August Dog Days? The so-called Dog Days of Summer can actually be rewarding from a fishing perspective if you choose your species and waterways carefully.  Check out this week’s Report to see what is being caught and where.  Don’t whine.  Go Fish!

Crawford County Waters

Pymatuning Lake

Chris Hall (Espyville Outdoors): “Fishing along the Espyville causeway has been hot.  Crappie and walleye are being caught underneath the PA bridge in the mornings and evenings with regularity.  Most have been taken on jigheads with a white curly tail or split-tail grub; some success has been reported with minnows.  Bluegills are being caught in select bays; taken on red worms or pieces of nightcrawlers.

“I had two gentlemen at the shop on Friday who said they caught over 300 carp at the Linesville Spillway…no pictures, but they were back to buy more Magic Bait and Van-Do Strawberry and Anise dough bait.  Catfish are still being caught in decent numbers just about anywhere on the lake.  Magic Bait Shrimp and Chicken Blood have been hot for channel cats.  Actually Shrimp flavor is outselling all other flavors by a wide margin.”

Dave Richter (Richter’s General Store): “Walleye catches have been spotty – it’s August after all, a tough month in this shallow lake for walleye.  Crappies are still biting in deep water in the southern portion of the lake closer to the dam.  And I’ve had several customers tell me the largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing is darn good, too.  One regular customer caught several smallmouths up to 3.5 pounds on crankbaits this week.”

Conneaut Lake

Steve Hughes (Clarion): “I fished the Conneaut Lake PA Bass Federation Tournament at on Sunday.  Mark Hughes won it with 19.30 pounds of smallmouth off the humps, using tubes and drop-shot.  I took 2^nd with 17.94 pounds of largemouth by cranking a Bomber Fat Free Shad in Citrus Shad and flipping a Yum Wooly Bug in deep weeds.”

Conneaut Lake bluegill success (© Darl Black photo)

Darl Black (Cochranton): “The crappie fishing seems to have slowed somewhat at Conneaut, but the bluegill bite is very good – if you get out early.   Marilyn and I found schools of decent size ‘gills around 14 to 17 feet off the weed flats and weed-capped humps where gravel or rock rubble bumped the deep weed line.  I caught my ‘gills with a 1.5-inch Yum Wooly Beavertail on a 1/8-ounce Kalin Panfish Head.  Marilyn caught twice as many on a generic split-tail grub tipped with a one-inch Berkley Gulp Alive! Leech fished on super fine 3-pound Power Pro Microline.  Conneaut is somewhat off-color, so brighter, bolder colors seemed to work best for bluegills.  In addition to the most ‘gills, Marilyn also wants it known that she caught the largest bluegill, the most crappies and the biggest smallmouth bass.  She hooked the sole incidental 3-pound smallmouth on a 1/16-ounce Northland Bug-A-Boo Jig (marabou) on her first drop of the day to a sonar-found school of ‘gills on Granny Bar.”

Destin DeMarion (Grove City): “I have been fishing ConneautLakequite a bit and I must say I really like it.  There are definitely some nice smallmouth and largemouth bass in the lake.  On my most recent trip there on August 2^nd, I caught three smallies in the 2.5 to 3.5 pound range plus eight largemouth bass in the 1.5 to 2.5 pound range.  Most fish came by drop-shotting the deep weed edge with a TriggerX Spadetail or Jackall Crosstail Shad.  I also caught a couple bass on a Strike King 5XD in Sexy Shad.”

Tamarack Lake

Ken Anderson (Tionesta): “I fishedTamarackLakethis past week.  I landed two largemouth bass on rubber worms from shoreline wood, but had seven other bass come unbuttoned at the boat.  The bite was good – but I must need new hooks!  My daughter Breanna caught perch, crappie, sunfish and bass on Joe’s Fly Spinner.”

Night fishing success at Woodcock – pictured with smallmouth are Dale Black, Chris Wolfgong and Marilyn Black (© Darl Black photo)

Woodcock Lake

Darl Black (Cochranton): “After our brief visit to Woodcock during the last week of July, Dale Black and I had decided to try night fishing the lake this week.  Four of us in two boats (Dale and Chris Wolfgong, Marilyn and me) fished from about 7 PMto 11 PMon Friday, August 5.  Each of use scored a respectable smallmouth with topwater lures, plus some smaller bass on topwater and jigs.  The hot topwater baits were the Arbogast Jitterbug and the Heddon Crazy Shad. There were two boats launching at the same time going for walleye; one angler said they had caught walleye at night a week ago, but we didn’t see them later and thus don’t know how they made out on Friday night.”

Canadohta Lake

Larry Phillips (Spartanburg) reports having a very good summer on walleye at Canadohta.  “This has been my best year ever, taking more legal walleye than any past year.  My best single day this summer was three legal walleye – a 25”, 20” and 17” fish.  All my walleyes have been taken by slow trolling a crawler harness in 10 to 13-feet of water.  The hottest harness has been a Walleye Delight brand with glow-in-the-dark blades and red beads.  Of course, having fat, healthy nightcrawlers to put on the worm harness is critical, too.  I get my bait at Timberland Bait and Tackle.”

Erie County Waters

Presque Isle Bay

Danny Jones (North East): “On Thursday, August 4^th, I caught 57 largemouth bass during an evening tournament.  My best four fish weighed 10.3 pounds.  I caught them all cranking deep!”

Lake Erie

Mike Tome (B.A.C. Bait): “Walleye success has slowed; more hit and miss now. Fish have moved deeper, out to the north side of the First Trench, into the Second Trench and out at the Mountain.  Some of the best walleye fishermen have switched over to perch.  Perch catches remain strong – phenomenal may be a better word.”

Jeff Staaf (Poor Richards): “Walleyes are out in 70 to 80 feet of water on the West side; crawler harnesses are out producing plugs.   A few steelheads are showing up, too, in walleye catches.  Perch are biting in 52 to 57 feet of water this past week; emerald shiners and small golden shiners are all that’s needed to limit out in short time.”

Mercer County Waters

Charles Kinney with 13 lb. tiger musky (Laurie Frant

Charles Kinney with 38 lb. musky (Laurie Frantz photo)

Shenango Lake & Shenango River

Laurie Frantz (R&L Bait): “I’ve got some exciting fishing news.  Charles Kinney of Clarks Mills had a banner day on theShenangoRiverthis week.  Fishing somewhere above theShenangoLakewaters in the river proper, he caught a 48-inch, 38 lb 10 oz musky plus a 41-3/4 inch, 13 lb 6 oz tiger musky.”

R&L Bait announces new hours –6 AM to 6 PM, six days a week; closed on Mondays.

Stoneboro Lake (i.e. Sandy Lake)

Chuck Papinchak (Cochranton): “I was back atStoneboroLakethis past week, and again caught several 1-1/2 pound largemouth bass on drop-shot worms, plus a couple on spinnerbaits.  The water in the lake is very clear.  I hope to try there for musky later in the week.”

Neshannock Creek

Bob Shuey (Neshannock Creek Fly Shop) reports the creek is too warm and too low, and trout are severely stressed.  “We need rain and cooler temps.”

Venango County Waters

Dale Black with river smallmouth (© Darl Black photo)

Allegheny River

Dale Black (OilCity) says smallmouth fishing in the river is slow, but if you downsize to a 3” Yum Dinger and drift it with the current, you can catch a few bass.  (See Photo #5)

French Creek (Erie, Crawford and Venango Counties)

John Ensworth (John’s Bait) reports selling shiners and nightcrawlers like crazy this past weekend, with most of the bait headed to French Creek.  One customer reported catching both northern pike and smallmouth on shiners.

Christi Zaboroski with French Creek smallmouth (Lou Letterle photo)

Lou Letterle (Franklin): “I managed to fish a couple times this past week on both French Creek and the Allegheny River. The most productive trip was on lower French Creek near Franklinwhen I took my kids and two of their friends wade-fishing.  To keep things simple (and reduce snags), I rigged each rod with either a Yum Dinger or a Fluke – both baits rigged un-weighted on a circle hook.  All four kids (Brandi & Corey Letterle and Christi & Carly Zaboroski) caught smallmouth and had a great time.”

Russ Chancey with 4 lb. French Creek largemouth (Dustin Shay photo)

Russ Chancey with 30 inch French Creek walleye (Dustin Shay photo)

Dustin Shay (Meadville) and friends have been on French Creek several days this week.  “Russ Chancey caught a 30” walleye on a riffle runner minnow.  We also caught some nice smallmouth on riffle runners as well.  On another day, Russ caught a 4 pound largemouth from French Creek on a Big Bite Cane Stick which I won in a Fishing Report drawing earlier this year .”

Gamma Salutes

The winner of Gamma Line this week is Lou Letterle for the photos submitted of  his son and daughter, and their friends, fishing French Creek for smallmouth bass.

Carly Zaboroski with French Creek smallmouth

Brandi Letterle with French Creek smallmouth

Corey Letterle with French Creek smallmouth

Gamma Line is available locally at CDS (Grove City), Espyville Outdoors (Espyville), Poor Richards (Erie), and John’s Bait (Meadville).

Lure Pack Winner

Winner this week of a Booyah/Yum lure packet is Ken Anderson.

Outdoor Calendar of Events

Monthly          Fly-Tying Class – Free, Walk In                814-590-1366

Farrell’s Hook, Line & Stitch (At the Bank Mall),Meadville

2^nd Tuesday of each month;6 PM to 7:30 PM

Aug 27           Walt’s Tavern Bass Benefit Tournament; $100.00/team

Information contact: Dan Mincin at 724-986-6557

Sept 18         Allegheny RiverBass Team Tournament #1

$100 per team; for info contact Eric Heil lt.heil@yahoo.com

Oct 16            Allegheny RiverBass Team Tournament #2

$100 per team; for info contact Eric Heil lt.heil@yahoo.com

Nov 5              PA Steelhead Expo atRainbowGardens,Erie,PA

Details to come

Information contributed by:

-       Chris’ Tackle Box, Jamestown, PA

-       Maurer’s Trading Post, Franklin, PA

-       Oil Creek Outfitters, Titusville, PA

-       John’s Bait & Tackle, Meadville, PA

-       Van Tassel’s Timberland Bait, Canadohta Lake, PA

-       Fergie’s Bait & Tackle, Sandy Lake, PA

-       R & L Bait & Tackle, Greenville, PA

-       B.A.C. Bait & Tackle, Erie, PA

-       Poor Richards Bait & Tackle, Fairview, PA

-       Presque Isle Angler, Erie, PA

-       Neshannock Creek Fly Shop, Volant, PA

-       Erie Sports Store, Erie, PA

-       CLTackle.com

-       Espyville Outdoors, Espyville, PA

-       Farrell’s Hook, Line & Stitch, Meadville, PA

-       Consumer Direct Sports, Grove City, PA

-       Jigger Wholesale Tackle, Franklin, PA

-       Area anglers

Sponsored by: PA Great Lakes Region

& GAMMA Fishing Line (now owned by Black Knight Industries of Oil City)

Connect to all counties at www.PaGreatLakes.com

-       Crawford County Convention &Visitors Bureau at www.visitcrawford.org

-       VisitErie at www.visiterie.com

-       VisitMercerCountyPA at www.visitmercercountypa.com

-       Oil Region Alliance at www.oilregion.org

 Note: The information in the NW PA Weekly Fishing Report is based on the observations and opinions of individuals at the reporting tackle shops and expert area anglers.  Although the information is reliable, it is not independently verified.

If you have fishing information or a picture of your catch from one of the waters in the following counties, please contact Darl Black at darlblack@windstream.net

In providing a picture, you are agreeing to it being posted on the Fishing Report.

Keep Up with More NW PA Fishing at http://darlblack.blogspot.com

Northwest Pennsylvania Fishing Report 8-8-11 is a post from: Fish Pittsburgh

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Saturday I spent the day fishing with my sister, Nicole, who hadn’t been fishing in a couple of years.  We started fishing around 7:30 in the morning and took a ride to one of my favorite roadbeds figuring that the bass had started to move into the deeper summer pattern.  What we had discovered was the spot was covered with small stripers.  I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the morning.  It really got Nicole into it, as she was having a ball with the 14-16″ stripers.  For me it was awesome watching her enjoy the same sport my dad and I love so much.  Also, for the first time I had success catching fish on a jigging spoon.  They weren’t my target species, but it will give me some confidence to try it more in the future.

The rest of the day we spend time fish laydowns pitching in shallow water, throwing crankbaits on ledges, working roadbeds, and fishing brush piles.  We caught bass in just about every location that we stopped at, but we only managed to catch 1 keeper.  If I were heading back up I am not sure where in the water column that I would be fishing.  The fish came from 6″ of water to 15 feet of water.  It left me with a lot of unanswered questions.  Nicole had so much fun that she asked to head back out again this week. 

Sunday was tournament day on a body of water I have only ever fished 1 time and didn’t practice for this year.  Woodcock Lake is a small lake that is located about 5 miles north of Meadville.  Watch the blog for a featured fishing about this lake.  This lake is very clear, has some grassy weeds, rock banks, and plenty of laydowns and stumps. 

I started the morning by fishing the breast of the dam and continued down the one bank.  I covered a wide range of lures and depth in the first 3 1/2 hours and had no bites.  I was getting discussed fast.  The last time I was at the lake I didn’t manage to catch any keepers and this was shaping up to be the same result.  I ran into some of the other guys and I could tell what they were using.  Small weightless stick worms.  If there is a style that I hate to use it is that style, but when in Rome you have to do as the Romans.  Shortly after I started using the rig I caught a dink and then a 2.85lb smallie.  That helps me get into using the style.  I tried everything to catch more fish, but it would be 1:00pm, over 3 hours, until I would catch my next keepers.  The event ended at 2:00 and I knew I needed to get my last keeper to give myself a chance to win.  In the last 1/2 hour I caught 2 more keepers. 

Throughout the course of the day I managed to get 8 bass 4 keepers and 2 walleye.  It wasn’t a great day, but with next to no experience on the lake I was pleased with the results.  After weigh-in concluded I was sitting in 3rd place with a 3 fish weight of 5.82lbs.  The winner had 9.85lbs and 2nd place had 9.45lbs.  Lunker for the event was a nice 4.85lb smallie.  I think that if I spent some time up there I would become a big fan of the lake, but until then I am just going to call it an above average fishery.

Fun Weekend of Fishing is a post from: Fish Pittsburgh

Related Posts

• August 9, 2011 -- Northwest Pennsylvania Fishing Report 8-8-11
• August 1, 2011 -- Northwest Pennsylvania Fishing Report 8-1-11
• June 8, 2010 -- Stormy Shenago Lake
• June 16, 2009 -- Post Spawn Blues

Friday evening we started fishing around 8:00 pm and fished until 9:30. We wanted to see if the striper were active, and if we could get a topwater bite. The night was pretty successful with the 3 of us catching over 10 bass. Most of which were on top water. None of the fish were big, but topwater is fun no matter what the size of the fish is. Tony, one of my best friends, even managed to hook up with a nice walleye on a spinnerbait.

Saturday Dad and I headed out on the water and fished from 7-12 in the morning. It was probably the single best morning I have ever had at Shenago. We managed to boat 26 bass and a catfish. We caught fish on buzzbaits, spooks, multiple crankbaits, tubes, beavers, and brush hogs. Colors were wide ranged, but the ones that seemed to work best were transparent/natural colors. The depth of water we caught fish varied greatly. We caught them flipping the shallows, topwater shallow, and deep and shallow cranking. It seemed like the fish were all over the board, but when you found 1 you found multiple fish. We headed in for lunch and ended up sitting out a pretty severe storm until 3. At that point we wanted to get on the water. The three of us started fishing again. I tied a crankbait on and never put it down for the next 2 hours. I caught 2 pike, catfish, multiple bass, and a couple crappie. Then the next severe storm came through so we called it a day.

We woke up Sunday to bad weather and high winds. That being said we thought it best not to head out on the water. For the amount of time we were able to fish we were pretty successful, which makes me anxious to get back out there.

Stormy Shenago Lake is a post from: Fish Pittsburgh

Related Posts

• March 4, 2010 -- Crooked Creek Lake
• April 10, 2011 -- Presque Isle Bay – Lake Erie
• April 27, 2009 -- Pymatuning Open Tournaments
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• May 10, 2011 -- Allegheny Reservoir

I believe that the fish in Western Pennsylvania have moved into the post spawn time of  year.  That is not to say that you can’t find a few bass still on beds.  You can and will still find some bedding bass.  However, the majority of the females have left the beds for the males to guard. 

Saturday, I headed up to Wilhelm with my dad trying to find some of the true giant largemouth bass that swim those waters.  Unfortunately, the fish were in post spawn meaning that they were going to be very inactive.  We landed about 8 bass, but nothing was over 3lbs.  I was able to hook up with 2 good fish that came off.  Both fish ate the jig to the point where they were swimming with it.  I nailed them with a good hook set and both fish (one around 4lbs and the other pushing 6lbs) managed to shake the hook on the way in. 

Sunday my wife and myself met my parents at Shenago Lake for a picnic and some fishing.   The day went very much like Wilhelm the day before.  I managed to catch 9 bass, but only one smallmouth would keep and it was the first fish I caught.  I hooked up with 9 more bass that came off, and missed about 5 fish to short strikes. 

Fishing the post spawn can be very frustrating, but once you get on the fish you can catch alot of them in one area.

Post Spawn Blues is a post from: Fish Pittsburgh

Related Posts

• August 12, 2010 -- TBF District 6 Tournament – Lake Erie
• August 26, 2009 -- ALL PUMPED UP!!
• June 1, 2009 -- TBF District 6 – Pymatuning
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• September 26, 2011 -- Northwest Pennsylvania Fishing Report 9-26-11