Count me among the many long time Mogadore Reservoir fans whose history at the legendary fishery goes back to the 1960s. Memories include being present at our favorite haunt at the time," The Point " which we walked to from the lot on Congress Lake Road, walking alongside farms and the " pine forest " to get there. I was there when Billy McIntyre caught his 1 3/4 lb. bluegill that, when held up and compared, was clearly longer than the legendary big redear hung over the door inside the entrance to the old Anchor Bait Shop, out behind the bar.
That was also the location where I caught two small muskie on consecutive casts on a C.P.Swing spinner with a "Ripplerind" Uncle Josh pork trailer. On one early 1970s trip in my new Cougar with my brothers Gary and Karl, we caught a very nice bunch of big redears one afternoon, with big plans to haul the bounty home to clean them for dinner in the cottage behind our home in Cuyahoga Falls. Those plans were interrupted when a muskrat charged out of the water with our stringer and ran off into the bush behind us.
Another memory from even further back occurred when we lived in the Beechcrest allotment in Brimfield in 1966. I had arrangements for my Dad to give me a lift down to the reservoir early the following morning on his way to work on the A C & Y Railroad in East Akron, and then pick me up that afternoon on his way home. My brother Gary had overheard the plan and indicated a desire to go, but Dad felt he was a little young. When I got up and got ready to leave, he was asleep anyway... When Dad dropped me off at the Anchor, I bought some bait and walked across the street and took the shoreline path westward for quite a spell before picking my spot across from the big island. By early afternoon I had had a busy day from shore and was getting tired and hungry. I heard a rustle up on the path beside me. It was Gary.
The five-year-old had walked on his own the entire way and somehow found me at a remote location he had never before visited.
A huge number of area residents have their own history of Mogadore stories, and we take our appreciation of the fishery seriously. This is why many of us were more than a little concerned when Berkley rep and old friend Jeff Swanson announced last fall that, after ten appreciated years, he and his family were moving on and turning over the boathouse and rentals to others. Many were worried what the future may hold, perhaps recalling the unfortunate days some years ago when the City of Akron decided to staff the boathouse themselves, with the resultant unfortunate scenario, with a staff best described as unmotivated.
This is why I am so pleased to report the leasing of what is now officially named " The Boathouse on Mogadore Reservoir " to Suffield native and now Brimfield resident and Field High alum Pat Cercek by the City of Akron.
The boathouse is now open and, based on what I've seen, very busy with bait, snacks,tackle and kayak, canoe, and fishing boat rentals. Seldom have I seen a harder worker at his new business. Pat excitedly discusses his many plans. I was in this same business for nearly twenty years, and I think we've got a winner here, one who has a vested interest in the success, cleanliness, and ambiance of the boathouse and adjacent area that he himself worked at as a kid for Jeff Swanson years ago.
Stop in and say hi to Pat and remember he will very soon be looking for some help from some high-schoolers and other locals to help him out. The phone number at the boathouse is still 330-594-7006.
Now if we can just get more of the visiting kayakers to use the right ramp...
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Jack Kiser is the host of Buckeye Angler, and long-time Outdoors Columnist for the Record-Courier and " Midwest Outdoors " magazine. He is also past TV host for ONN,PBS, and TV-29 and radio host on Fox Sports. You may reach him at the Buckeye Angler Facebook site or the new buckeyeangler.com.
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