NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA FISHING REPORT Published by Blackwolfe Communications LLC Issue: October 26, 2016

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1 NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA FISHING REPORT Published by Blackwolfe Communications LLC Issue: October 26, 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 With heavy rain last week, the past weekend was a blow out on French Creek, Allegheny River and the Lake Erie tributaries. Even the lakes were wind swept and difficult to fish. But when things settle over the next few days, we will discover the water temperature is finally down into the 50s and gamefish are in a positive fall feeding mode. We still have the month of November and some of December to enjoy a fantastic open-water bite for your favorite species. Normally we don t have safe ice until January, but there is speculation that snow may come early to NW PA this year. Enjoy the fall now Go Fish!

2 NW PA FISHING REPORT for October 26, 2016 This Report is brought to you by PA Great Lakes Region tourism with additional sponsorship from Wiegel Brothers Marine and Gamma Fishing Line. We answer the question What s biting in the lakes, streams and rivers of Crawford, Erie, Mercer and Venango counties? FRENCH CREEK Flowing through all four counties Matt Watson (Franklin); filed 10-13: The full Beaver Moon has finally got the walleyes hitting again. I caught four eye from 18 to 22 inches tonight on Zoom Tubes. I also caught three nice smallies from 15 to 18 inches on the tubes. Hopefully we will get a little rain to make them move more now that the water is cooling off. (Editor s note: With French Creek currently very high and very muddy, Matt may have wished a little too hard for rain! But when the creek recedes some and clears up a bit, the Fall Walleye Bite should be on!) CRAWORD COUNTY Pymatuning Lake Richter s Bait & Tackle; filed 10-24: Lake temperature is around 58 degrees. Lots of perch are being caught; some anglers reporting nice keepers. Crappie bite has picked up some. Anglers are picking up a few more walleyes, but it isn t really a strong bite yet. As the water temperature continues to drop, the walleye bite should improve. We have a good selection of blade baits for fall walleye fishing. Poff s Place: filed 10-24: Fishing isn t too bad for some people. Crappies are beginning to move. Perch everywhere. Not a lot of walleyes being caught. Recent Fish Commission survey says there are decent numbers out there, but with so much natural preyfish available for walleyes it is less likely they will hit angler s lures and live bait. But with the cool down in lake temp now occurring, the blade bite should pick up. We have the blades! I have both Heddon Sonar and Vib-E in the most popular Pymatuning colors. I also carry some locally made blades that sell for several dollars cheaper than the brand name ones. RJ Graham Jigs; filed 10-24: I fished Pymie all weekend and never touched a piece of bass tackle. The fall meat run is on! We caught over 40 fish each day on minnows

3 mainly perch along with a few walleyes and crappies in the mix. All the fish were in brushpiles and cribs. Water temp is around 58 degrees. Lake is very low and many ramps are difficult to use especially Espyville launch. Right now Tuttle, Snodgrass and Jamestown are good for launching. Slambow Lures; filed 10-24: I fished Pymatuning on Saturday with RJ Graham. The wind was blowing 25 to 30 mph out of the north with 3 to 4 footers crashing against the north side of the causeway. After picking up bait at Poff s Place, we launched at Espyville and fished just south of the causeway where the wind was not so bad. We got on a crib with lots of fish, and in two hours we had 25 jumbo keeper perch averaging 10 inches. A great weekend with a great friend! John Braymer (Sharon); filed 10-24: I do not have much to report. I have been catching some crappies around structure in 15 to 20 feet of water. I mostly catch them with minnows. I have also had some success following Ken Smith s suggestion of Bobby Garland Itty Bit Swim r baits. Bill Cusick (Greenville); filed 10-21: I ve only been out twice in the last two weeks; caught perch and catfish but no walleyes. Dan and Kathy Raiti caught 40 perch one day last week on the South End, keeping 20 really big ones. Marilyn Black (Cochranton); filed 10-15: Darl and I fished Pymatuning on the 15 th looking for crappies. It was a breezy day and hard to hold position. We did not find big groups of crappies holding to cover; instead we picked up one here and one there all on the small size. Lots of baitfish schools riding high in the water column were visible on the sonar; water temp was 62 degrees. Conneaut Lake Marilyn Black (Cochranton); filed 10-16: On Sunday the 16 th, Darl and I fished Conneaut Lake. A sunny/cloudy day but breezy; water temp 61/62 degrees. We were looking for

4 smallmouth bass but only caught largemouths none over 15 inches. All bass came on Lunker City Ribster shaky worms. I also landed my largest bowfin ever a 30 incher. The surface water over the weedbeds was filled with bluegills. Casting Terminator Swim Jigs, lipless rattle baits and Road Runner Classic Underspins did not yield any bass or pike but only the loss of three lures to clean bite offs. Pike or bowfin I have no idea. Sugar Lake Matt Watson (Franklin); filed 10-20: If looking for bowfin, look no further than Sugar Lake. There are lots of them in this small lake. Last month I caught six on a musky bucktail spinner. ERIE COUNTY Presque Isle Bay Lake Erie Bait and Tackle; filed 10-24: Customers are catching perch off the North Pier and crappies in Marina Lake. Remember, the docks at the state park marina open to fishing this Saturday. Plenty of flow in all the tributaries after several days of rain so steelheads are moving on up! Lake Erie and tributaries Rich Erie Sports Store; filed 10-24: Perch fishing in Lake Erie has slowed to a crawl due to the windy weather and most anglers putting their boats away (always a sad time for me). What perch have been caught in the lake have been scattered with mixed reports of catches in 35 to 76 FOW. In the latest issue of Pa. Outdoor News there was a very good article on the state of perch fishing in Lake Erie.It appears to be at a 20 year low. It seemed to start in 2015 and get worse this year. It looks like they are saying we have fewer perch, poor hatches recently and less emerald shiners. Walleye fishing this season was OK, certainly better than the perch fishing. The good news for the walleyes is the large amount of small walleyes (8 to 12 ) that anglers caught this year. According to Ohio fish and game there were outstanding walleye hatches during the last few years.

5 Perch fishing in the bay over the last two weeks has been picking up. There have been reports of the bucket fishermen catching perch off the dock, the Convention Center and off the North and South Piers, depending on which way the wind is blowing. Boaters have had some good catches off the Yacht club, Liberty Park, the Convention center and the buoys near the channel in the deep water. Currently, we have a huge outdoor sale going on with savings on guns, ammo, clothing, gun safes and much more. Poor Richards; filed 10-24: Steelheads are pushing into creeks. Friday and Saturday the streams were blown out, but Sunday there were down enough to fish and there were lots of anglers out! However, we have not had any steelheads or browns brought to the shop in the last couple days. If we don t get any more serious rain, streams should be fishable through this week. With the higher and off-color water, you want to use egg sacks, skein and crawlers. The last report on perch on the main lake was 35 feet straight out of Walnut. Elk Creek Sports; filed 10-24: We got more water than needed late last week but streams came down enough by Sunday to fish. I had a great day fishing steelhead on Sunday on Elk Creek I sure hope others did too. Looks like we had a good run of fish move into the streams and they will spread out with this flow. For these conditions you need to do three things: bigger baits, heavier weights and longer leads things we are not used to in PA normally clear tributaries. Let us hope we get just enough rain to maintain flows for a while. John Uncle Johns Elk Creek Campground; filed 10-24: Prior to the heavy rain last week, our guests at the Campground were doing very well on steelhead. Then the rains came and blew the streams out. But this morning, Monday October 24, the level is fishable and our guests are catching fish once again! Just see our photos:

6 Kris Miller; filed 10-20: Great day on Erie! Put forty in the boat on Thursday the 20 th. Started with 3 foot waves, letting up to one-footers. We fished with Todd from Pacific Time Charter, running longlines 450 feet, cannon balls at 30 ft. Found most fish mid-level off bottom Fish were heading west; we launched at Lampy then went west. Most fish caught on long lines and planers. (See photo in Livewell) Paul Stewart (Butler); filed 10-17: Went perch fishing to the PIB on the 15 th. Slow day but got some nice keepers with Sabiki rigs and emerald shiners. Fish shut off at 11 AM when the sun got high. Thomas Watral (Erie); filed 10-13: Perch fishing starting to heat up in PIB with some limits being taken. Hot spots are South Pier, Borders Dock and North Pier. Steelhead in the streams; best baits are minnows, wax worms and crawlers. MERCER COUNTY Shenango River Lake 5 Points Country Store; filed 10-24: Anglers are picking up a lot more crappies this past week. These fish are hitting minnows. And we have the bait! Stop by the store for all your live bait and tackle needs for fall fishing. Rick Como (Sharpsville); filed 10-23: Hybrid stripers are still hitting good on the shallow shelves and are also schooling in the main river channel of the lake. Search with electronics to locate them and use shad-like lures. The water level in the lake has risen dramatically from the past few days of heavy rain. Currently, the lake is a bit above summer level, but not muddy. White bass are still hitting, as well as very nice size channel cats. A few walleyes are starting to move onto gradual sloping points. Fishing should be very good for walleyes in the next few weeks as the water temp continues to drop. Kevin Austin (Farrell) submitted this photo of a 48-inch musky recently caught by Sam Hosey at Shenango Lake. Lake Wilhelm Fergie s Bait reminds anglers to stop by for your fall fishing lures and live bait. They are open 7 days a week.

7 Marilyn Black (Cochranton); filed 10-14: Darl and I fished Wilhelm on the 14 th for several hours in the late afternoon. It was a very pleasant day; water temp was 64 degrees. We observed many anglers out and about. We worked hard for couple fish, with the biggest largemouth going about 4-1/2 pounds. It hit a shad-pattern Rapala DT-10 crankbait on a deep stump line. VENANGO COUNTY Griffin s Bait & Tackle provided a picture of one of their younger customers with a nice catfish taken this past week. Allegheny River Gene Winger (Franklin); filed 10-24: Over past two weeks, with the Allegheny River still low and clear, I started out using Winco swim baits and tubes but I wasn't setting the world on fire. Last week I decided to switch to Winco "C.W. Smallies Delight" jigs and hit some deeper pools a good call. I fished several days before the heavy rains blew the river out, catching a bunch of bass in the 12" to 16" range plus managed a few three plus pounders. Had my best luck letting the jig settle to the bottom of the deep pools and using a very slow retrieve, the bite was what I would call a mushy bite. Can't wait for the river to settle down and clear a little so I can get back out! Bill Logan (Pleasantville); filed 10-21: Last week I fished the Oil City pool on the river. I caught one smallmouth bass on a spinnerbait and one pike on a Fluke. That was it. Another day, I went up to the Hickory area of river and caught a couple of bass and a walleye. On Tuesday I went back to the river. It was whipped to froth by wind and full of leaves. It may be time to switch to steelhead fishing now.

8 Pete SmalliesontheYough.com & guide service; filed 10-21: Oct 14 th The fish on the Allegheny know it is time to start getting ready for winter. Nice day on the river; we caught some fish in the inch range and the two biggest ones were 20 inches and 18 inches. I caught the 20 incher on a 412ube from 412 Bait Co by Donald Corbett. Some fish were in deeper water, but the two biggest ones were in shallow water only 2 feet deep. I would say the fish were scattered! Oct 18 th We fished the Allegheny River on this great October day looking for smallmouths. The sun was high in the sky with temperatures in the 70s. The bite was on the soft side most of the day until evening when it got a little better. Overall a decent day on the Allegheny with 21 total smallmouths with biggest going 19 inches caught on a 412ube from 412 Bait Co. (more photos in Livewell) Fishing with Darl Black Guide Service reminds everyone that late fall is Blade Bait time. Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, White Bass, Yellow Perch, Channel Cats and even Bluegills can be caught with this simple lure once water temperatures drop into the lower-50s and colder. Darl has an article in the current Nov-Dec issue of the Pennsylvania Angler & Boater Magazine detailing how to use blade baits for walleyes. Most blade baits will work for walleyes when fish are actively feeding, but certain blades work better when the bite is slow, says Darl. And I find particular blades along with certain nuances in presentation to work better for Smallmouth Bass than for walleyes. If you want to learn more about blade bait fishing, book a fall trip with Darl. Contact him ASAP at darlblack@windstream.net or phone

9 The Livewell Brought to you by: Wiegel Brothers Marine 704 ½ Elk Street Franklin, PA The Allegheny River Smallmouth Bite is going to be hot as soon as the river level drops a bit and clarity improves. See what they were catching before the big rain... Boat of the Month: End of season deal on fully equipped and ready to fish jet boat. Gene Winger Pete Cartwright Steelhead at Uncle John s Kris Miller s walleye success on Lake Erie

10 Black Knight Industries Oil City, PA Gamma Fishing Tip You can find GAMMA line locally at the following tackle shops: Consumer Direct Sports Grove City, PA Griffins Bait & Tackle Cooperstown, PA Maurer s Trading Post Franklin, PA Robinson s Bait & Tackle Espyville, PA Kris Miller, Rick Como, Matt Watson and Paul Stewart are winners of tackle prizes for this issue of the Fishing Report. Please your shipping address to Darl Black to claim your prize. Dead-stick Soft Jerkbaits for Fall Transitional River Smallmouth Bass By Jeff Knapp, Keystone Connection Guide Service Soft jerkbaits, known generically by many anglers as flukes, often excel at catching river smallmouth bass during the fall transition. During the summer, when feeding river smallies most often hold in (or close to) shallow, fast current areas, they respond well to aggressively fished Rapala X-Raps and flukes. Conversely, by late fall, when water temperatures are in the high 40s and lower, bass will have relocated to deeper, protected wintering holes. Mid-fall -- when water temperatures run from around 60 degrees down to the high Pair of smallies taken while deadsticking

11 40s -- often finds them in shallow water, typically close to the bank. They are still feeding, though not as likely to move as far for a bait as a month or so earlier. This is a perfect time for a "dead-stick fluke." An unweighted soft jerkbait like Winco s Solid Body River Darter is cast and allowed to drift freely with minimal movement from the angler. The lure is given just enough action to keep it from snagging-up, and for the angler to maintain a degree of contact. Gamma Torque braided line -- I prefer 15-pound test for this application -- provides solid hooksets, even though there is often some bow in the line with this method. Three to five feet of 10- pound test Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line, as a leader, provides separation from the braid, and aids in the bait's sink rate. Jeff Knapp Parting shots Lake Wilhelm in the fall...