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Home › Waters › Ohio › Mosquito Creek below Mosquito Creek Dam
Tailwater · Northeast Ohio in Trumbull County, the regulated creek below Mosquito Creek Lake running south through Cortland toward the Mahoning at Niles · Ohio

Mosquito Creek below Mosquito Creek Dam Fishing Guides

A warm regulated release below a flood-control dam in Trumbull County, where walleye and pike drop out of the lake into the creek below.

A dark forest stream running fast over stone
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Mosquito Creek below Mosquito Creek Dam

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About the Mosquito Creek below Mosquito Creek Dam

Mosquito Creek Lake is a large flood-control reservoir on the Trumbull County flats, built by the Corps of Engineers and known across northeast Ohio as one of the better walleye and northern pike lakes in the state. The creek below the dam is the overlooked half of that fishery. It is a genuine tailwater in the structural sense – the dam holds a permanent pool, the release is regulated rather than natural, and flow below the dam is a function of management decisions upstream rather than of last night’s rain.

What must be said plainly is what kind of water that release actually makes. This is a warm tailwater, not a cold one. There is no coldwater release here and there is no trout fishery below this dam, and anyone arriving expecting one will be disappointed. What the reach does hold is the lake’s own fish, and that is a genuinely good thing. Walleye and saugeye drop through and stack below the dam, particularly in spring and again in fall. Northern pike move down and hold in the slower water and along the weed edges. Crappie, bluegill, yellow perch and channel catfish fill in the rest, and smallmouth take over as the creek runs on south toward the Mahoning.

The tailwater’s practical virtue is that it fishes when other water does not. A regulated release means flow when the freestone creeks nearby are either blown out or bone dry, and the gauge below the dam publishes water temperature as well as discharge, which is unusually useful for judging when the walleye will move. Watch for a release increase after a wet week – that is when the fish below the dam turn on. Access is concentrated immediately below the structure and at the road crossings downstream.

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Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

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We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

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We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

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Posting to Mosquito Creek below Mosquito Creek Dam.

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The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Access

Immediately below Mosquito Creek Dam - the primary access and the best walleye water.
Mosquito Lake State Park - reservoir access, ramps and shoreline above the dam.
Cortland area road crossings - bank access to the creek below town.
OH 305 crossing - bridge access on the upper tailwater reach.
Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area - public ground along the lake and upper creek.
OH 46 corridor crossings - scattered access on the lower creek.
Mahoning River confluence near Niles - downstream access where the creek gives out.

Seasons

Spring: the best season - walleye and saugeye stack below the dam as the release comes up.
Summer: warm and often low between releases; fish early, and target catfish and panfish.
Fall: a second strong walleye and pike window as water cools and the lake draws down.
Winter: cold and slow below the dam, though the release keeps some water open in hard weather.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Mosquito Creek below Mosquito Creek Dam?

As of Sep 17, 4:45 am, the USGS gauge Mosquito Creek bl Mosquito Ck Dam nr Cortland OH reads 9 cfs, with water temperature 74.5 F. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Mosquito Creek below Mosquito Creek Dam?

Anglers target Black Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Freshwater Drum, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Saugeye, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Crappie, Yellow Perch on the Mosquito Creek below Mosquito Creek Dam in Ohio.

Where can you access the Mosquito Creek below Mosquito Creek Dam?

Immediately below Mosquito Creek Dam - the primary access and the best walleye water. Mosquito Lake State Park - reservoir access, ramps and shoreline above the dam. Cortland area road crossings - bank access to the creek below town. OH 305 crossing - bridge access on the upper tailwater reach. Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area - public ground along the lake and upper creek. OH 46 corridor crossings - scattered access on the lower creek. Mahoning River confluence near Niles - downstream access where the creek gives out.

When is the best time to fish the Mosquito Creek below Mosquito Creek Dam?

Spring: the best season - walleye and saugeye stack below the dam as the release comes up. Summer: warm and often low between releases; fish early, and target catfish and panfish. Fall: a second strong walleye and pike window as water cools and the lake draws down. Winter: cold and slow below the dam, though the release keeps some water open in hard weather.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Mosquito Creek below Mosquito Creek Dam?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Ohio agency site: https://ohiodnr.gov/buy-and-apply/hunting-fishing-boating/fishing-resources/fishing-regulations