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WESTERN CRAWFORD COUNTY, WCO Joe Russell First let me apologize to everyone that sent me messages about last weeks report. I didn’t submit one because my Mom and Dad, John and Dixie Russell came for a visit. Their visit allowed me to do something I hadn’t been able to do in quite a while and that was go fishing and enjoy our resources from this area. My Mom, who had never had a fishing license bought her first one and accompanied my father and I quite a few times. She was able to land a whopping 6” bass from the lower impoundment below Crystal Lake and you would have thought it was a 20-pound Steelhead. There was definitely a pride shown after landing the sub-legal fish but it was dampened somewhat when my 6 year old daughter exclaimed, “Nana that’s not much bigger than those bait fish”. The areas we fished and the species that cooperated were the following Pymatuning Lake
The week was started by taking them to the spillway and hoping to hook a carp on bread balls and my mom's new ultralight. We weren't disappointed either and soon had fish on but the line broke prior to landing it. Around carp point (the point just north of the gate house) I hooked into a 15” bass using suckers and fishing from shore. From the group camp area we took crappies and bluegills from shore using minnows under a bobber. Behind Ackerman Island on the South end we again got into panfish using minnows and bobbers, and fishing from a boat. I have been told the bluegills are starting to bite along shore and in the shallows now but we were unable to find them. Crystal Lake
We attempted to fish from shore here however the vegetation has exploded and after losing several bobbers and a lure we decided to move on. I do know the bass were jumping like crazy that day and someone in a canoe or johnboat would have a very good time. Upper, Middle and Lower Impoundments
These are the bodies of water that are just south of Crystal Lake. We were very successful with the bass here using minnows under bobbers and light rigs. There wasn’t any great size to any of the ones we brought in but they were a lot of fun to catch. My father did hook into one here that he said was “The largest Bass he had ever caught” but it managed to spit the hook after about 5 minutes of playing it. Unfortunately for him the rule before we started was if you don’t land it, it doesn’t count. North Pier at Presque Isle
Thanks to my neighboring officer and good friend WCO Tom Edwards, when I called and asked where the fish were biting he directed me to the North Pier. We used Minnows and suckers here as well and lost count of the fish we were catching. At one point I had a pole in one hand reeling it in and the other was bent in half with fish taking my bait. Largemouth Bass, Rock Bass, and a very nice 12” Perch is what we were able to land here before the rain and night ran us off. On WCO Edwards tip we fished just off the bottom with our minnows and were very successful. On a final note I would like to thank my bosses at the Northwest Regional Office for allowing me the time off to be able to do this, and my neighboring officer WCO Raymond Borkowski, who covered a reported boat accident in my area while I was out. Thanks for the help Ray.
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