He owns trophies from dozens of tournaments, including major national championships, so Sammy Cappelli has proven his mettle when it comes to finding and catching big walleyes regardless of the waterway or time of the year.

Fresh from his big win in the Cabella’s Masters Walleye Circuit season opener on the Illinois River (see last week’s column for winning details), Cappelli offered a few pointers for Northeast Ohio anglers looking to jump start their 2023 walleye fishing.

We asked him, “What’s the best bet this spring for Ohio walleye?” He didn’t even hesitate to ponder the question.

“Lake Erie is going to be amazing,” he said. “It’s your best place to catch 50 fish a day. The fishing was outstanding last year and it’s already getting underway this spring.”

He recalled a Thanksgiving-week trip with fishing buddies to do a photoshoot to share with sponsors of his professional competition on the nation’s top walleye circuits.

“They used a counter, so the number is totally accurate. We totaled 92 fish in six hours and most of them were big.”

Cappelli’s experience is expansive and extensive. Besides fishing local waters since his childhood days, Cappelli has fished the finest walleye lakes and rivers throughout the United States. Having Cappelli for a local walleye reference is like having Kevin Van Dam share his favorite local bass hotspots or Pete Maina refer a muskie lake.

Cappelli says that even if Erie were not in our local mix, we still are blessed with pretty good walleye fishing close to home around Warren and Youngstown. Local anglers have their own favorites and are quick to complain when the fishing seems to decline, such as was the case in 2022 at Mosquito as some found it difficult to connect with good numbers of walleyes in the weedy reservoir.

“Mosquito is going to be OK this year,” he said. “The fish are in there and they are spawning now and next week. We have a good shallow bite off the Route 88 causeway and dam.”

He expects Berlin Reservoir’s spring bite will kick off in the next two weeks. He recommends fishing floating Rapalas off the U.S. 224 causeway after dark.

Soon he will also be fishing Pymatuning.

“Pymatuning is my favorite reservoir because there are lots of fish that can be caught on a variety of tactics. We catch them in the weeds later, but in the spring, I like to vertical jig off the causeway,” he said.

With Pymatuning, Berlin and Mosquito keeping him busy this spring, Cappelli nonetheless has his sights set on Lake Erie, with two pro tournaments next on his schedule. “In May we’re going to Erie out of Monroe, Mich., and then in June out of Lorain.”

Look for him in the meantime in his big custom-wrapped Vexus walleye boat on our local waters. The wrap’s design is being immortalized in the soon-to-be-released Sammy the Bull-colored Bandit lure that he used to win the recent Cabella’s Masters tournament.

Jack Wollitz’s book, “The Common Angler,” is an immersive look at why anglers, including Sammy Cappelli, are passionate about fishing. Send a note to jackbbaass@gmail.com.