Traversing Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties, Ohio Route 11 has served as a valuable artery for Northeast Ohio travelers, including anglers, for more than 50 years.

Ohio 11’s importance was acknowledged in September 1973 when it was officially designated the “Lake to River Highway” in September 1973. It is a super highway for travelers, whether for commerce or entertainment.

Anglers depend on the highway to reach favorite fishing holes like Mosquito, Pymatuning, Lake Erie and its rivers, and the Ohio River itself. Over the past several weeks, I’ve towed the Bass Cat along ever mile of Ohio 11 from its northern terminus at the Crow’s Nest and Lakeshore Park in Ashtabula to the Jennings Randolph Bridge in East Liverpool.

My most recent journey on Ohio 11 was yesterday as I picked up fishing buddy Tyler Woak at the Canfield interchange for an Ohio River smallmouth bass fishing trip.

In fact, each of my recent Route 11 trips has been for smallies, either to Lake Erie or the Ohio River, so the highway’s significance in fulfilling my passion for smallmouth bass fishing continues to be pretty important.

Truth is, while Ohio 7 would do a good job in getting me to the big water of Erie or the broad current of the mighty Ohio, 11 connects me much more expeditiously.

Less drive time means more fish time–and I appreciate the opportunity to maximize the number of hours I can invest in chasing brown bass.

It occurred to me that without Ohio 11, I would be much less likely to visit Ashtabula and East Liverpool multiple times every year. While both cities are nice places to visit, it’s the bass fishing that lures me to them.

Ashtabula has much to offer anglers. Home to a fleet of walleye charter boats as well as hundreds of private fishing vessels, Ashtabula is the port of call for excellent fishing out on the rocking and rolling expanse of Erie.

On any given morning from spring to autumn, the cars and trucks zooming north on Ohio 11 are as likely as not to be going fishing. As the harbor water cools in the fall, steelhead anglers join the parade north. Springtime pulls smallmouth bass anglers up 11 to the slips and breakwaters at Ashtabula and some of us return in October for the fat brownies that gang up on the rocks to feast on shad and emerald shiners.

Cool days light the fire of the smallies that swim the Ohio River. Big schools of young-of-the-year baitfish ebb and flow around the river’s current breaks, attracting predator fish, the most numerous being bass. Walleyes also make their way to the fall food fest.

Where anglers find forage fish, they usually are in the vicinity of game species, too. Three recent Ohio River fishing trips with fishing friends Woak and Ted Suffolk have yielded numerous smallies, aggressive walleyes, northern pike and a monster muskie that crashed the Pop-R I was working along the edge of a green stretch of hydrilla.

The Ohio is running crystal clear this autumn, with visibility down 8 feet throughout the New Cumberland Pool running from Pennsylvania past East Liverpool and Wellsville. The water is so clear that I watched in amazement as an 18-inch walleye dramatically darted and dashed around the 15-inch smallmouth hooked on my jig. The walleye repeated tried to steal the lure from the bass fighting 8 feet below the boat.

Ashtabula, meanwhile, churned out Great Lakes-caliber smallmouth bass and a dandy 25-inch walleye in recent weeks, along with broad-tailed sheepshead that are welcome distractions between smallie bites.

Lake Erie and the Ohio River are two excellent resources for Youngstown-Warren-area anglers. It’s a good bet they will not disappoint when we get opportunities to fish them.

I for one am pleased the trips to each are easier thanks to Ohio 11. So how about we give the super-highway another nickname?

Anglers Alley, anyone?

Jack Wollitz’s book, “The Common Angler,” is a collection of stories that explain why anglers are passionate about fishing. Send a note to jackbbaass@gmail.com.