My first West Branch Reservoir fishing trip ended with our boat 15 pounds lighter than it was when we left the dock that morning.

Looking back on that fine spring day in 1977, I recognize how unfamiliar I was with the ways of reservoir fishing. I knew, based on reading, that 90% of the fish live in 10% of the water. But little did I know the fraction of suitable bass and crappie habitat was defined by cover.

Cover includes stumps, and so it was that day in May more than 40 years ago that I got up close and personal with one of the numerous stumps on the bottom of West Branch Reservoir. Our anchor had snagged the gnarly roots of the remnant of a sawed-off hardwood tree. I tried every trick of lifting and popping, changing angles of attack, and even gunning the outboard, but the anchor would not budge.

So we cut the rope and spent the balance of that fishing trip with no anchor but with the knowledge of the location of a stump field where bass, crappies and muskies lurk in search of perch, shad and other members of West Branch’s rich forage base.

West Branch is a favorite fishing hole of thousands of northeastern Ohio anglers. It offers 3,000 acres of water spreading west from Michael Kirwan Dam to Ohio 14, where the West Branch of the Mahoning River enters the reservoir. It is loaded with fish-holding cover that includes hundreds of acres of aquatic vegetation, flooded stumps, willows and buck brush, and miles of shoreline littered with the tops and trunks of trees that have toppled from the banks.

Muskies are the apex predator at the Portage County lake, driving its reputation as one of Ohio’s go-to locations for big-game fishing. Fish topping 40 inches are not uncommon, as knowledgeable anglers often score multi-catch days there.

The muskie population is so vigorous, in fact, that many are caught accidentally by fishers targeting crappie and bass. I have experienced days when I caught as many muskies as largemouths.

Bass are popular targets at West Branch. The numerous main lake stump points hold good largemouth bass populations. The bass also prowl the tributary bays formed by Silver, Little Silver, Hinkley and other creeks. The Jay Lake area attracts lots of anglers seeking bass and crappies, as do the bays near the east launch and state park marina, and unnamed arms extending north and south off the main lake.

Smallmouth bass live in fishable numbers throughout the eastern section of West Branch. Many are caught off the rip-rap dam and the hard-bottom points.

The reservoir is split down its mid-section by Rock Springs Road. Water west of Rock Springs is designated a no-wake zone, so anglers venturing there must allocate time to get to and from their fishing holes. The trip is worthwhile, however, as many score nice catches of crappies and bass. Muskies, of course, often surprise the west-end anglers.

The lake also is known to hold nice walleyes. I have never targeted them specifically, but I have hooked a few while bass fishing. Hybrid striped bass also thrive in the lake. None grow to the size of the former Ohio record 37-pound striped bass, a West Branch fish from the days when the Ohio Division of Wildlife stocked pure stripers there.

Located within easy driving distance of Cleveland, Warren, Youngstown, Akron and Ravenna, West Branch attracts a lot of anglers and a large fleet of weekend speedboaters. Nonetheless, the lake offers fun fishing opportunities for those who learn the quiet hideaways, many of them with bottoms littered with fish-holding stumps.

Over the span of four decades, I have gained a lot of respect for West Branch and learned that while filling a limit can be challenging, the fishing can be rewarding when my game is on point.

Having solved many puzzling days at West Branch, I still occasionally wonder whether that 15-pound anchor is still tangled in the unyielding roots of the stump that claimed it back in 1977.

Jack Wollitz continues to learn the ever-changing nuances of the reservoirs near Youngstown and Warren. Contact him at jackbbaass@gmail.com.