Slab Happy Outlook for Pennsylvania

Sometimes it's hard to focus on the task at hand, and with that in mind I probably would be better served if I were to not read fishing reports related to upcoming travel. I can't ever resist reading them, though. In fact, I did so just this morning, which is why I find myself a bit distracted.

This time next week, I'll be at Pymatuning State Park in western Pennsylvania, where I'll spend three days fishing three different lakes. Pymatuning Lake, where the park is located, apparently has a red-hot bite happening, with the black crappie and the walleyes in the lower end of the lake attacking jigs in shallow water. Meanwhile, nearby Shenango River Lake is just starting to awaken, but it's already kicking out some serious slabs (like the 17-inch fish pictured above!) My third day will be on Conneaut Lake, where the day's targets will be a delightful combination of thick-bodied smallmouth and bulldog bluegills, and supposedly they are doing what they are supposed to do right now as well.

And while I know long-range forecasts mean very little, I've also been peeking at the Pymatuning 10-day report. As of now, all three fishing days look great, with highs ranging from 64 to 73, no cold lows and less than a 20 percent chance of rain.

I don't know what any of those days will bring, but as of now there's a tremendous amount of promise for fine fishing and excellent opportunities to gather photos and story material. For now, I suppose I ought try to push that out of my head and focus on getting some fish stories written.

New Year Fishes

It's horribly cliche' to use my blog to look back and/or to peek ahead on Dec. 31, but I'm going to do it anyway. I find it fun to think a little about the cool places I've gotten to explore and about where I might get to venture next.

Best I can figure from a quick sweep of the map, I got to fish about 14 states, plus one foreign country last year. South end of the spectrum easily was Costa Rica. Northern end was a close call between Devils Lake North Dakota and a couple of trips in Northern Minnesota. If the the species list I kept is complete, I caught 30 different species of fish.

My children often ask my favorite part of a movie, meal or family outing, so I've been trying to pick out a favorite fishing trip or day from last year. I don't think I can do it, though. I sure enjoyed discovering the Black Hills for the first time and pulling a host of fish species through the ice on rugged and beautiful mountain lakes, but how do I compare that with exploring the spectacular Vermilion River by canoe with Billy Rosner and catching big, mean smallmouth bass on topwater lures? And then there were the monkeys and toucans in Costa Rica, the day of pounding big bream and bass catching with Nathaniel on Jimmy Houston's lake, days of doubling and tripling on redfish in South Louisiana and then feasting on Cajun cooking...

Looking ahead, the planned trip I'm most looking forward to at this moment is to Gaston's Resort on the White River in Arkansas. It's an annual writers' gathering that Nathaniel and I  have participated in a few times but have had to miss for the past couple of years. Great fishing and food, time with friends and the destinations itself all combine to make it a great trip. Of course, I'm also really looking for a multi-species trip to Pennsylvania's Pymatuning Lake for many of the same reasons.

But then again, when I look at some of last year's favorite trips, I didn't know most would even happen a year ago. I really don't know what states I'll be fishing in, who I'll be with, what species I'll be targeting or what types of techniques I'll be using in the year ahead. That's a big part of the fun, though. I enjoy fishing for bluegills one trip and for something big from the ocean the next trip, and I love the variety of landscapes, cultures and fishing techniques I get to discover and people I get to meet in different places.

Added Color

The stained water we found at Shenango and Pymatuning lakes last week called for a little extra color, and a SkippyFISH Colored Marker seemed to be just what the doctor ordered. I saw immediate results when I added a chartreuse stripe to the sides of a blue-backed, pearl-bellied bait. Same Road Runner head, same vertical presentation, same spot. The only difference, other than the band of added color on each side,was that I started catching fish.

Our group had fun playing with the markers, which come in seven colors, whether to add a splash of chartreuse or orange for added visibility or to quickly transform a simple colored bait into a yellow perch imitation. Lure markers allow for quick modifications and make it easy to experiment with subtle changes as you seek to pattern fish any given day. They also allow you to "match the hatch" when you don't have a color that resembles whatever baitfish or critters the fish are eating.

I believe most anglers would agree that there's something really fun about making some little change in your presentation or alteration to your lure that you think might make a difference and then start catching fish. I know it's fun for me.

Every Angler's Fishing Lake

 At Pennsylvania's Pymatuning Lake it matters not if your only boat is a canoe or a johnboat. A lakewide 20 horsepower limit will keep anyone from blowing you out of the water. Plus, the fish use shallow cover all over the lake during spring and early summer, so there's no need to make any major runs. Cast toward stuff that looks like it should hold fish, and there's a very good chance you'll find crappie, bass, walleyes or some kind of sunfish.

In truth, you don't need a boat at all. Shoreline access is outstanding all around this lake and includes fishing piers, riprap banks and a mid-lake causeway. Lots of cover lies within easy casting range of the banks, and the bank-fishermen tend to do well.Wade-fishing is also popular, especially during the spring. By wading the tops of points, anglers can access a lot of water and they commonly catch a lot of walleyes, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass.

Pymatuning supports strong populations of a big variety of game fish, and the lake's shallow nature, plentiful cover and narrow configuration make likely fish-holding spots easy to find. It's one of those really fun lakes where you can cast a small bait such as a Road Runner matched with a 2-inch SkippyFISH and expect to catch fish -- and  you really don't know what variety of fish any given cast will produce.

Fish Biting at Pymatuning

As had been reported, the crappie were biting like crazy at Pennsylvania's Pymatuning Lake, where I fished two day this week. Not just crappie, though. In addition to black and white crappie, I caught largemouth bass, walleyes, yellow perch, bluegills, shellcrackers and a channel catfish (that I can think of off hand), and others in the group I was with caught at least a couple of other species. It was fun and simple fishing, mostly casting Road Runners around shallow cover or drifting with minnow-tipped Road Runners under floats or jigged beside the boat.

Crappie Biting?

Yesterday was a travel day, with a big bird carrying me from Atlanta to Pittsburgh. This morning, I'm an hour and half north of Pittsburgh, where I'll spend the next three days fishing lakes Pymatuning and Shenango. All reports remain great for the lakes, both of which are supposed to be excellent crappie producers, so we'll see if the good action holds up for the next few days. I believe today's plan is to drift for black crappie. If there's internet access at the cabin where I"ll be staying for the next three nights, I'll post fishing reports. If the blog gets quiet, the computer is not connecting with the rest of the world!

Pymatuning Crappie Bite Hot

This time next week I'll be plying the fish-filled waters of Pennsylvania's Pymatuning Lake, primarily for crappie, although it sounds like any cast of a Road Runner might produce a crappie, white bass, walleye, largemouth, smallmouth or some other variety of fish. Recent reports suggest that the crappie bite is red hot, with both black and white crappie serving up big fun, and that walleyes are likewise feeding well. I'll also spend time fishing Shenango Lake, where crappie and walleyes are also tearing it up based on recent reports. It should be interesting because it sounds like fish are being caught both deep and shallow and with a variety of techniques. The fishing begins on Monday. I'll do my best to post reports about what we catch and how we catch them.