NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA FISHING REPORT Published by Blackwolfe Communications LLC Issue: April 20, 2016

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1 NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA FISHING REPORT Published by Blackwolfe Communications LLC Issue: April 20, 2016 The NW PA Fishing Report provides timely angling information for Crawford, Erie, Mercer and Venango Counties covering all species and all waters open to the public. The fishing comments and photos are offered by regional tackle shops and area anglers, compiled and published twice a month. The NW PA Fishing Report is based on experiences, observations and opinions of individual contributors; information sources are considered reliable but comments are not independently verified. In providing information or pictures, you are agreeing to your comments being edited, and posted to websites and distributed electronically. The NW PA Fishing Report is brought to you by: Pennsylvania Great Lakes Region ( Black Knight Industries, Oil City ( Wiegel Brothers Marine, Franklin ( The Landing Net by Darl Black At last, late April and it feels like true spring has finally arrived! What a difference a week makes! Crappies and largemouth bass are biting at Pymatuning and other area lakes. The smallmouth bass bite in the river has kicked into gear. But March and early April 2016 will be remembered for is the awesome yellow perch fishing in Presque Isle Bay. Jumbos larger perch than most anglers have ever seen. It started last fall when the perch followed the shiners into PIB. And it took off again at ice out on the Bay. You might say it climaxed with a potential new State Record Yellow Perch of 2 pounds 14 ounces. (See photo at right.) Although perch are now departing the Bay, that s not the end of it. Anglers continue to catch BIG perch in 40 to 50 feet off The Point of the Peninsula. Go fish!

2 OPENING THIS ISSUE OF THE NW PA FISHING REPORT WITH UPCOMING EVENTS What: When: Where: CRAPPIE FISHING SEMINAR Thursday, May 19 th at 7:00 pm Reynolds 115 Edgewood Dr. Ext., Transfer Presentations on various crappie fishing techniques, including Spider Rigging by Dan Dannenmueller, 2 time Angler of Year on Crappie Master Tour. Plus, a presentation on choosing and using today s sonar to help you catch more crappie. Your questions answered by a panel of experts from Garmin Electronics, Gamma Line, TTI/Blakemore Fishing; Bobby Garland Crappie Baits, Driftmaster Rod Holders and B n M Crappie Rods. Seminar is free, but seating is limited. Obtain free tickets at any of the following bait and tackle shops in the Shenango- Pymatuning-Wilhelm triangle: Consumer Direct Sports (CDS), Grove City, PA 5 Points Country Convenience, OH Hills Country Store, Route 7, OH Richter s General Store, Jamestown PA Jamestown Boat Livery Duck-N-Drake, Lake Road, OH Gateway Tackle, Andover OH Poff s Place, Espyville PA Robinson s Bait, Linesville PA Fergie's Bait, Lake Wilhelm Lake Wilhelm Marina...Griffins Bait, Cooperstown PA. Pymatuning Lake Association Tournaments 2016 CRAPPIE Tournament, April 30. First place $ Team entry fee $ Registration forms and rules at pymalakeassoc@windstream.net WALLEYE Tournament, May 14. First Place $ Team entry fee $ Registration forms and rules at pymalakeassoc@windstream.net.

3 NW PA FISHING REPORT for April 20, 2016 This Report is brought to you by PA Great Lakes Region tourism with additional sponsorship from Wiegel Brothers Marine and Gamma Fishing. We answer the question What s biting in the lakes, streams, and rivers of Crawford, Erie, Mercer and Venango counties? CRAWFORD COUNTY Pymatuning Lake Jamestown Boat Livery; filed 4/18: Beautiful weekend weather resulted in a busy weekend on South End. Crappies are moving into the bays. However the walleye bite has been off for this time of year. Shore waders have been catching eyes in the evening around dusk on jig-n-minnow and long minnow plugs my son caught 11 eye over the weekend while wading. But the daytime walleye bite was not good this weekend. Several days ago, a group of musky fishermen were trolling around the islands and bays on the South End. One boat said they caught 8 muskies but all were small. Another boat had a 45 incher. Duck-N-Drake; filed 4/18: Finally a great weather weekend and anglers were out in force. The regulars were doing well on crappies in the North End bays. Shoreline waders have been getting walleyes in the evenings. When we had a breezy day, some guys were successful drifting a jig-n-crawler during the day. Gateway Tackle; filed 4/18: Lots of anglers out over weekend. Walleyes are still being caught around the causeway on jig-n-minnow. Crappies are moving in shallower water; minnows are best bait. Some perch are reported as well. Poff s; filed 4/18: Crappie bite has started. Some walleyes are still being caught on blade baits along the causeway and humps. Robinson s Bait; filed 4/18: Crappies are in tight to brush. Not hearing much about daytime walleye success this past weekend; lake was too flat. However, they are catching walleyes at dusk on Rapala Minnows or a twister jig with a piece of crawler.

4 RJ Graham Jigs; filed 4/18: I fished Pymatuning on Thursday, the 14 th ; we only caught 6 bass water temp was cold at 42 degrees tough day. Returned on Friday, and a little better day with 8 bass and a musky; water had warmed to 48 degrees. On Saturday, I had a good day, catching nice fish by flipping the bank as well as some nice bass in 8 feet on a crankbait; temp was 57 degrees. On Sunday, I fished the Bassmasters of Crawford County Club Tournament. I lost a giant bass in the morning and ended up weighing 5 fish for 10 pounds; could not get the big bite I needed. All bass came on a jig along the bank; water temp was 64 degrees. (See photos in Livewell) RJ Graham with musky Ken Anderson (Tionesta); filed 4/18: I was at Pymi on Sunday the 17 th. Water temps increased quickly during the day in the shallow bays in the North End. The temps ranged from 57 to 65 degrees, depending on location and time of day. People were catching crappies at Tuttle Island where depth transitioned from 5 to 2 feet of water. The same depth range held true for the area between Linesville Beach and Amish Bay (Stewart s Bay?). Bass fishing was challenging because there was no wind most of the day. A light breeze at 2:45 pm from the west turned the bass on. Most participants in a small club weigh-in at 4 pm at Linesville Marina hoisted limit bags. First place team weighed 8 fish for just over 22 pounds; second place team weighted a 4.67 pound lunker. Bill Cusick (Greenville); filed 4/18: On Thursday I caught a 24 inch walleye on a jig-nminnow in 20 feet of water. On Friday the 15 th, my buddy John Edward caught a 25 inch eye on a jig-n-minnow. See photos Kevin Austin (Farrell); filed 4/18: I fished the North End of Pymatuning over the weekend. Had a pretty good day on crappies! See my photo. Bill Cusick s walleye John Edward s eye Kevin Austin s crappies Canadohta Lake Timberland Bait; filed 4/18: This past weekend was absolutely spectacular with anglers getting out. I had record sales and record number of customers it was non-stop on Friday. Everyone was gearing up for trout season. We had lots of reports of successful

5 trout anglers on local streams. Most of the fish were taken on Rosey Reds (minnows) and Butter Worms. Also, the crappies started hitting on the lake; they were thick in the Lagoon area on the southeast corner of the lake. ERIE COUNTY Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie Erie Sport Store; filed 4/19: The perch fishing in Presque Isle Bay has slowed down after about 6 weeks of excellent fishing. Anglers caught some crappies in the marinas during the past week. With the calm weather, fishermen are now fishing the lake. Perch fishing has been reported as good off Walnut Creek in 30 to 40 feet of water. Fishermen are catching perch off The Point in 40 to 50 feet and off Shades Beach in 35 t0 45 feet. On the evening of the 18 th, Jim Rzomp, Main lake perch 45 feet Bob Hoffman and I caught our 90 perch in 45 feet of water off The Point of the Peninsula. We were hounded by dozens of big white perch and silver bass. This is the time of the year that lake trout should be hitting. Try off of North East in shallow water and work your way out to deeper water inside The Mountain. For best results, fish as close to bottom as you can. Erie Sport Store has all the tackle you need for perch and lake trout stop by to check out our selection. Lake Erie Bait & Tackle; filed 4/18: Lots of anglers in the Bay over the weekend. It has been a great spring of perch fishing in the Bay with a potential new State Record perch caught in the Bay. (See photo) But the perch success in the Bay is slowing with most of the remaining action taking place on the peninsula side rather than docks on city side. On the main lake, smallmouth bass are starting to move in close to the W s and Stacks, as well as the mouth of the channel. By next weekend, there should be numbers of smallmouths in the Bay. Paul Stewart (Butler); filed 4/18: I went perch fishing at Presque Isle on Saturday, but the east wind made for extremely tough fishing for everyone we talked to. Most anglers were empty handed or only had a few. Everyone is hoping for a wind shift from any direction but east for this coming weekend! Lake Erie Tributaries Poor Richards; filed 4/18: Steelheads are pretty much gone from the streams. The focus now is stocked trout in the tributaries.

6 Elk Creek Sports; filed 4/18: They had a great opening day of trout on the streams. Anglers are catching some nice stocked brown trout. A couple fellows found some fresh-run steelhead in a pool, and we are hoping if we get rain this week we might see a few final steelies move up the streams. Smallmouth bass and suckers are in lower end of Elk Creek. One customer stopped with a Tiger Trout (hybrid of brown and brook trout) that he caught from Conneaut Creek check out the photo! Erie Inland Trout Dave Horvath; filed 4/18: We finally got moved to northern Crawford County. For the first time in many years I didn t fish on opening day of trout. Instead, I helped out the kids fishing derby at Mallory Run sponsored by Edinboro Masonic Lodge 416. Gander Mountain supplied the prizes. It was a great day. Here are our future fishermen and women. See the attached photos. Hybrid Tiger Trout MERCER COUNTY Dave Horvath photos Youth event in Edinboro Deer Creek, Wolf Creek and trout fishing CDS; filed 4/18: For the opening week of trout season, I floated Wolf Creek in my kayak down to Slippery Rock Creek. I caught and released smallmouth bass, not trout, on a Rebel Crayfish crankbait. Customers said the smaller creeks for best for trout this year because the larger creeks were still high and muddy from the melt off. Some of our customers are buying Bomber Long A to cast for walleyes at Pymatuning right at dusk. Marilyn Black (Cochranton); filed 4/18: I stopped by the special Kids Only Fishing Area on Deer Creek on opening day. A project of the Trout Unlimited Deer Creek Committee, the area was packed with youngsters having fun catching trout. Sponsors provided food and goodie bag of tackle. Check out some of the photos from the event in Livewell! Patrick Covert; filed 4/9: Attached is a photo of the brown trout that my son Mitchell caught on a pink trout worm on the Mentored Youth Day on April 9. The fish came from Big Run, a tributary in the Shenango River watershed. (editor Mitchell is a real trooper given the snowy conditions of Mentored Youth Day.)

7 Lake Julia at Buhl Park Kevin Austin (Farrell); filed 4/17: I took my great nephew and my grandson fishing to Lake Julia for opening day. I taught them how to catch bluegill for their first time out, and they had a ball catching fish! See my photo. Kevin Austin photo Lake Wilhelm Fergie's Bait; filed 4/17: After the cold and deep snow of last weekend, anglers were telling me that the surface temperature of Lake Wilhelm had dropped back into the 40s and catches have been slim. But the heat wave of this most recent weekend should bring the water temp up and get panfish and bass bite going for the coming week. Shenango River Lake Ken Smith (Sharon); filed 4/18: I fished Shenango on Sunday. The lake is high and muddy from the snow melt and rain. I found some keeper crappies in 14 feet of water, close to the river channel back in the Golden Run area. Longline trolled jigs tipped with Crappie Nibbles did the trick. Kevin Austin (Farrell); filed 4/16: I went to Shenango today. Fishing was slow but I did manage to catch some crappies. They were in 18 to 19 feet of water on the bottom. I used a clear jig, and a white/chartreuse jig to catch them. VENANGO COUNTY Venango trout streams Griffins Bait; filed 4/18: Here at Griffins Bait & Tackle, a big Thank You goes out to all those fishermen who shop at Griffins. WOW, what a difference a week makes! From fishing in deep snow and 32 degrees on Mentored Youth Day last Saturday to sunny and 72 degrees on Opening Day this weekend. Fishermen were out in droves. The Mentored Youth Day was a success for 6 year old Bradley Graham, while fishing Sugar Cree with his grandfather Ron Graham. Elias Raber caught this 19 inch brown on Little Sugar using a Mepps Spinner. Check out the photos! Bradley Graham Elias Raber Stan Huefner

8 George Cavanaugh; filed 4/16: My buddy Tim and I fished a few hours on Pithole Creek near the stone arch during opening day. We landed 5 trout all in the 12 to 16 range, including 2 browns, 2 rainbows and 1 brook trout. We used minnows and fished them deep. Ken Anderson (Tionesta); filed 4/18: Opening Day on Tionesta Creek in Forest County was a treat with three generations of Andersons represented. All caught fish but it was not easy. Water elevation and color were great and the weather was one of nicest in years. Angler Al (Franklin); filed 4/18: Fishing buddy Stan Huefner and I ventured down to a remote stretch of Sugar Creek for opening morning of trout season. Using red worms rigged suspended with a float indicator, Stan immediately began catching trout. Most were rainbows in the 10 to 13 inch range. A couple brown trout were a little nicer. A variety of other baits including salmon eggs, mealworms, wax worms and butter worms also worked. Together our total catch was 18 fish. In the afternoon, I went to Oil Creek and caught my first smallmouth bass of the year with a minnow. On Monday, I took my guest Doris (from Texas) fishing for her first time. The weather was beautiful and so was the rainbow trout she caught at Justus Lake by flat lining a minnow on a Tru-Turn Blood Red baithook. John Hummel (Kennerdell); filed 4/17: After the previous weekend of 8 inches of snow followed by two days of hard rain, it was hard to believe the perfect weather that greeted us for the opening day of trout season on East Sandy Creek. There were plenty of folks out trying their luck and testing their skills. But catching was slow most of the weekend. Josh Varhola and Raymie Mazanek, both from Vandergrift, used all their fishing talent to show the older guys how to catch em as usual. Chuck Sari (Franklin); filed 4/17: Even in the snow storm, my grandkids had a successful outing during the Mentored Youth Fishing Day on East Branch of Sugar Creek, catching about 50 trout, including this 18 inch Palomino and a 21 inch Rainbow. All the fish were taken on minnows. See photos. 18-inch Palomino 21-inch Rainbow

9 Allegheny River Steve Udick (Oil City); filed 4/18: I fished Monday the 18 th with Jim Allen in my canoe. We had a great time. Jim landed the first fish within 50 yards of the put-in point. We anchored up behind Siverly and I landed a nice 19.5 inch smallmouth on the magic Firetiger Shad Rap. We ended the day with Jim getting three bass and I caught three bass and four walleyes, all on Helsinki Shad Rapala Husky Jerks. A nice day of fun and sun. (See photos in Livewell) Dale Gamma Line; filed 4/18: I fished two days over the trout opener weekend with my son Jake on the river. On Saturday we only caught about six or seven smallmouth bass. But with one more day of warming, Sunday was spectacular. We landed and released 59 smallmouth bass between the two of us. All were taken on tubes. Jake took pics of several of the nicer fish. (See photos in Livewell) Pete Smallies on the Yough; filed 4/17: On April 15 th I guided my client Joe on the Allegheny River. He caught his first walleye ever and a few decent smallmouth bass using 412ubes from 412Bait Company. The bite was good at times on the 5 hour trip. I fished the river again on the opening day of trout, and guess what? I caught a brown trout! The smallmouth fishing was pretty good with a few bigger fish being caught on 412ubes. (See photos in Livewell) LIVEWELL OVERFLOW starts here! Pete Cartwright and friends wade their way to Allegheny River fish!

10 Bassmaster Elite Angler Dave Lefebre s Tip for May May is almost upon us. Without a doubt, May is my favorite time of the year because everything is biting on NW PA inland lakes. I ll tie on a spinnerbait, swim jig or Chatterbait and simply go down the bank casting for bass catching and releasing dozens of bass a day. But I always have a light rod rigged for crappies on deck, too. It will have a bobber and a 2 inch Yamamoto Panfish Grub. When I see a likely looking crappie cover, I ll cast the bobber rig just beyond it and swim it pass the cover slowly. I catch some of the biggest crappies of the year on Pymatuning, Edinboro, and Wilhelm this time of year. Dave Fishing with Darl Black Guide Service is currently booking crappie/bluegill or walleye trips at Pymatuning for late April through July as well as bluegill/crappie trips at Conneaut Lake for August & September. All tackle and bait provided, including rods and reels. To learn more about area waters and take home some fish fillets, too, book a guided fishing trip. Or give a gift certificate of a guided trip to a friend for a special occasion. Visit my guide page on the internet at and Like my Facebook Page Fishing with Darl Black for more information. Then me direct at darlblack@windstream.net to discuss a date. Once again this season in cooperation with GAMMA FISHING, each booked guide trip in 2016 will receive a sample spool of GAMMA s Optic Yellow Panfish Line in 4 pound-test the best light line I have ever used.

11 The Livewell Brought to you by: Wiegel Brothers Marine 704 ½ Elk Street Franklin, PA Boat of the Month: Don t be left behind this summer. Get boating on the river with this Express Jet Boat from Wiegel Bros. Steve Udick s Fun and Sun on the River! Dale Black showing the proper 2-hand hold for bass to prevent jaw damage. Angler Al s 1st smallie of 2016 RJ at Pymatuning Sugar Creek tout anglers Erie Jumbo Yellow Perch

12 Livewell Overflow...Opening Day Trout at the Kids Only Project on Mercer County s Deer Creek! Photos by Marilyn Black Deer Creek Special Kids Only Section Trout Unlimited Project Sponsors Ryan Handlow & Dad Michael, Aubree and Libby Libby Erdley Lexy Thomas Cody Delman Branden Newbury and Kristen Thomas

13 Black Knight Industries Oil City, PA You can find GAMMA line locally at the following tackle shops: Consumer Direct Sports Grove City, PA Griffins Bait & Tackle Cooperstown, PA Hill s County Store Williamsfield, OH Maurer s Trading Post Franklin, PA Robinson s Bait & Tackle Espyville, PA Gamma Fishing Tip Dave Horvath is the winner of tackle prize for this issue of the Fishing Report. Please your shipping address to Darl Black to claim your prize. Dale Black says: I acquired the rights to GAMMA fishing line several years ago because it was the best line I had ever used. Of course that wasn t just my opinion. It was the opinion of practically every angler who has tried it. I m pleased to have the support of a significant number of professional bass, crappie, walleye and catfish anglers who feel the same way about the line. But don t take my word for it. Go to our website at to learn about the special treatment which makes our line so popular with pros and everyday anglers. If buying local, you can find some GAMMA Line products at CDS near the Grove City Outlet Mall, Maurer s Trading Rt. 8 Franklin, Griffin s Bait Cooperstown, Robinson s Bait Espyville and Hill s Country Store in Williamsfield, OH. For a complete listing of our Polyflex, Edge Fluorocarbon, Torque Braid and our new Optic Yellow Panfish Line, visit our website. Or if you book a guide trip with Fishing with Darl Black Guide Service this year, you will receive a sample spool of our Panfish Line. No, Darl and I are not related, but we both adamantly believe GAMMA Panfish is the strongest yet most manageable line on the market in 2 to 8 pound test. Russ Bailey and Dale Black on Pymatuning Lake