The numbers of Cowan Lake muskies aren't impressive, he said. But then, anglers at Cowan tend not to report their catches to the OHMC.

Even so, last year seven Honorable Mention Muskies and two less-than-30-inch fish were reported by Sept. 30.

The best spring fishing will be around the boat docks, the lily pad beds in the upper end of the lake and next to the blowdowns along the shoreline. Troll lures about two or three feet deep.

Pyle's spring baits include a large, lightweight spinnerbait or the AC Shiner. As the water gets warms up to about 52 or 53 degrees, he'll progress to a big Rat-L-Trap.

Cowan Lake covers 681 acres southwest of Wilmington, off U.S. routes 350 and 730 in Clinton County. For more information, contact the ODOW's District Five office at (937) 372-9261, or the Cowan Lake State Park at (937) 382-1096.

LEESVILLE LAKE
Leesville Lake is the numbers lake in Ohio and one place where catching a muskie is a definite possibility.

Don Weaver, past president of the Ohio Huskie Muskie Club, has caught some 743 muskies. All but seven of them were taken on his home water.

"In spring, I do three things, the first of which is listen to the bass and crappie fishermen," said Weaver. "They'll see more muskies than anyone else and will let you know where the muskies are."

The next thing Weaver does is to look for trees and brushpiles in the water where Leesville's muskies are likely to be. He'll throw a small bait that he can twitch, just to get a reaction. Weaver has found that in cold water, a muskie won't follow a bait very far. But a bait that acts like a dying fish is dynamite.

Before Sept. 30 last year, Leesville Lake anglers took one 50-inch muskie, and an additional 71 Huskie Muskies measuring at least 42 inches. The numbers of Honorable Mention muskies were almost off the chart at 235 fish and led the way statewide.