NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA FISHING REPORT

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NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA FISHING REPORT Published by Blackwolfe Communications LLC Issue: October 24, 2018 The NW PA

Steelhead Trout Go Fish! Late October and early November is the perfect time for Steelhead and Smallmouth.

Wasn t much of a gradual transition as temps dropped almost overnight following a handful of chilly days.

Steelheads have moved into the Erie tributaries and there will be more running into streams with each new high water

Smallmouth bass have been on a feeding frenzy in flowing water this past week, and we can only hope the bite continues

1 NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA FISHING REPORT Published by Blackwolfe Communications LLC Issue: October 24, 2018 The NW PA Fishing Report is brought to you by: Fishing with Darl Black Guide Service The two s in Halloween? Steelhead Trout Go Fish! Late October and early November is the perfect time for Steelhead and Smallmouth. Smalllmouth Bass The Landing Net by Darl Black It s late October, and cooler water temperatures have finally arrived. Wasn t much of a gradual transition as temps dropped almost overnight following a handful of chilly days. But with shortened daylight and water temps in the mid to lower 50s, it s game on for some species. Steelheads have moved into the Erie tributaries and there will be more running into streams with each new high water event. Smallmouth bass have been on a feeding frenzy in flowing water this past week, and we can only hope the bite continues for a while. Meanwhile white bass and crappies bites are reported strong at Shenango, crappies are missing in action at Pymatuning. And anglers on all inland lakes are waiting for walleye to turn on. Let s hope the really cold weather and snow holds off until at least after Thanksgiving. Now get out and Go Fish!

The NW PA Fishing Report provides timely angling information for Crawford, Erie, Mercer, and Venango counties. Fishing comments and photos are offered by regional tackle shops and area anglers.

In providing information or pictures, you are agreeing to your comments being edited for clarity and brevity, and posted to websites and distributed electronically.

2 The NW PA Fishing Report provides timely angling information for Crawford, Erie, Mercer, and Venango counties. Fishing comments and photos are offered by regional tackle shops and area anglers. 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 for clarity and brevity, and posted to websites and distributed electronically. NW PA FISHING REPORT for Brought to you by PA Great Lakes Region tourism Published by Blackwolfe Communications L.L.C. COUNTY BY COUNTY REPORTS French Creek Flowing through all four counties Editor note: Flow and color of French Creek currently looks great. Get fishing on it before the big rain event this coming Saturday and Sunday. Angler Al (Franklin); filed 10/20: I fished French Creek on the 15 th. I caught 7 average-size smallmouth bass, 2 northern pike and 2 walleyes. All taken by jigging Road Runners tipped with live bait. (See photo) CRAWFORD COUNTY Dave Lefebre got in on Pymie musky action for a segment of Erie Extreme Pymatuning Lake Richter s Bait & Tackle; filed 10/22: The walleye bite has improved a bit or perhaps there are just a few more anglers out there focusing on walleye and therefore catching a few more. It s not hot and heavy by any means, but if you keep pumping those blade baits you will eventually get bit. Actually musky fishermen appear to be catching muskies at a better rate than walleye anglers catching walleyes. This has been a very good year for muskies in the 35 to 45 inch range. The river outflow has been hot the last couple weeks for both walleyes and muskies; I am amazed at number of muskies caught in this small stretch of river immediately below the dam. No word whatsoever on crappies, except one customer mentioned catching a few nice ones at the Spillway one day but the next day the fish were gone.

Russ @ Gateway Tackle; filed 10/22: It s been a slow week. Customers reported catching a few walleyes off the causeway on blades.

Catfish are making big waves in the lake with the recent tournaments hosted by NW Catfish Addicts.

All the reports are about channel catfish, but some years back when I was much younger, I recall anglers catching some big flatheads from the lake.

Lefebre had been in Linesville at the haunted hotel taping his Erie Extreme TV show until late and decided he needed to catch a big night prowling fish to make the show complete.

3 Gateway Tackle; filed 10/22: It s been a slow week. Customers reported catching a few walleyes off the causeway on blades. Muskies remain active; one customer brought one to the shop the other day 43 inches long and weighed 33 pounds. Not hearing anything on crappies. Catfish are making big waves in the lake with the recent tournaments hosted by NW Catfish Addicts. Catfishing makes for great late summer opportunities, and if we can draw more anglers to the lake at that time of year, I say go for it. All the reports are about channel catfish, but some years back when I was much younger, I recall anglers catching some big flatheads from the lake. Every once in a while someone still catches a big flathead. Robinson s Bait: Our own Mark Upton put Dave Lefebre on a 14 -pound channel cat at witching hour on October 15. Lefebre had been in Linesville at the haunted hotel taping his Erie Extreme TV show until late and decided he needed to catch a big night prowling fish to make the show complete. (See photo at right) Poff s Place; filed 10/22: A few anglers have been pulling in an occasional walleye or two on blades. Blade bite not strong yet need water temp to drop more. However, musky fishing at the Lake has been very good this season and it continues into the fall. ErieExtreme s Lefebre with 14 pound channel cat Conneaut Lake Dale Clemmer (Cochranton): Dale continues to catch a variety of fish including largemouth bass from Conneaut. He also fishes Conneaut Outflow Marsh near overhead dams where he catches bowfin and northern pike. (See photos below) Conneaut Lake LMB Marsh bowfin Marsh pike ERIE COUNTY Presque Isle Bay Lake Erie Bait and Tackle; filed 10/22: Presque Isle Bay fishing has been kind of slow the past week due in part to windy weather. Our customers have reported catching a few crappies and perch off the piers and in Marina Lake, and some steelhead have been caught as well. Main lake has been too rough to get out.

Lake Erie & Tributaries Lynne @ East End Angler; filed 10/22: There are decent numbers of steelhead in the East Side streams, including Four Mile (lower part accessed on golf course side); Twelve

I m also hearing from customers that perch in 7 to 10 inch range are being caught in PIB at Liberty Park and Conventions Center dock.

Jeff @ Poor Richards; filed 10/22: A week ago after the rain we had good movement of steelhead into the streams and the caught them pretty good last Saturday through Monday until the stream level

Single eggs and live minnows (or minnow patterns & egg patterns if fly fishing) for low clear water. When the streams are high and dirty, go to bigger baits and brighter colors.

4 Lake Erie & Tributaries East End Angler; filed 10/22: There are decent numbers of steelhead in the East Side streams, including Four Mile (lower part accessed on golf course side); Twelve Mile at the Tubes; lower part of Sixteen Mile; and upper Twenty Mile in the Tomato Patch. They are also catching some steelhead in the North East Marina. I m also hearing from customers that perch in 7 to 10 inch range are being caught in PIB at Liberty Park and Conventions Center dock. And there are a few anglers working blade baits off the end of the South Pier and catching walleyes hot colors are orange/gold and blue/silver. Poor Richards; filed 10/22: A week ago after the rain we had good movement of steelhead into the streams and the caught them pretty good last Saturday through Monday until the stream level dropped. With recent rain over the weekend, streams came up and we expect more fish came in. Fishing should be good this week as streams clear and drop a bit. Single eggs and live minnows (or minnow patterns & egg patterns if fly fishing) for low clear water. When the streams are high and dirty, go to bigger baits and brighter colors. Last year the steelhead seemed to be running smaller than normal. But so far this season we are seeing many more 6.5 to 8.5 pound fish. Elk Creek Sports; filed 10/22: Given the wild weather of rain and wind, fishing has been okay in the streams. This should be good week with recent rise in water, then more rain coming in for weekend. Of course not everyone is catching fish, but those who apply themselves and adjust presentations to the conditions are doing okay. There are good numbers of fish in all the West Side streams not just Elk. Check out Crooked and Raccoon. Pete SmalliesontheYough.com; filed 10/11: Back on October 9 th, we fished Erie, and got some nice smallmouth and a few walleyes late in day in shallow water 8 feet deep. We were using 412ubes from 412 Bait Company; water temp was 68 degrees. (See photos below) Dutch Fork Custom Lures; filed 10/10: On October 9 th, I joined Bob Henton of Big Head guide Service and buddy Ken for a day of walleye fishing Erie. Fishing 74 feet of water we boated 18 walleyes in one hour and 10 minutes using Dutch Fork Custom painted Renoskys and Bombers off Dipsys. We made one trolling pass from Trout Run to Walnut for steelhead but no action. Water temp was still 69 degrees. (See photos below) Pete Cartwright photos Dutch Fork Custom Lures

MERCER COUNTY Shenango River Randy @ Fish West PA; filed 10/21: We switched from lake fishing to fishing the Upper Shenango River for the annual feeding festival and it was on!

Steelhead can wait another week or so for us! Tight lines all!

We went from warm water period the first week of the month to current cool water period almost overnight. Hybrid striper fishing is still very good, and they are hitting well all day long.

Crappie fishing is really coming on strong with nice size fish being caught.

5 MERCER COUNTY Shenango River Fish West PA; filed 10/21: We switched from lake fishing to fishing the Upper Shenango River for the annual feeding festival and it was on! Good numbers of exceptionally big smallmouths staging and feeding before returning to the depths of the lake. Smallmouth fishing is way too much fun, plus it s a beautiful time of year to be out. Steelhead can wait another week or so for us! Tight lines all! (See Photos at right) Shenango Lake Randy with river smallie Rick Como (Sharpsville); filed 10/21: It s been a mixed bag of weather the past two weeks here on Shenango Lake. We went from warm water period the first week of the month to current cool water period almost overnight. Hybrid striper fishing is still very good, and they are hitting well all day long. White bass fishing has improved and they are feeding heavily during this cool water period. Both smallmouth and largemouth bass are being caught all day long in the shallows. Crappie fishing is really coming on strong with nice size fish being caught. Still no news on walleye or northern pike; both should show up soon as water temps have fallen from the 70s to 50s in past two weeks. (See photos) Ken Smith (Sharon); filed 10/20: I fished Shenango on Tuesday the 16 th. I found some nice size white crappies in the deep end of shoreline blowdowns. Jig and bobber did most of the damage but hang gliding also produced some. (See photo) Rick with Shenango Lake Hybrid Darl Fishing with Darl Black; filed 10/15: I joined Rick Como on Oct. 12 for an afternoon of white bass fishing on Shenango, but all we caught Ken s crappies from Shenango were several 8 to 10 pound hybrid stripers! Actually it was reverse psychology: two years ago I went to Shenango to fish stripers with Rick and all we caught were white bass. So this time, I told him I was only interested in white bass and we only caught stripers! I landed a 10 pounder and lost something likely larger; striper of unknown size stripped line from my reel to where I was seeing bare metal spool before it stopped running. But I recovered all the line with fish almost within sight when line suddenly went limp no broke line, no bent hook, no slack line but fish was gone.

VENANGO COUNTY Angler Al Diary - 10/10: My guest for the day was Kathy West. She was in town from Daytona Beach, Florida.

(See photo) Kathy on Justus Mikey on Sugar - 10/20: I took 10 year old Mikey Galkowski to several different holes on Sugar Creek in search of fall trout.

Allegheny River Gene Winger photo Gene Winger (Oil City); filed 10/21: After weeks of high muddy water the river is finally back to normal autumn levels with the bite improving significantly.

We found big bass stacked up in their normal fall hotspots, catching six to eight smallies at each location! The most productive baits were 3.75 swim baits and Z-Man TRD Crawz.

(See photo) RJ Graham (Tionesta); filed 10/21: Darl, the fall river feed bag is on heavy! We fished the river today and caught well over 50 smallmouths majority of bass were quality size fish!

6 VENANGO COUNTY Angler Al Diary - 10/10: My guest for the day was Kathy West. She was in town from Daytona Beach, Florida. We spent a warm autumn day drifting large size live creek chubs on Justus Lake. She caught 7 largemouth bass, 2 smallmouth bass and a beautiful 18 inch rainbow trout. (See photo) Kathy on Justus Mikey on Sugar - 10/20: I took 10 year old Mikey Galkowski to several different holes on Sugar Creek in search of fall trout. Together we caught a total of 14 trout 12 rainbows and 2 browns. Most of the trout fell for pieces of nightcrawler. But I did use my fly rod to catch a couple on a #12 Girdlebug. Allegheny River Gene Winger photo Gene Winger (Oil City); filed 10/21: After weeks of high muddy water the river is finally back to normal autumn levels with the bite improving significantly. Our best day was last Thursday when Kinzua Dam dropped the river level two feet in 24 hours. We found big bass stacked up in their normal fall hotspots, catching six to eight smallies at each location! The most productive baits were 3.75 swim baits and Z-Man TRD Crawz. As conditions continue to improve I m looking forward to some great fall fishing over the next several weeks.fish On! (See photo) RJ Graham (Tionesta); filed 10/21: Darl, the fall river feed bag is on heavy! We fished the river today and caught well over 50 smallmouths majority of bass were quality size fish! All fish came on tubes. Power Team Lures in green pumpkin on a 3/8-ounce head did the trick. We fished tubes on Gamma Torque braid without a leader tied braid direct to jig. Fish were shallow in 8 to 14 foot range. River is up slightly and a little stained perfect conditions right now! (See photo) Jeff Keystone Connection Guide Service; filed 10/21: The higher flow and cold weather have inspired Allegheny RJ Graham photo River smallmouth bass to move into fall locations. We re catching them in and around deeper water with mild current. Fish are responding to tubes, Galida s Gurbz, hair jigs and other bottom-oriented baits. As of today (Oct 21) the river is in the best condition it s been in for the past several weeks. (See photos) Jeff Knapp photo

Allegheny River continued Dave Lehman (Espyville); filed 10/20: We had a pretty good day on the river with 25 to 30 smallmouths up to 3.5 pounds between the three of us.

I had a flurry of 5 bass in 30 minutes on tubes. Lehman supplied photo Pete Cartwright @ Smalliesontheyough.com; filed 10/19: We fished the Allegheny on the 18 th.

We used Rapala DT Series Crankbait in some areas, plus 412ubes and Small Jaw Craws from 412 Bait Company to land smallmouths up to 19 inches along with a few bonus walleye.

Loomis Bronzeback Rod and Shimano Stradic 2500 C14 reel spooled with 8 pound Gamma Edge to fish these baits.

7 Allegheny River continued Dave Lehman (Espyville); filed 10/20: We had a pretty good day on the river with 25 to 30 smallmouths up to 3.5 pounds between the three of us. (See photo at right) Bill Logan (Pleasantville); filed 10/19: Fished the river today. Caught nine smallmouths; most of them quality size fish. I had a flurry of 5 bass in 30 minutes on tubes. Lehman supplied photo Pete Smalliesontheyough.com; filed 10/19: We fished the Allegheny on the 18 th. Smallies were in an eating mood. We used Rapala DT Series Crankbait in some areas, plus 412ubes and Small Jaw Craws from 412 Bait Company to land smallmouths up to 19 inches along with a few bonus walleye. The water had many leaves and floating weeds so it was difficult to get a clean presentation. I use a 7 4 G.Loomis Bronzeback Rod and Shimano Stradic 2500 C14 reel spooled with 8 pound Gamma Edge to fish these baits. (See photos) Pete Cartwright photo Jeff Knapp photo The only reason to look forward to winter New season of Erie Extreme premiers on Saturday December 29 at 7 pm on WICU TV Erie. The show will also be seen on Fox 29 Buffalo and Fox 53 Pittsburgh day and time to be determine. I hear there will be 13 action packed episodes including pike on Presque Isle Bay, Hellgrammite Challenge on Oil Creek, Musky fishing on Pymatuning, and finally success on the Catfish Challenge!

8 The Livewell Brought to you by: Wiegel Brothers Marine 704 ½ Elk Street Franklin, PA Phone A boat from Wiegel Brothers Marine is the perfect Christmas gift for the entire family. Stop in today to see what they have available. Rick with Shenango Lake Hybrid Striper Pete with Lake Erie Smallmouth Bass Rick with Shenango White Bass Julie with Shenango LMB Rand & Ace with Shenango River Smallmouth Bass

Black Knight Industries Oil City, PA 16301 www.gammafishing.com www.froghairfishing.com Happy Halloween from a satisfied Gamma Line user.

62, North of Oil City in President Township Consumer Direct Sports (CDS) Grove City Outlet Mall, PA Griffins Bait & Tackle Cooperstown, PA Maurer s Trading Post Franklin, PA Robinson s Bait & Tackle

spool of Gamma Line is Julie Como Name drawn for lure prize pack is Gene Winger CONTACT ME BY EMAIL TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE Gamma Tip From: Pete Cartwright: During late October we can experience either

9 Black Knight Industries Oil City, PA Happy Halloween from a satisfied Gamma Line user. You can find GAMMA LINE locally at the following tackle shops: Abe s General Store - Rt. 62, North of Oil City in President Township Consumer Direct Sports (CDS) Grove City Outlet Mall, PA Griffins Bait & Tackle Cooperstown, PA Maurer s Trading Post Franklin, PA Robinson s Bait & Tackle Linesville, PA PRIZE WINNERS (To claim your prize, you must Darl Black your shipping address) Cover shot winner of pack of 412 Bait Company soft plastic to Randy at Fish West PA Name drawn for spool of Gamma Line is Julie Como Name drawn for lure prize pack is Gene Winger CONTACT ME BY TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE Gamma Tip From: Pete Cartwright: During late October we can experience either great smallmouth fishing or at least above average compared to other times of the year. But river fishing can be very frustrating at this time of year because leaves and uprooted aquatic vegetation will be flowing down river throughout the water column. I like to use bottom bouncing soft plastics like the 412 Small Jaw Craw rigged on a skirted 1/8 ounce football head. This combo sends out vibration in the water to help bass find it. Other options are grubs and tubes, with both baits available from 412 Bait Company. Bottom baits are great when the bite is tough; try to keep the bait bouncing along the bottom with the current. My set-up is a 7 1 G. Loomis E6X rod and Pete Cartwright photo Shimano Stradic c reel spooled with 8-pound Gamma Edge.

NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA FISHING REPORT

NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA FISHING REPORT Published by Blackwolfe Communications LLC Issue: September 26, 2018 The NW PA Fishing Report is brought to you by: Fishing with Darl Black Guide Service Dave Lefebre