Northeast Ohio Outdoors

Deerfield, OH- Shoreline access along many of Ohio’s inland lakes can be tough to find. Sites that provide good fishing can be even more challenging. But, thanks to a collaborative effort at Berlin Reservoir(Stark/Mahoning/Portage counties), anglers have a stretch of shoreline where they can go to have a great time catching fish. This past Sunday, the Ohio Division of Wildlife, along with the Portage Lakes Bassmasters, refreshed fish attractors that were placed along the Bonner Road access area several years ago.

“When the Division of Wildlife and the Portage Lakes Bassmasters did the initial work back in 2006, we knew we made an excellent location for anglers to target.” says Matt Wolfe, fisheries biologist who oversees this project for the Division of Wildlife. “But, holiday trees on Berlin definitely have a short lifespan, so we felt as if it was necessary to go back and enhance what was there to continue the excellent fishing that we saw.” added Wolfe.

In total, 90 structures were introduced along the Bonner Road access area. These trees should be in about 6-8 feet of water once the reservoir is at full pool again this spring. If you have a GPS unit, the structures can be found from N 41^o 2’ 4.6” / W 81^o 0’ 32.3” to N 41^o 2’ 4.9” / W 81^o 0 34.6. The map datum on your GPS unit should be set at NAD 83 to find the structures and the coordinates provided are in degrees, minutes, and seconds.

The goal of this project is to introduce 500 structures into the waters of Northeastern Ohio annually in order to recruit the next generation of anglers and retain the anglers who already enjoy the sport of fishing. These efforts came at minimal cost to the Division and its constituents since the used block were donated and the holiday trees were recycled through the Mahoning County Green Team. Structure locations in other Northeast Ohio lakes can be found at the Northeast Ohio Fishing Prospects page. For all other inquiries, please contact the Wildlife District Three office in Akron at (330) 644-2293.

View Ohio fishing lake maps