The year was 1977 and four friends piled into a new red runabout for a sunny and warm spring weekend of boating and walleye fishing at Berlin Reservoir.

We knew relatively little about catching walleye beyond drifting and dragging nightcrawler harnesses and a few trips to Lake Erie to sample the popular technique of casting and swinging Erie Dearies and other weight-forward spinners.

Around dinnertime on the first of our two days, I dropped the anchor on a sandy hump with a clump of willow trees. The side of the hump sloped gently down to six feet of water where the four of us tossed and retrieved our crawler harnesses.

It didn’t take long for the first walleye to bite. Then another and another. The action was non-stop. Before twilight surrendered to darkness, 40 walleyes bit our baits, all caught from the water around our original anchorage.

The phenomenal fishing continued the next morning. We had experienced a truly remarkable fishing trip–still fondly recounted today as “Walleye Weekend”–and eagerly looked forward to duplicating it every time we went to the lake.

But a funny thing happened. The fishing petered out. Truth is, in the 45 years since our “Walleye Weekend,” we’ve never had a day that matched our tally of 80 fish at Berlin.

It was a lesson well learned. Our great success was followed by a bit of a dry spell in our walleye fishing, proving that nothing is a sure thing when it comes to fishing.

Walleye anglers are experiencing a bit of a down cycle now at Mosquito Lake, which for many years has been close to a “sure thing” for local anglers. Some worry the heyday of Mosquito walleye fishing is about to end; a few fret that yellow perch are eating baby walleyes at a rate that will decimate the population.

Ohio Division of Wildlife officials are quick to note that while the lake is in a bit of a slump, they are not sounding alarms.

Curtis Wagner, ODOW Division 3 fisheries management supervisor, and Dan Wright, the fish management technician who runs the spawning season net crew at Mosquito, say that while fewer small walleyes inhabit the lake this year, the numbers still are pretty good. Wright said the nets this year yielded around the same number of egg-laden females as in the past. The total population of male walleyes south of the Ohio 88 causeway is estimated at more than 18,000 fish, a number that is comparable to 2014.

Neither Wagner nor Wright are concerned that perch predation is the cause of any walleye decline.

Rather, they say, weather and other dynamics during the spawning and stocking seasons, plays a role in survival of stocked walleye fry and fingerlings, and even in the number of fish that are captured in the nets.

“When we stock fry and a cold snap hits, it can affect the food supply, which can reduce the survival rate,” Wagner said. ”

Wagner said fry (measuring a half-inch) eat zooplankton. Fingerlings feed on larval fish. “The spring sun and water temperature play a role in activating the food chain.”

Mosquito’s abundant vegetation is a great habitat for yellow perch, but Wagner and Wright are not overly concerned about the threat of perch outcompeting the walleyes.

“There is an established connection between yellow perch and vegetation, but that doesn’t mean they are eating our walleyes,” Wagner said.

They are confident Mosquito will rebound. They point to Pymatuning as a recent example of a down cycle swinging back to good fishing.

Veteran anglers know that when things change, it’s best for the angler to change as well.

Wright, a walleye fisherman himself, offered advice for those struggling to duplicate past successes: “Mosquito has a lot more weeds, so we can’t troll as easily with crankbaits and spoons. Instead, I think we’re better off using bass-style tactics like throwing jigs around the weedlines.”

Jack Wollitz’s book, “The Common Angler,” dives into the highs and lows that combine to make fishing a passion for so many people. He likes emails from readers. Send a note to jackbbaass@gmail.com.