Conditions
Most of Presque Isle Bay is now open water. The shoreline ice keeps
lingering, on the lake however there is open water at Trout and Godfrey runs.
The tributaries have cleared up and water levels are still good. Overnight
lows will continue to create morning slush and skim ice however temperatures
have been high enough during the day to maintain open water. Fresh fish
continue to stage at the mouths and are entering Walnut, Elk, and Crooked
Creeks. Fish are staging well at the mouth of Trout Run. The Fairview Gravel Pit is being stocked this week and Lake Pleasant was
stocked last week. Both bodies of water remain open to fishing until April
1st. What to use
Anglers have been doing well at the mouth of Trout Run on minnows and egg
sacks fished off the bottom. The Walnut Project waters are quite clear for
now and the lightest of presentations are the ticket. Although a little more
expensive, the investment in fluorocarbon line can pay big dividends. Elk
still has some color and as such the typical fall baits will work. Egg
sacks, blood dots, glow balls, jigs and skein will work. Look for the slow
moving water and pools to find fish. Minnows & grubs will be the top baits
for the stocked Brown Trout this week at the Gravel Pit. Law enforcement:
Even in the bitter cold of winter, officers are still finding attempted
poaching activity. A number of offenders have been apprehended over the last
few weekends attempting to rob fish from the Trout Run Nursery waters. These
violations carry some of the the stiffest fines and potential loss of fishing
privileges for up to 2 years.
Steelhead hooks Out of State Anglers..
Last week I received an email from a teacher in West VA inquiring about
fishing conditions for the weekend. His plan was to bring his 10 year old
son and a group of students to our area to sample our great fishing. I gave
him some suggestions and my predictions for weekend conditions warning him
that our daily highs were only to be in the 20's. They wanted to take
advantage of the long weekend and braved the trip and the bitter cold
conditions we had this past weekend. On Sunday, I was fortunate enough to
run into this group of dedicated anglers at the Legion Park area on Elk
Creek. Hats off to Mr. Sisler for going the long mile to make a few
lifetime memories for a wonderful group of kids. His son, Nathan landed his
first Steelhead and will no doubt be a frequent visitor to our waters for
years to come ..congratulations to Nathan from Officers Leighton & Bowser. Photos of Nathan & other non-resident anglers drawn in by this world class
fishery this week are attached.
Randy Leighton
Deputy Water Conservation Officer,
PA. Fish and Boat Commission
West Erie County
Rglerie@aol.com
WCO John Bowser
Pa. Fish & Boat Commission
Western Erie County
jwb014@aol.com
| 
