, and the bass' 2004 spawning activity is well under way.

There are a number of exceptional bass lakes in the Akron area. Anglers can choose among several viable options for lakes that offer anglers not only solid numbers of bass but some big fish as well.

Andy Burt, a fisheries biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife's District Three office in Akron, explained that bass management activities are in full swing and on target.

The ODOW's newly developed Inland Management System (IMS) features a new fish-sampling process for all of Ohio's public reservoirs. Biologists will check each lake at least once every six years to standardize the length of time between ODOW fish samplings and to help biologists analyze each lake's specific needs.

According to Burt, bass populations in the best lakes will be checked two or three times every six years, so that biologists can keep up with the shifting population trends and make sure that habitat improvement, minimum-length and slot limits, and other management measures keep up with what's going on in the lake. Electroshocking and netting surveys are used by biologists to capture bass to be checked for size, weight and general health.

The IMS program will provide up-to-date information on bass numbers and sizes in a given body of water, as well as make management decisions more effective. Tappan and Berlin reservoirs will be the new reference lakes and will be surveyed every year. Burt expects that the results of the samplings will be on the division's Web site within the next year or so.

Here's a look at five of the best spring bass destinations in the Akron area for this season.

Photo by Ron Sinfelt

Clendening is a part of the Muskingum Conservancy Watershed District. Its 1,800 acres regularly yield up bass weighing 5 pounds and measuring 24 inches. Long and narrow, with most of its 44 miles of shoreline wooded and scenic, this quiet lake is ideal for anglers with small boats.

"Spring 2000 electroshocking surveys again confirmed that Clendening Lake has one of the better bass populations within District Three," said Phil Hillman, District Three fisheries supervisor. "This is one of the region's best bass-fishing lakes, with excellent numbers of fish ranging from 12 to 23 inches. Of 326 bass captured that measured at least 8 inches, 63 percent of those fish exceeded 12 inches. Another positive note for bass anglers was the fact that 33 percent of the 326 fish measured were at least 15 inches."

Hillman says that the bass prospects in Clendening are excellent. Big bass move into the coves in April or May to spawn. The shallow, brushy areas in the eastern section of the lake are usually productive. Casting along the shoreline from a boat or by wading using weighted plastic worms, jig-and-pigs and deep-diving crankbaits will produce pleasing catches in the northern half of the lake.

There is a bag limit of five bass with a minimum length of 12 inches.

The marina is on the southern shore about mid-lake off township Road 92 and offers boat docks, boat rentals and launch ramps. There is a 10-hp motor limit on the lake. The boat rental area is off township Road 92, north of state Route 799 on the southern side of the lake.

Clendening lies off state Route 800; state Route 799 bisects the lake five miles south of Tippecanoe. The lake is 12 miles south of Uhrichsville, 90 miles east of Columbus and 90 miles southeast of Cleveland.

For additional information, contact the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District at (330) 343-6647. Lodging information is available from the Harrison Regional Chamber of Commerce, 300 Lincoln Avenue, Cadiz, OH 43907.

"I'd rank Nimisila as the best," he said. "We continue to see a lot of fish there, including a lot of big fish."

Nimisila is relatively shallow, with depths to 30 feet. Extensive weedbeds, islands, bays and coves, rocky areas in the shallows; deep breaklines and underwater points all contribute to making Nimisila a favorite of local bass fishermen.

Only electric motors are allowed here - and Rory Franks of Frank's Bass Fishing Promotions considers that an important point when he recommends Nimisila to trophy anglers. In his view, limiting the lake to electric motors reduces fishing pressure and increases the chances of hooking a really big bass.

"Most of this region's electric-motor-only lakes offer the best shot at a serious trophy of 5 to 8 pounds," Franks asserted.

According to biologist Hillman, Nimisila contains a high percentage of lunker largemouth bass. In a 1995 electroshocking survey, 7 percent of the lake's sampled bass measured greater than 15 inches. The bass fishing has continued to be outstanding, and this year's prospects are considered to be excellent.

1997's angler surveys reported that in total, 13,202 bass were taken that year, the vast majority of them released unharmed.

Bass must be 12 inches in length before they are harvested; the daily bag limit is five fish. Shoreline angling is limited, with no access allowed on the north half of the west bank or on the northern edge of the lake.

Fish-attracting devices have been placed near the Christman Road causeway, north of the island in the main lake section and in the northern part of the lake.

There are four ramps to serve boaters: one at the dead end of Killinger road, one off Christman Road, another on Nimisila Road and yet another where Nimisila Road dead-ends into the lake on the western shoreline.

For more information and a map, contact the ODOW's District Three office at (330) 644-2293, or the Akron Regional Development Board at 1-800-621-8001 for information on where to stay.