Silver Bass Showing Up

The past couple days I went for a walk on the South Pier to see how the fishing was. I did not fish but rather just walked around and watched others having fun. The weather has been pretty unpredictable with storms and then breaks. In between the breaks, I saw one guy all the way at the end of the pier reeling in nice sized silver bass one after another. He was using white plastic shads and the fish seemed to like what they saw. Another fisherman across the pier hooked into a nice sized channel catfish. It was probably around 26 inches. Pesky gobies were also being caught on worms.

Time flies and in a month or so, steelhead will once again be moving into the shallow waters in preparation for their fall runs. I talked to one fisherman who said he has been catching small ones already off of Trout Run at night. Sounds a little early to me but it is possible. Happy fishin'.

Seaweed Clogging South Pier

Went fishing Friday night after dark. Although the channel was very calm, a storm went through before we fished and seaweed was floating in the channel making fishing difficult. We decided to put nightcrawlers on and fish for catfish on the bottom. Fished for several hours without even a nibble. Only a couple other nightfisherman were out and they also were not catching anything. It was a pretty cool night for the middle of July as temperatures dropped down into the fifties. The fish were not feeding and must have fed before the storm rolled through. Hopefully, we will have better luck next time.

Rock Bass Hitting Hard and Heavy.

Last night I decided to go fishing for either crappies or rock bass. I heard a report that very large crappies are being caught in the vicinity of the new Sheraton Hotel, however, I went to the South Pier and fished it at several different spots.

Caught a lot of gobies to start out with but then it got dark and we turned the lantern on. I was fishing with my cousin and we saw a couple guys with a stringer of about 30 rock bass so we decided to pick up and fish where they were; off of the end of the pier.

It didn't take long and we started catching fish. Rock bass are good fighters and these fish didn't let us down. They were also running pretty large. We fished for a couple hours after dark and as it grew later, the fish were biting better. Finally, after having 12 in the bucket, we decided to call it a night. That's all I wanted to clean.

I also hooked into a monster fish that I fought for awhile. It was real heavy and I had my drag set just a little too tight. It took a big run and zipped out line and my line overstretched and broke. It felt like a big steelhead, but they should not be in the shallows right now, so maybe it was a very big smallmouth bass or walleye. Walleye usually don't make real fast runs though. Oh well, it's the one that got away so I will never know what it was.

The fishing pressure is pretty heavy off of the south pier at night right now but there is plenty of room to move around and find some fish. Good Luck!

Dog Gone Gobies!

Been out fishing off the south pier a couple times over the past week and although I did not catch any perch, I caught a lot of other species. The bass, both smallmouth and largemouth, are abundant and hitting well. Rock bass are beginning to show up and over the next few weeks will be hitting well off of the piers.

The round gobies, which are an invasive species from the Caspian Sea, are making fishing difficult and are attacking live bait shortly after it hits the water. If you are interested in gobies and how they arrived in the Great Lakes, here is a good read from the USGS ==>http://www.glsc.usgs.gov/main.php?content=research_invasive_goby&title=Invasive%20Fish0&menu=research_invasive_fish

I took a picture of one and here it is so you can look at this prehistoric looking badguy. May your hooks be happy and your lines be tight! Remember, bass season is not here yet, so please return your fish unharmed.

P.S. For the boat fisherman. Jumbo perch are being caught in large numbers in 32 to 40 feet of water. The schools are concentrated and can be found in the waters north of Northeast PA.

Pier Fishing Update.

The water is a little warmer now and the smallies are hitting well. Yesterday, I saw quite a few caught off of the south pier in the afternoon. They are still out of season but they are good fighters.

I heard that there were a couple really good days of perch fishing off of the north pier but have not seen it myself. I have been seeing some nice perch in fisherman's buckets on the south pier but not large amounts. The luckiest fisherman yesterday had 8 fish in his bucket and they were all jumbo perch.

Rock bass are also beginning to show up on the north and south piers and should provide some action over the next month of fishing. May your lines be tight and your hooks be happy!

Panfish Hitting Pretty Well

I talked to quite a few fisherman and did some fishing myself over the past couple days. Some nice perch are being caught off of the south pier and I saw one fisherman with 10 nice sized fish in his bucket (8-10 inches).

I managed to catch a few crappies with my nephew off of the south pier but they were pretty small. Bluegills are hitting well. Steelhead fishing is now done for the season. At last look, I did not see any fish remaining in the streams.

Remember, it is not regular bass season yet. Silver bass are in season and are also being caught off of the south pier. Personally, I have been having more success fishing in the evenings than the mornings. I really have not caught a lot of fish yet this season but a few each time makes it worth the while.

Largemouth bass are still hitting very well in Presque Isle Bay and in the lagoons. On Saturday, while fishing for crappies, I hooked seven bass and they were all pretty big again (15 to 20 inches).

My cousin caught one of the largest bluegills I have ever seen caught out of the bay. It was the only fish in the bucket so I threw it back in alive and well after we were done fishing.

The water temperature is around 52 degrees now so all of the panfish should be hitting well. May your lines be tight and your hooks be happy.

Getting Skunked is Pretty Rare.

Yesterday I got up at 5:30 am and met my cousin for a day of fishing at Presque Isle. The wind was blowing hard from the southwest and although it was pretty warm out, it was very difficult to throw and watch bobbers. Around 7:00 my cousin managed to land a decent bass around 15 inches. Surprisingly, that was it for the day. It was one of those days when you sit there and ponder if there are any fish in the water. No perch, crappies, or bluegills. In fact, I only had two bites. Oh well, maybe this week I will catch the big school of crappies. I talked to a bunch of other fisherman with similar reports. I guess all the fish were fat and happy from the day before. Anyway, this time of year it is rare to get skunked so I should feel privileged; it was a rare day. Happy fishing!

Bass, Bass, and More Bass!

Got up at 5:00 am today and went to Presque Isle in search of the elusive crappies. The crappies won today as I got skunked in my pursuit of them. It was extremely windy this morning as a front moved in with an early morning thunderstorm.

I ran to my car and waited out the rain and then went back to fishing. I caught a couple nice blugills and tossed them in the bucket. I moved around a lot searching for the elusive crappies and could find none. One spot I went to, though, I must have been on a large school of largemouth bass. I caught 6 bass in about 45 minutes and one was twenty inches. I lost something much larger as it snapped my 4 pound test. I suspect it was a northern pike as I had my drag set correctly. Whatever it was it was pulling very hard. Going out again tomorrow in search of the crappie. Hopefully, I will find some of these tasty little critters. Come on back for my frequent updates. May your lines be tight and your hooks be happy!

P.S. For you turkey hunters out there. Today I saw a huge tom (8 inch beard??)strutting in front of a couple hens ten feet off of the road on Presque Isle. They are ready for ya'

Brown Trout Stockees Hitting Well.

My 15 year old nephew is enjoying himself fishing 4 mile creek which was heavily stocked with brown trout and palominos before opening day last Saturday. He did not catch any palominos yet but has caught quite a few hungry browns. The Wesleyville Conservation Club is going to be stocking 4 mile again either Thursday April 23 or Friday April 24. Bring your kids so that they can catch some fish. Remember, the first two weeks of the trout season 4 mile is for kids and seniors only. There is still quite a few fish left from the initial stocking and the fishing pressure that I have seen is very light. Come on kids, put away those xboxes and get out fishing! It's more fun! May your lines be tight and your hooks be happy!

Fishing for Crappies

On Sunday my nephew and I headed out to Presque Isle Bay to try our luck on crappies. It was very cold outside and the wind was blowing hard which prevented us from fishing the open bay. We decided to fish the lagoons. The fishing was slow but we managed to catch a couple decent largemouth bass. The bass were returned to the water unharmed as they were not legal size. One was about 14 inches and the other about 17.
I managed to catch one very nice sized crappie, a 14 incher, and lost a couple others but that was it for the morning. I will be trying periodically throughout this week for more panfish. On Saturday, I saw one fisherman with a bucket of about 10 jumbo perch and it still appears that the jumbo perch really have not moved towards the dock or South Pier as of yet. The steelhead numbers in the creeks are rapidly decreasing and almost all of the fish are dark. Steelhead fishing will be wrapping up for the spring season over the next couple weeks.


If you head out to Presque Isle to fish for crappies make sure to use light line and try different colors of jigs tipped with minnows. The one I caught was on a very small white jig tipped with a live shiner. I was about three feet down from a small bobber. Rain and wind in the forecast may prevent a lot of fisherman from getting out this week (myself included) but when the opportunities present themselves, it should be a decent week of fishing.

Crappies and Bluegills are Hitting Well.

Over the past week, I have chatted with many fisherman as I am trying to find out where the big panfish are. The jumbo crappies are now hitting full force on the peninsula. You have to move around and find them but according to the fisherman I have talked to, the fish being caught this year are very large.

My friend Frank caught over 40 yesterday and said he only kept those 12 inches or larger. He also said he caught quite a few jumbo bluegills. The perch are beginning to show up along the piers but most are still on the small side.

The weather for opening day of trout season looks good. The steelhead are still in the streams in large numbers. This weekend there are plenty of fishing opportunities in the area.

Northern pike and largemouth bass are starting to hit in Presque Isle Bay also. It is time to put new line on and head out, the time to fish is now. May your lines be tight and your hooks be happy! Good luck opening day!

Steelhead Spawning Video

The steelhead are still in the area streams in good numbers. Today (4/10/09) there was quite a bit of wind which prevented fisherman from gathering at stream mouths. Fish were still being caught on the westside in decent numbers. Once again we need more rain to bring in more fish which may be cruising around the stream mouths. Opening day of regular trout season is April 18. Due to cold water conditions, there will still be plenty of steelhead in the tributaries. I ventured out to Trout Run nursery water today and filmed some fish trying to make their way further upstream. Notice that some of these fish are rather new but the majority have been in the stream for some time as they are darker. In the video, you will see one trout easily clear the waterfall of the fish ladder. Today I saw quite a few fisherman from surrounding states. I thought I would mention that this year thousands of brown trout are going to be stocked near stream mouths so that they can go out in Lake Erie and become monsters and then return to the streams to spawn. Soon, tourists will be flocking to the Erie area in search of these monster brown trout in addition to the excellent steelhead fishery. Browns can be a little trickier to catch than steelhead. A couple years from now, we will be seeing some fine brown trout being caught. We will have to see if the numbers of steelhead decrease as the large browns will probably feed on quite a few of the steelhead smolts if they can't find smelt to feed on. Happy Fishing!

Lake Pleasant is Good for Trout, Bass and Panfish.

In 2009, Lake Pleasant is going to be stocked with a lot of rainbow trout but did you know that this small lake is home to other gamefish as well? Huge Northern Pike are caught here, as well as, some pretty nice sized largemouth bass. The lake is also good fishing for panfish and these along with the trout are routinely caught through the ice. During the spring and early summer, huge bluegills can be caught from shore or from boat. The best time to pursue them is usually in the early mornings and I have been out there catching them one after another and then the sun gets up and they shut off like a lightbulb being turned off.

A couple seasons ago, my brother, nephew, and I headed out to Lake Pleasant to do some fishing. It was still late April and the other fisherman were not doing so well. I decided I would try using a bobber with a small worm and catch a few bluegills. This was the ticket. I wasn't catching bluegills but I started reeling the trout in one after another. I quickly had my limit of eight and went over to tell my brother and nephew to do the same thing. They had one trout but that was all. They switched to the bobbers dangling a worm and they both quickly had their limits also.

Othertimes at Lake Pleasant, I was targeting trout and started catching bluegills. So if you venture out to Lake Pleasant and aren't catching the species you went for, change your tactics and catch something else that's biting. May your lines be tight and your hooks be happy!

Steelhead Fishing Update 4/2

I got out late this afternoon (5:30 pm) to check out conditions and give you a quick update. The streams are once again flowing clear and at good levels. The forecast is not looking good for stream fisherman. It looks like we are going to receive a lot of rain and possibly snow over the next five days. A cold front is approaching that may adversely affect the fishing. I will provide quick updates over the next week. Judging by the conditions as of now, come opening day of trout on April 18 there will still be a lot of hungry fat steelies in the creeks alongside the brown trout that are going to be stocked.

Happy Fishing!

Steelhead Fishing update 4/1

We received a lot of rain in the early morning hours and the streams quickly became unfishable. Warmer temperatures and sunny skies moved into the area today, however, as of 5:00 p.m. the streams are running too high and murky to fish. The smaller streams in the area, like Cascade are fishable but cloudy. Tomorrow should be a decent afternoon to fish if we do not receive any more rain. I will provide quick updates within the next couple days.

My friend Bob told me that he has been fishing regularly the past week on the days where the stream levels were OK and has been catching the fish one after another. He enjoyed great success in the eastern county and was using "chrystal meth" in colors of pink, green, and orange. He says that when they quit biting one color, just switch to another and you will keep reeling them in. May your lines be tight and your hooks be happy!