PA Lake Erie Stream & Lake Fishing Reports!

Bill McCracken of Commodore, PA came in with this 5 pound 4 ounce Smallmouth Bass. It was 20 ¾ inches long and had a girth of 16 ¼ inches. He caught it out in 20 ft of water West of Walnut Creek on a Golden Shiner minnow.

WALLEYE:

Irwin Wurst, 81 yrs young from Erie brought in this nice sized Walleye while Perching. He caught it out off the Lighthouse in 48 ft of water on an Emerald shiner. It was 10 pounds 3 ounces, 30 inches long and had a girth of 17 ½ inches.

Eleven year old Robert Shartey came in with this nice 10 pound 9 ½ ounce Walleye. It was 31 inches long with a girth of 17 ½ inches. He caught it out in 32 feet of water off Elk Creek on a Bagley. The color was Chartreuse.

PERCH:

Here is from left to right, nine year old Luke, eleven year old Tom and twelve year old Nick Soboleski of Mckean with their Angler Award sized catch. Luke’s was 15 ounces, 12 ¾ inches long with a girth of 8 ½ inches. Tom’s was 14 ½ ounces, 12 inches long and 8 ½ inch girth. Nick’s was 12 ounces, 11 ½ inches long and the girth was 8 ½ inches. They caught them out in 44 ft of water Northwest of Walnut Creek on Emerald Shiners.

Eight year old Anthony Morrison of West Mifflin, PA, brought in a nice Angler Award sized Perch. It was 1 lb. 2 oz. and was 14 inches long with a girth of 9 ¾ inches. He caught it out in 45 ft of water straight out of Walnut Creek on an Emerald shiner.

The fishing has been almost non- existent. The Perch when they can be found seem to be out in 35-40 ft of water off Trout Run. The ones being caught are said to be full of minnows, so they are getting all the food they need out in the water.

The Walleye are only being caught at night from what I am hearing. I have only had a couple boats come in with any walleye and then it was only 1 or 2. One boat had five and that was the most I have heard of all season so far. The water temperature is still cold so after a few days of hot weather hopefully they will start.

The new traffic pattern so far is going okay. The only problem is getting used to it. Change can be hard but give it time. Please just watch the signs and it will be easy. Utilize the “Tie Down Area”. We do ask that you not pull up in front of the net shed because the vehicles have to pull all the way up to the building to launch or retrieve their boats. This will cause traffic problems.

This week we have a smorgasbord of fish. First, we have eleven year old Lucas Stellabotte from Lower Burrell with his Perch. It was 12 ¾ ounces, 12 ¼ inches long and had a girth of 8 ¼ inches. He caught it out in 54 ft of water off Walnut Creek on Emerald Shiner.

CHANNEL CATFISH:

Next we have seven year old Ronnie Rusch who brought in a huge Channel Catfish. It was 15 lbs 11 oz. and was 30 inches long with a girth of 19 ½ inches. He caught it out in 28 ft of water East of Walnut Creek on Emerald Shiner.

SMALLMOUTH BASS:

Then we have fifteen year old Matthew West of Erie, PA with a nice Small Mouth Bass. It was 4 lbs. ½ oz., 20 inches long and had a girth of 15 inches. He caught her in Walnut Creek on a Grub. She still had some eggs in her too.

WALLEYE:

Here is Morris Mitchell (Mickey) of Saegertown with this nice sized Walleye. First one brought in to me for weighing. It was 9 pounds 12 ¾ ounces, 30 inches long and had a girth of 19 inches. He caught it out in around 27 ft of water off Trout Run on a Hot & Tot.

SMALL MOUTH BASS:

Eleven year old Joshua McQuiston of Pittsburgh came in with a nice Small Mouth Bass. It was 5 pounds 12 ounces, 21 inches long and had a girth of 16 ¼ inches. He caught it out in 18-20 ft of water off Trout Run on an Emerald shiner.

PERCH:

I have no pictures of the Perch but they are talking about getting them in 40 ft of water off Trout Run and in 55 ft of water straight out of Walnut Creek.

WALNUT CREEK ACCESS TRAFFIC FLOW:

Here is a diagram of the new traffic flow at Walnut Creek. Just remember to watch the signs. There are a lot of them and they explain to you where to go and in which direction.

Please Stop at all the "Stop" signs. There are signs under them to tell you which way to go.

Please follow the arrows that are painted in the parking lot also. If everyone is parked the same way there should be less damage done to the trailers in the lot hopefully.

There is a big change so please watch and drive carefully. The launch and exits are reversed from what they used to be. Also, watch the launch ramp signs. They are there to show you which ramp is open to launch and which ramp is open for coming in off the water. If you can see "Open" when you launch then it is open to launch. If it says "Open" when you come in off the water, then use that one. One side of the sign says "Open" and the other side of the sign says "Closed".

Have a Happy Memorial Day Weekend.

First, the “Get Ready” area is now on the South side of the marina. The traffic flow will be greatly enhanced by this. The vehicles with boats will go straight when they come to the stop sign and go along the creek to the "Get Ready" area. There will be two rows for Getting Ready and one middle lane for those boaters who just launch.

We are asking that there is courtesy shown for the boats who are "getting ready" so they will have no trouble getting out.

Here is a further away shot of the “Get Ready” area while standing on the launch area.

Then when exiting the lake the boats are to stay to the left and go out through what is now the "Tie Down" area. It is where the old "Get Ready" area used to be by the Sunset Gardens Memorial Wall and the anchor.

Second, the road leading into the marina is one way coming in for vehicles only. NO BOATS! The barrier down the middle is gone and they are now paving the whole thing in. The boats will be able to Exit using the road but NO entering.

This will give the launching area a 40 percent increase in usable launch ramps when the place is very busy. Many boaters never wanted to use these two end ramps because of the missing pieces. It has taken many years of wanting this small improvement.

This alone will greatly speed up the launch and recovery during busy times.

Hat off to the PFBC for the fine job!!!!!

With this weeks in season trout stockings, the lower areas of Elk Creek, Crooked Creek, and the Upper Gravel Pit Pond in Fairview will be good choices for stockies. Anglers have been having good luck at the Gravel Pit Pond with shiners and red worms.

Lake Erie water temperature off Toledo is 52 degrees, off Cleveland, 47 degrees and off the Port of Erie, 51 degrees

Meadville, PA – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) will present an update on two specific topics at a public meeting on Thursday, April 23, from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. at the H.O. Hirt Auditorium in Erie.

Chuck Murray, fisheries biologist with the PFBC’s Lake Erie Research Unit, will discuss the status and trends of Pennsylvania's Lake Erie fishery. His report will focus on walleye, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and steelhead and will include a forecast of the upcoming fishing season. Mr. Murray will also discuss the Commission’s proposed Put-Grow-Take brown trout program on Lake Erie.

Jackie Kramer, the statewide fishing and boating access coordinator for the Bureau of Boating and Access, will explain the Lake Erie Access Improvement Program. The program provides grants to municipalities and non-profit organizations to improve fishing access in the Lake Erie watershed. In addition, she will discuss the Public Fishing Access Easement Program. Private landowners interested in providing public access for anglers and learning how this easement purchase program operates are encouraged to attend.

A question and answer period will be allotted following each topic.

Directions:

The H. O. Hirt Auditorium is at the west end of the Erie County Public Library - 160 East Front Street, Erie, PA 16507 (814-451-6900). Take the Bayfront Parkway to State Street or Holland Street. The library/auditorium is in between the two streets.

Rain this past weekend put some color and flow into the area tribs helping to keep steelhead conditions good. Night time temperatures have remained in the 30s and 40s helping to keep steelhead around for a while. By Tuesday afternoon, levels were dropping although decent flow and some color remains. Anglers have been doing fair to good along the lakeshore at the mouths of Trout and Godfrey runs wind and waves permitting. Steelhead can be found throughout Presque Isle Bay and Misery Bay. Now is the time to go after the slab crappie in in Presque Isle Bay. Current Lake Erie water temperature is 42 degrees off Toledo, 38 degrees off Cleveland and 38 degrees off the Port of Erie.

Walnut Creek Access Area:

West Erie County, DWCO Randy Leighton, WCO Brook Tolbert

Conditions:

Area temperatures have remained well below freezing again putting many areas back into freeze over. There is still open water in many areas of the tribs. Temperatures are predicted to climb into the upper 40s perhaps bringing another quick melt down. Presque Isle Bay has been firming up, however there is still open water and the pending warming up could make for hazardous conditions

Posted Access Advisory:

Access to Elk Creek in in Mckean off of Old West Road is now a posted area. This area is one mile east of 832 on the left off of West road. The road is a short and un marked with a dead end. The landowner access to the trib from this road is now posted (signage is in process). Access to this particular stretch of Elk is now by water only. Anglers should have no reason to park in this area without access to Elk Creek. This posted area will be enforced.

West Erie County, DWCO Randy Leighton, WCO Brook Tolbert

Conditions:

Frigid conditions have surrounded the Erie area over the last week with most areas on the trib well frozen over. As of Tuesday, there was some open water at the mouth of Trout Run. Anglers are reminded to assure they are fishing the Lake and not the tributary (State Nursery Waters) in this area. The Walnut Basin is frozen over and by the looks of the forecast this week, ice in most areas should be getting better. Anglers have not been venturing out on Presque Isle as some areas still look on the thin side, however, Misery bay has remained solid with anglers working that area this past weekend. Anglers are reminded that ice conditions are not monitored by any public agency and that caution should be exercised especially during these transition periods.

The Erie is closing in on a seasonal record of nearly 150" as measured at the Erie Airport. Many nearby surrounding areas have had well over 200" and a few pushing 250" for the season making this one of the snowiest seasons ever.

West Erie County, DWCO Randy Leighton, WCO Brook Tolbert

Conditions: Last week brought an almost complete meltdown of the area tribs and left most of the larger ice fishing areas including Presque Isle unsafe. The tribs have remained open and the major runoff has begun to subside opening up many areas to steelhead fishing. This weekend could bring good conditions on the tribs. Early morning hours are slushy with some drifting skim ice, however, mid day temperatures and a little sun have kept things mostly open. Fish will be scattered and weather worn with a few fresh fish mixed in near the mouths. Hard water anglers are advised to used extreme caution for now.

West Erie County, DWCO Randy Leighton, WCO Brook Tolbert

Conditions: Warmer temperatures this past weekend have broken down most of the ice on the area tribs. Major ice jams have built up at the tributary mouths temporarily blocking fishing access. Most areas South of Route 5 are open and flowing fast as of Tuesday afternoon.

Fish are scattered. Reported catches are coming from those anglers having the patience and persistence to do a lot of walking and looking. Most fish that are found have been in the tribs most of the winter. Cold clear waters after ice out are a good time to work the micro jigs in an attempt to trigger strikes. Egg sacs, singles and egg patterns will work nicely as the water clears and of course shiners are always a good choice in cold water.

As the ice jams at the mouths subside, we should see additional fish moving in, hopefully setting the stage for a strong spring run. Any ice fishing in the area should be approached with the utmost caution. Ice at the mouth of Trout Run along the lake shore should be considered unstable for fishing at this time.

Ice fishing slowed this past weekend as the ice on Presque Isle Bay began to burn off. With a day or so of warm weather predicted before the next cold snap, anglers should be using extreme caution when venturing out on the ice.

Winter Stocking: Lake Pleasant, the Upper Gravel Pit Pond in Fairview and the East and West Basin Ponds at Presque Isle have all been stocked in the last few weeks as par of the winter stocking program.

Mark Daniel of Edinboro, PA brought in this 10 pound Steelhead for Angler Award. It was 30 ¾ inches long and had a girth of 17 ¼ inches. He caught it at the Stop Sign hole on Walnut Creek. He was using sucker spawn and the color was orange.

The Stop Sign hole from what I hear has been good all week. There are

MARINA:

The marina has a little skimming of ice on it but it probably won’t last since we are to be getting some nice 50 degree weather tomorrow. But it won’t last. Tuesday thru Thursday it is supposed to snow and be in the 30’s.

Here is another one of the skimming of ice.

Eleven year old Jordan Preteroti of Muse, PA brought in this beauty. It was 10 pounds – 11 ounces and was 30 inches long with a 17 inch girth. He caught it in Walnut Creek on a maggot.

Gary Gilliland of Chicora, PA brought in this nice looking male Steelhead. He was 11 pounds – 9 ½ ounces and was 29 inches long with a 19 ¼ inch girth. Gary caught him at the “stop sign hole” on a “shrimp fly” he tied.

West Erie County, DWCO Randy Leighton, WCO Brook Tolbert

Conditions:
This past weekend brought big numbers of anglers to the area tribs with many anglers enjoying a little fishing on the way to hunting camp. Traditionally, angling pressure will ease with the Thanksgiving holiday and the threats of snow and bitter cold weather. This past week brought additional rain and snow keeping trib levels prime for the big catches. More and more anglers are learning that winter can often bring some of the best steelhead action of the season along with a more quiet angling experience especially along the upper stretches of the tribs. As the water temperature drops steelhead will typically become less active holding in the slower moving pools. Presentation is everything and natural drifts are most important in inducing strikes. The access areas at both Walnut and Elk Creeks are still drawing the crowds for those in a hurry to find fish but plenty of room can be found upstream. The Walnut Creek Marina basin is still giving up a fair number fish. The mouths of Trout and Godfrey runs are still productive, wind and waves permitting.

Winter Fishing Tips: Fish feed less aggressively as the water temperatures drop and will often wait for the food source to come to them, so you need to get your fly or bait close to feeding fish. This means reading the water and presenting your fly or other bait where the fish are holding. During the winter, fish typically hold in areas with less current than during warmer periods of the year. Look for places that offer fish haven from the faster currents but still near faster water that will carry food. The heads of pools, areas with drop offs and rocks, side channels and eddies are all good target areas during the winter months.

Donald Couch of Rochester, PA brought in this nice looking Steelhead. It was 13 pounds – 9 ½ ounces and was 30 ¼ inches long with a girth of 20 inches. He caught it at the mouth of Walnut Creek on a Black Jig tipped with Maggot.

There are a lot of people fishing and catching. It is snowing little balls right now (Friday) but nothing is on the ground yet here. It looks like it might stick though but it is supposed to be in the Hi 30’s tomorrow so I don’t see it sticking for long. The Lake water temperature is 44 degrees.

MARINA OFFICE BUILDING:

The Marina office building will close this Sunday for our seasonal hours. I will be coming in on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 7 AM till 5:30 PM until December 19 then I will close up for the rest of this season.

2009 LICENSES:

The 2009 fishing licenses will be going on sale Monday. No one will be here but you can stop in on the weekends and get them for whom ever. They do make nice Christmas presents. It is something that will last all year long.

Reminder on Perch:
The perch size limit has now changed to 7" effective December 1st. The daily creel limit remains at 30 fish.

John Shipp Jr. of Houtzdale, PA brought in his 10 pound – 13 ½ ounce Steelhead for Angler Award. It was 29 inches long and had a girth of 17 ½ inches. He caught it in Walnut Creek on Power Bait. His color was Rainbow.

Fifteen year old Alex Stoner of Greensburg, PA received an Angler Award for his 11 pound – 1 ounce fish. It was 30 inches long and had a girth of 17 ¾ inches. He caught his at the mouth of Walnut Creek on Power Bait. His colors were Red/white/blue.

Vincent Litterini of Nottingham, NH brought his fish in for Angler Award. It was 12 pounds – ½ ounce, was 29 ½ inches long and had a big girth of 19 ¼ inches. He caught his fish at the 2nd set of logs in Walnut Creek, right above the Stop sign hole. He caught his on a Wooley Bugger. The color was Black

Fourteen year old Cody Weimer of Irwin PA brought his fish in for Angler Award. It was 9 pounds – 13 ½ inches and was 30 ¼ inches long with a girth of 17 ½ inches. He caught his at the mouth of Walnut Creek on Power Bait. The color was White.

Lewis Sweigart of Marietta Pa. brought in his fish. It was 10 pounds – 1 ounce and was 28 inches long with a girth of 17 inches. He caught his out in the lake at Walnut Creek on a Little Cleo. His color was Blue (with pink dots)/Silver.

William Stewart of Fayette City, PA brought in this fish for Angler Award. It was 11 pounds – 4 ounces, was 30 ½ inches long and had a girth of 18 ¼ inches. He caught it in Walnut Creek Marina on a Jig and maggot.

Here is thirteen year old Zach Broad water from Rices Landing, PA with his Angler Award fish. It was 9 pounds – 8 ounces, 28 ¾ inches long and had a girth of 17 ½ inches. He caught it in Walnut Creek on a Jig. His color was Olive Green

Here is Jim Roner from Burgettstown, PA with his Angler Award fish. It was 11 pounds – 12 ounces, 30 inches long and had a girth of 18 ½ inches. He caught it on a Little Cleo.

The Marina opened at 3 PM on Friday, October 31. Here is a shot of the north side showing the turn out. I would estimate we had around 100 people standing around the marina. Within the first 20 minutes of opening there were at least five fish caught.

Rick Reed from Washington, PA was the first to catch his fish when the marina opened for fishing. It took him 2 ½ minutes to hook the first fish. It was around 20 inches long. He was using Power Bait. Color was Sherbert. He was standing on the south side of marina.

Dave Bachner Jr. of Washington, PA brought in a nice looking Steelhead. It was 11 pounds – 1 ounce and was 28 inches long with a girth of 19 inches. He caught it out in 30 ft of water straight out of Walnut Creek on a Reef Runner. His color was Florescent Orange.

Roy Staszak Jr. of Morrisdale PA, brought in a 10 pound – 9 ounce Steelhead. It was 29 ½ inches long and had a girth 18 ½ inches. He caught it at the Stop sign hole on Walnut Creek on a sucker spawn. The color was Pink.

Eight your old Brandon Bennett of New Castle, PA brought in an 8 pound – 1 ounce Steelhead. It was 28 ½ inches long and had a girth of 16 ½ inches. He caught it in Walnut Creek by the cement wall up in the creek on a flat head minnow.

Phillip Kenneth Howard of Burgettstown, PA brought in a 10 pound-5 ounce fish for Angler Award. It was 29 ½ inches long and had a girth of 17 ¼ inches. He caught it on a “Little Cleo” at Elk Creek. The color was Green/Silver.