Many small walleyes were caught at Kelly Station over the weekend, a few of legal size.  Crooked Creek Lake was closed due to high water, the outflow discharge was heavy but bluegills, crappies, and catfish were hitting in the slack water areas.

Beaver County

Anglers are catching nice sized hybrid striped bass and walleye on the Beaver River near New Brighton.  White and chartreuse soft plastic baits are working well.  Several catfish have also been caught in this same area on chicken liver and nightcrawlers.

Trout are still being caught in Brady’s Run Lake.  Paste baits and mealworms are the ticket there. 

Northern Somerset County

Anglers are catching nice trout at Laurel Hill Lake.  One angler recently caught a 23-inch golden trout on a spoon.

Anglers are catching trout at Kooser Lake.

Current drawdown at Lake Somerset makes launching a heavy boat all but impossible.  Anglers are catching a few crappies and channel catfish.  Angler and boater usage is very low due to the drawdown. 
 
Anglers are catching some northern pike and a few nice largemouth bass at Quemahoning Reservoir.  A brown trout was caught that was 26.5 inches long.
 
Washington County

The trout are still biting at Canonsburg Lake.

Anglers are catching carp and catfish on the Monongahela River. 

Rain this week brought water levels up on the Ohio River and increased angler success for smallmouth bass, drum, and hybrid striped bass. 

Anglers continue to catch their limit of trout at North Park Lake.

Eastern Armstrong County and Indiana County

A few walleye were reported near the South Boat Launch at Yellow Creek Lake.  Anglers targeting the spillway reported a few walleye also.  The have been numerous reports of catfish being caught lake wide, with a 20-pounder reported in recent weeks.  A 36-inch musky was reported last week.  A few nice bass and northern pike continue to be reported.  The crappie fishing has been hit or miss.  Water temperature is in the upper 60s.

A few walleye were reported at Keystone Lake over the weekend.  Some nice bass have also been reported.  Reefer’s Cove has been producing a few musky.  Some anglers are getting nice-sized crappie.  Water temperature is in the mid to upper 60’s.

Southern Armstrong, Southern Indiana, and Northern Westmoreland Counties

Local waters are warming up and panfish are much more active.  Many large bluegills have been caught lately in the Lower Conemaugh River.  Largemouth bass are nesting.  This has been confirmed not only by observations, but the number of complaints received about unethical anglers targeting spawning bass off their redds.

Trout action has been sporadic.  Although anglers are still catching trout, lake activity has been sluggish most likely due to the rapid rise in water temperature.  Anglers fishing Loyalhanna Creek are still picking up some decent numbers of fish and a few really large trout.  One such girthy rainbow trout caught on May 4th taped nearly 25 inches.

Walleye action for opening day was very slow.  Only one legal fish was checked.

 
Greg Hess, of Sarver, landed this 42-inch muskellunge at midnight exactly on the May 6, in Freeport just above the Lock, on a nightcrawler.  The fish weighed 18.2 pounds. 

Western Armstrong Country

High water levels and strong currents hampered walleye anglers on the Allegheny River over the weekend. 

Some nice walleye were reported from the Crooked Creek Lake outflow, however.  High flows there often make for good fishing.

Cambria County

Anglers are catching pickerel and blue gills at Glendale Lake.

Wilmore Dam anglers are catching some crappie.

Some nice perch are being caught at Colver Reservoir.

Recent rain has helped flow in most streams, which has resulted in increased trout creels.

Trout are being caught at Lake Rowena and Duman Dam.

Northern Fayette and Southern Westmoreland

Many anglers continue to show up at each of the trout stockings and continue to do well catching trout.

Mammoth Lake has been a hot spot all year and continues to be.  Anglers continued to do very well after this week’s trout stocking.  Trout were being caught on a variety of things but the most successful method was casting spinners.  Placing the spinner on a long leader behind a water bobber was a key technique.  Some nice crappie are also being caught on live minnows.

Sewickley Creek was also stocked with trout this week but it was running muddy after the most recent rainfall event.

It took a little while for the trout to start to bite on Jacobs Creek but once they did, anglers did very well catching them.  It continues to be a very good place to trout fish.

The trout bite at Donegal Lake and at Twin Lakes #1 & #2 seems to be the best at daybreak and in the evening.

Green Lick Dam continues to see good fishing pressure, especially on the weekend.  The bluegill and crappie bite has finally started again.  Anglers are catching nice bluegill and crappie on jigs tipped with wax worms, maggots or minnows or on small worms.  A lot of largemouth bass are also being caught on a variety of artificial lures.  There have been no reports of walleye being caught.

Southern Somerset County

In-season stockings continue this week, as follows:

5/8 Raystown Branch of the Juniata River, Stonycreek (Shanksville) and Kimberly Run (Somerset)
5/11 Will Creek (Hyndman), Fairhope
5/12 Casselman River (Stateline –Boynton)
5/18 Wills Creek Section 2
5/24 Youghiogheny River Section 1 Tailrace

Please see the stocking page for further details on the stocking schedules.

Anglers are catching bass, (mostly largemouth), pike, chain pickerel and some crappie at High Point Lake.

Boating traffic continues to increase on Yellow Creek Lake.  Most anglers are reporting a few northern pike daily.  Some anglers are reporting a few crappies and some bass.

Fishing pressure is beginning to pick up at Keystone Lake.  Some crappie and bass have been reported with a few musky hookups reported in recent weeks.

Good catches of trout have been reported at Blue Spruce Lake after the two state stockings in April.  Some anglers are catching a few crappie and bass.

District trout streams have been hit hard in recent weeks with good catches reported, considering the low and clear water conditions.  Most streams have received their in-season stockings already, with the remaining stockings coming in the next two weeks. 

Beaver County

Stream anglers targeting trout are doing well at Traverse Creek and the South Brach of Brady’s Run.  Many anglers caught their limits of trout over the weekend.  Anglers that were drifting worms and minnows were doing the best.

A hot spot on Traverse Creek that is often overlooked is the section between the Route 18 Bridge and the lake.  There are several nice holes closer to the lake that are holding plenty of trout.  These are the holes that require a little more walking to get to them.  Anglers fishing the South Branch of Brady’s Run below the lake got a little treat this year.  A few brook trout have been caught and a couple large ones at that!

PFBC Family Fishing Program participants, Boy Scouts, and other volunteer helped with the trout stocking at Raccoon Lake on April 28, 2012

Waterways Conservation Officer, Jeremiah Allen, opens a buck of trout while talking to some of the group about the fish.

Washington County

The trout are biting well in all areas that they have been stocked. 

Crappie anglers have had spotty success. 

The upcoming walleye season is right around the corner with the walleyes biting on the Monongahela River.