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WEST ERIE COUNTY, DWCO Randy Leighton Conditions: There are still large numbers of fish holding in the nursery waters at Trout Run. Most of the fish are blackened and weak however, close observation revealed a surprising number of fresh fish mixed in the pack. Fishing the shoreline at Trout Run is usually good throughout the winter and into the spring wind and waves permitting. Walnut Creek is still holding fish in the Project waters and anglers are still doing fair to good along the wall leading to the Lake. The Manchester Hole is still loaded with fish and will continue to draw a good number of anglers until ice over. Lake Erie water temperature as of this writing is 40 degrees. The Walnut Marina Basin has had a skim coat of ice hindering fishing there. Walnut Creek Access Office: Special Sons of Lake Erie Meeting: Cold Weather Safety on the Tribs: Sixth in a Series of Local Tributaries, Conneaut Creek Conneaut Creek is the only creek in this watershed that has areas which have a sand and dirt bottom, rather than a shale bottom like the remaining creeks. It drops-off quickly from its banks, and it can be hard to wade in many areas. It holds bass and northern pike during the summer months. Steelhead run in Conneaut Creek as far south as Dicksonburg in Crawford County. Angler pressure on Conneaut Creek is relatively light. In addition to steelhead, Conneaut Creek has a very good fishery for muskellunge throughout its run through Erie County. Most fishing for muskie is done in the summer and fall. Conneaut Creek also has a good walleye and largemouth bass fishery, although few specifically target these species in Conneaut Creek. The PFBC stocks this creek with muskie, tiger muskie and walleye. There is no good access to Conneaut Creek on the north side along Clover Road. The first access to the Pennsylvania waters near the Ohio line is from Akerly Road. Turn north on Akerly from Cherry Hill Road and follow the road to the dead end. There is a turn-around with parking at the end of the road. You will find an old bridge abutment here. There are also some nice pools and holding water here. The next access point going east is at the bridge on Griffy Road. There is very limited parking on the southeast side of the bridge. There is also a nice pool under and just downstream of the bridge. Route 6N crosses Conneaut Creek twice in Erie County. At the first overpass to the west, there is ample parking all along the bridge on 6N. The shale cliff on the south side makes access somewhat difficult, especially on the Southwest side. Proceeding east the next access point is on either side of McKee Road. Until recently there was a historic covered bridge where McKee Road crossed the creek. The bridge burned in the late 1990's. It has not been replaced and therefore McKee Road dead-ends at the creek from both directions. You can park and access the creek at either end of McKee Road, whether you come from the North off Old Albion Road, or from the South off Cherry Hill Road. Sometimes on the North side of the creek at the end of McKee you will find people camping near the creek - exactly why they are there is less than obvious. Upstream from McKee Road the creek becomes more muddy and slow-moving, and the banks become more muddy and steep. The combination of steep banks and a muddy bottom makes wading difficult in many places downstream from McKee Road. The next access east of McKee Road is at Route 215. There is limited parking available at the northwest end of the bridge. There is no easy access to the creek from Old Albion Road. There is also no parking along Cherry Hill Road where it passes over the creek. However, there is limited parking on Gage Road just east of Cherry Hill Road, and you can walk to the Cherry Hill Road bridge from here. If you turn west on Hilltop Road, a short distance from Cherry Hill Road you will find a partially constructed road heading toward the creek. You can park here and walk down the trail to the creek, where you will find an old bridge abutment and a pool. South of Hilltop Road the East Branch of Conneaut Creek and Temple Creek branch off to the east of the main stem. Route 6N crosses Conneaut Creek a second time just west of Albion. There is limited parking on the northwest end of the bridge here. The final access point is at Carter Road. There is ample parking along the bridge here. In this area the creek here passes through pleasant farm county. Tributary descriptions in part provided by www.FishERIE.com, a www.FishUSA regional site. Local Weather:
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