Pennsylvania Fishermen

[RustyHooksFishing]

I have always been a frequent visitor to the website and rarely do I see much talk about the keystone state when it comes to our small state park lakes.  I am a resident of western pa who fishes Yellow Creek State Park as well as Glendale Lake quite often.  If there are any other 20hp restricted guys or gals out there that would like to discuss all things Pennsylvania this is the place!  

[fishballer06]

Yinzer here. Welcome to the site!

[RustyHooksFishing]

2 hours ago, fishballer06 said:

Yinzer here. Welcome to the site!

Thanks!  Starting to get some cabin fever and always wondered where the PA crowd hung out on here.  

[fishballer06]

There's a few PA guys on here. Not too many from the 412/724 area, but we're here. 

[Sjp521]

Welcome from the NE part of Pa!

[PAbasser927]

SE PA here, Allentown area.  Jealous of those of you out in Western PA!  From what I understand, that’s where the best “big bass” lakes in PA are found.

[JLindsey]

Northeast PA guy here! I’m up in the Poconos. Welcome!

[fishballer06]

On 3/29/2019 at 4:28 PM, PAbasser927 said:

Jealous of those of you out in Western PA!  From what I understand, that’s where the best “big bass” lakes in PA are found.

Really?! You'll have to fill me in on where these lakes are ?

[PAbasser927]

27 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

Really?! You'll have to fill me in on where these lakes are ?

LOL maybe we don’t have any in the whole state then!  Just the giant one up and to the left for smallies.

[fishballer06]

10 minutes ago, PAbasser927 said:

LOL maybe we don’t have any in the whole state then!  Just the giant one up and to the left for smallies.

Pretty much!

[sage]

Western pa here. Butler County 

[RustyHooksFishing]

On 3/29/2019 at 4:28 PM, PAbasser927 said:

SE PA here, Allentown area.  Jealous of those of you out in Western PA!  From what I understand, that’s where the best “big bass” lakes in PA are found.

I have had some luck on my western pa state park lakes.  I guess the fish commission labels my lake a "big bass" lake.  Might be some truth to that haha.  (Yes I realize I am good at holding fish closer to the camera, but what fisherman isn't good at that?)

 

 

 

 

 

[fishballer06]

3 hours ago, RustyHooksFishing said:

I guess the fish commission labels my lake a "big bass" lake.  

To me, the Big Bass Lake deal says "there's no fish in this lake even 12" long, so we need to increase the size limit on this lake so that there's a few fish that make it to 15". I feel like PA doesn't have enough water for all of the fisherman and there's too many guys out there who are meat fisherman. 

[RustyHooksFishing]

35 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

To me, the Big Bass Lake deal says "there's no fish in this lake even 12" long, so we need to increase the size limit on this lake so that there's a few fish that make it to 15". I feel like PA doesn't have enough water for all of the fisherman and there's too many guys out there who are meat fisherman. 

I will say this, I fish two lakes the majority of the time.  Yellow Creek which is a "big bass" lake and Glendale which is not.  Yellow creek can be a freakin grind most days but the average fish size is a lot bigger than the fish I catch at Glendale and you can catch some pigs there.  I go to Glendale when I want to absolutely feel like i'm fishing the BP Tour and catch 30 fish in a day with the slight possibility of a decent one here and there.  Pressure on both lakes is pretty heavy.  The term "meat fisherman" makes me cringe inside.  To each his own, but I let them go so they can grow.

[Gundog]

53 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

To me, the Big Bass Lake deal says "there's no fish in this lake even 12" long, so we need to increase the size limit on this lake so that there's a few fish that make it to 15". I feel like PA doesn't have enough water for all of the fisherman and there's too many guys out there who are meat fisherman. 

That is so true. The lake I fish on has a "Big Bass" designation and the only big bass I catch on it are 11 inches. You can catch a ton of them but they will all be what I call the lake average, 11 inches and less than a pound. They need to encourage the culling of smaller bass to ensure the bigger bass get enough food to grow. That is why, even in the dead of summer you can still catch bass on a spinnerbait. Too many bass, not enough food. 

[fishballer06]

1 hour ago, RustyHooksFishing said:

Yellow Creek which is a "big bass" lake and Glendale which is not.  Yellow creek can be a freakin grind most days but the average fish size is a lot bigger than the fish I catch at Glendale and you can catch some pigs there.  I go to Glendale when I want to absolutely feel like i'm fishing the BP Tour and catch 30 fish in a day with the slight possibility of a decent one here and there.  Pressure on both lakes is pretty heavy.  The term "meat fisherman" makes me cringe inside.  To each his own, but I let them go so they can grow.

I fished Yellow Creek once late two falls ago (I'm talking 35* water late fall). The guy I fished with told me very similar stories like you did about that lake. I liked what I saw that day, even though we didn't catch anything. I'd like to go back there in May and see how good that lake can be. 

 

31 minutes ago, Gundog said:

That is so true. The lake I fish on has a "Big Bass" designation and the only big bass I catch on it are 11 inches. You can catch a ton of them but they will all be what I call the lake average, 11 inches and less than a pound. They need to encourage the culling of smaller bass to ensure the bigger bass get enough food to grow. That is why, even in the dead of summer you can still catch bass on a spinnerbait. Too many bass, not enough food. 

 

We have lots of "Big Bass" lakes here around Pittsburgh, and they all have the same issues as the standard lakes have. If there's a 12" limit on a lake, half the fish are 11.5", and if it's a 15" limit lake, half the fish are 14.5". I call them tournament specials. 

 

I've told this to numerous friends around the area and other PA guys I've encountered online - What the state needs to do is stop putting so much focus on a 1 month long trout season (essentially because of warm water) and spend 3 years and dedicate that money and effort into the bass fishing. I'm betting they'd see a drastic increase in bass fishing in just 3 short years if they did a few different things. 

 

1. Keep the bass season closed from the second Saturday of April to the second Saturday of June. Let the bass spawn and do their thing. 

 

2. Stock some bass for once. You hear about the state stocking trout, walleye, and muskie, but never do you hear about bass being stocked. I would even be in favor of buying a "bass stamp" similar to the trout stamps if it meant the PAFBC would start stocking bass and trying to improve the populations like the do the trout. A bass can live in PA waters for 10-12-15 years, yet these trout are being dumped into streams in April and they're belly up by June. 

 

3. Put in a slot limit. Canada and numerous states around the US have done this with walleyes with great success. I've seen it in Ontario where we go for walleye after only 3-4 years of having this law. Only let people keep bass from 10-13". Weed out the small fish, let the bigger fish grow, and all of your fish will get bigger and healthier.

 

[RustyHooksFishing]

On 4/2/2019 at 3:18 PM, fishballer06 said:

1. Keep the bass season closed from the second Saturday of April to the second Saturday of June. Let the bass spawn and do their thing. 

When you say "closed" what are you referring to?  

 

On 4/2/2019 at 3:18 PM, fishballer06 said:

2. Stock some bass for once. You hear about the state stocking trout, walleye, and muskie, but never do you hear about bass being stocked. I would even be in favor of buying a "bass stamp" similar to the trout stamps if it meant the PAFBC would start stocking bass and trying to improve the populations like the do the trout. A bass can live in PA waters for 10-12-15 years, yet these trout are being dumped into streams in April and they're belly up by June. 

They have the voluntary bass permit now.  Not that I believe any of that money goes to what they say it does.  

[fishballer06]

2 hours ago, RustyHooksFishing said:

When you say "closed" what are you referring to?  

 

They have the voluntary bass permit now.  Not that I believe any of that money goes to what they say it does.  

Closed = Out of season

 

That voluntary permit must be new since I last bought my license. I buy the multi-year license to save the hassle of having to buy a new license every spring. That's interesting to see. 

[RustyHooksFishing]

18 hours ago, fishballer06 said:

Closed = Out of season

How do you think they would regulate a closed bass season though?  Its easier to close trout because they are located in areas with few other desirable game fish.  I think another problem I have seen especially in my lakes is the abundance of predatory fish, mainly pike.  The numbers of pike I have caught has been crazy the past few years.  If you aren't stocking bass and the pike are eating them, the population is gonna struggle.   

[fishballer06]

1 hour ago, RustyHooksFishing said:

How do you think they would regulate a closed bass season though? 

They close bass season now once trout season comes in...

[RustyHooksFishing]

10 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

They close bass season now once trout season comes in...

I understand what you are saying.  I just don't see how an understaffed commission would keep guys from fishing for bass for 2 months.  I know a lot of my local anglers would simply say they aren't fishing for them if questioned.  Who's to judge and say you aren't out there for pike or crappie.  So I as a law abiding angler who wants a healthier bass population would be stuck at home for 2 months while guys who don't care are out there doing their thing.  I guess this is a perfect world scenario and I get that.  But this is Pennsylvania, the wild west of the outdoor world.

[Gundog]

On ‎4‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 9:51 AM, RustyHooksFishing said:

I understand what you are saying.  I just don't see how an understaffed commission would keep guys from fishing for bass for 2 months.  I know a lot of my local anglers would simply say they aren't fishing for them if questioned.  Who's to judge and say you aren't out there for pike or crappie.  So I as a law abiding angler who wants a healthier bass population would be stuck at home for 2 months while guys who don't care are out there doing their thing.  I guess this is a perfect world scenario and I get that.  But this is Pennsylvania, the wild west of the outdoor world.

I know what you are talking about. For as long as I can remember we had a closed season for bass up to the 3rd Saturday in June. It wasn't really enforceable since people could just say they were fishing for walleye, pike, pickerel or panfish. Only way to bust them is if they had a bass in the livewell or cooler.

[Quarry Man]

Who would contribute to an Eastern PA Fishing Reports thread, similar to the east ma one?

[RustyHooksFishing]

On 4/6/2019 at 4:15 PM, Gundog said:

I know what you are talking about. For as long as I can remember we had a closed season for bass up to the 3rd Saturday in June. It wasn't really enforceable since people could just say they were fishing for walleye, pike, pickerel or panfish. Only way to bust them is if they had a bass in the livewell or cooler.

Exactly.  If you are dumb enough to keep a bass during that period of time you deserve whats coming to ya.  They can't stop the fact that bass will eat the same things pike and panfish do so if you accidentally hook one that's not your fault.  I like the current no harvest law during the spawn.

[WVU-SCPA]

I would say the Big Bass lakes in in the south central region are perfectly fine with the management.  There are large fish in all of them, you just have to know each lake individually.

 

If anything the amount of pressure on some of them is a bigger issue.  A certain lake will have had 4 tournaments on it in 3 weeks when the season goes out Saturday.  There could have even been some club tournaments I wasn't aware of.  40 boats and say each boat gets just get half a limit of 2.5 fish.  That's 100 fish each week being brought into weigh in.  Add that with a solid amount of recreational fishing and that's a lot of stress to the population on a 400 acre lake.

 

I have never saw a tournament on any of the lakes when the season is out.

 

On the fishing report side,  Saturday was the first time this year a true bite turned on.  Water temp went from 47 to 54 by tournaments end.  Was able to grind out a limit by 11:00 with on a ned and then culled with some spinnerbait fish once the temp came up.