Hunt and Fish The Shenango

HUNT and FISH THE SHENANGO FOR FUN AND ADVENTURE

By Ed Moody

Between now and the arrival of fall's cool breezes is the best time for the family, or two hunting buddies, to put their idle time to good use. Hunters and anglers can use this leisure time by taking a drive around the Shenango Wildlife Area or a combination float-fishing trip down the Pymatuning Creek to look for potential new hunting areas before this fall's seasons open.

Although vegetation is presently dense, a small amount of investigation now may prove productive in locating areas for potential hunting, fishing and trapping. And a good pair of binoculars may make stomping through marshy, mosquito infested areas unnecessary.

When floating, pull up alongside any number of favorable looking areas to investigate what lies just beyond the river's bank. Many of these numerous areas are dotted with small marshes that attract migrating waterfowl. When fall's weather provides an adequate amount of moisture, these half-hidden areas are quite numerous. During waterfowl seasons, floating the river from one of these pot-holes to another can produce full bag limits.

A word of caution though. Until the area undergoes several hard frosts, wear liberal amounts of top-quality mosquito repellent and carry some along on the trip.

Outdoor enthusiasts who never venture into the Shenango Wildlife Area to determine what's there may be missing out on some good hunting and fishing. A variety of habitat provides a variety of opportunities along the scenic Pymatuning Creek which flows through the midst of the Wildlife Area located in eastern Trumbull County.

This 4,845 acre wildlife area is long and narrow. It extends south of the Ashtabula County line in a southeasterly direction along Pymatuning Creek to Orangeville, just west of the Pennsylvania line. State Route 7 parallels the wildlife area on the west. It is intersected east to west by State Route 87 near Kinsman and State Route 88 near Vernon Center.

A half-day float trip can be made by launching a car-top boat or canoe from the closed bridge on Milligan East Road, just north of Burghill on State Route 7. The upper portion of the creek, below State Route 87 is interlaced with enough log-jams, beaver dams, vegetation and brush to make anyone attempting the trip to have second thoughts about turning back. Another word of caution; when accessing the river, be sure to avoid the masses of poison ivy along the access sites. Use open sites or access the river from a bridge.

When the weather causes low water throughout the countryside to freeze over, deep water pockets along the river offer sanctuary to an abundance of various waterfowl species.

Shenango's landscape ranges from gently sloping terrain to nearly level pot-hole infested flatlands. Approximately two-thirds of the vegetation consists of second-growth hardwoods, which include sugar and red maple, hickory, oak, ash and elm. Good squirrel country. About 20 percent of the area is either cropland or open land. The remaining habitat consists of brush land, wetlands and a mixture of the two.

This diverse landscape offers good hunting for rabbit, squirrel, fox, grouse, deer, raccoon, muskrat, beaver, woodcock and waterfowl. Rabbits are the most abundant upland game species. In the fall, and early spring with returning flights, large numbers of migrant waterfowl and woodcock pass through the Shenango Valley. One of the best waterfowl marshes on the area lies along Pymatuning Creek just north of State Route 87.

The Shenango Wildlife Area consists of the Ohio portion of the Shenango River Reservoir project owned and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Ohio Division of Wildlife has administered the land under a long-term lease agreement with the Corps since 1968. Wildlife management projects have included development and management of several hundred acres of grain crops and meadows, primarily for wildlife food and nesting cover for upland game and waterfowl. The area has been greatly improved for wildlife.

Some former pastures and crop fields have been selected to return to woodland through natural succession with the planting of thousands of trees and shrubs. Nesting structures for wood ducks and Canada geese have been installed in marsh areas.

The primary purpose of this hunter financed wildlife area is to provide hunting and fishing for the general public. Other wildlife recreational uses of this area include bird watching, photography, hiking, and canoeing on Pymatuning Creek.

According to Joe Sassone, an officer in the Ohio Federation of Conservation Clubs, who successfully hunts deer and waterfowl in the area, hip boots make the chore of hunting deer easier. "When careful, a hunter can walk from island to island. Hip boots provide deer hunters with the ability to access prime areas not hunted by the average hunter wearing regular hunting boots. But, getting a deer dropped on a backwater island back to the vehicle can be quite a job. The abundance of muck around these small islands seems to suck the deer down. This is the reason it's always best to hunt with a buddy larger and stronger than you. One hunter can pull the other from the always present muck."

Bruce Knodel from Newton Falls enjoys using the creek as a passageway to hunt for squirrels. He launches his small flat bottom boat at Milligan East Road, floating down to Orangeville.

Waterfowl hunters have been known to launch their boats at Milligan East Road, float downstream to a log-jam or go upstream to a likely looking spot to tie-up and wait for waterfowl that use the twisting waterway as a travel route. Because the River has so many twists and elbows, shooting can be fast and furious. Fast-flying waterfowl are only in sight for a very short duration. Tying up in the middle of the creek to a log-jam offers hunters the best chance to spot waterfowl before they fly into range. Hunting with a buddy, one facing upstream and the other downstream usually offers the most opportunities to drop waterfowl.

The River has a mixture of fish, including carp, crappie, white and smallmouth bass. Fish migrate upstream from Shenango Lake in Pennsylvania to the low-head dam at Orangeville. From the dam upstream, the River holds enough huge carp to make fishing for the bottom-feeders interesting, and productive. When fishing from one of those plastic car-top bass boats or a canoe, a large carp on the other end of the line becomes a worthy opponent. This is especially true when the carp runs downstream, seeking refuge in a fallen tree. This usually ends with the fish winning the contest.

For fishing, hunting and canoeing fun and adventure, try the challenging Pymatuning Creek as it flows through the mysterious Shenango Wildlife Area. Mysterious, only because you never know for sure what lies just beyond the next bend in the river or remote island.