• Yellow Creek Lake is a hot spot for northern pike, with anglers reporting some fairly large catches of late. According to reports, one fisherman reeled in a northern pike that measured over 35 inches this past week. At the lake, anglers are also doing well with panfish and catfish.
• Trout and largemouth bass are biting at Blue Spruce Lake. The bass typically are interested in jigs, crankbaits and jerkbaits, while the trout may flirt a little more with spoon lures and live bait such as nightcrawlers.
• At Keystone Power Dam, fishermen are doing well with crappie. Usually, components of a productive setup include some type of combination of jigs, grubs, spinners and live bait such as minnows, worms or insects. Tipping a jig with a live minnow is always a solid approach.
• The walleye bite remains steady at Pymatuning Reservoir, with anglers reporting catches using plugs. Some larger catches of walleye are coming in the south end of the reservoir. Another popular catch is perch, which are reacting a little more to live bait such as minnows. Crappies are biting as well, but are a little more inconsistent.
• The Allegheny River in Warren County is yielding a variety of catches, including walleye, northern pike and smallmouth bass. Fishermen are finding success with all three types of fish by the Route 59 bridge.
• Anglers fishing Presque Isle Bay are enjoying a consistent smallmouth bass bite, with most of their catches coming in the shallower waters. Most fishermen are reporting success with the bass using swimbaits and other soft plastic presentations, particularly bright-colored ones.
• Up to last week, trout has been the most popular catch at Dutch Fork Lake. Fishermen haven’t been as active lately due to the rain. Prior to that, there were reports of some hefty golden rainbow trout catches.
• In Venango County, the Allegheny River is seeing plenty of action with walleye and smallmouth bass. The walleye are sizeable, and fishermen are picking up the occasional smallmouth bass on swimbaits and tubes.
• Trout, both rainbow and brown, are swimming the waters of Sugar Creek. The hot spot appears to be the creek’s confluence with French Creek, as fishermen are having success trolling for trout with spinners and trout eggs in that area.
