Shenago River Lake and Lake Wilhelm

[pabassin]

See what anglers out there fish any of these two lake and if so which they prefer. Im new to the area (cranberry pa) and looking to see which lake i should start to fish.

[JF1]

Welcome to the area!  I just moved from the cranberry area to NE ohio.  

Do you have a boat? If so, what size motor does it have?  Reason I ask is because Wilhelm has a 20hp motor limit, Shenango is unlimited.

Wilhelm is a fantastic bass lake.  There are tons of 3-5lbers in it.  I've fished it several times, however it has been a few years since I've been there. They've opened "the stumps" up to electric motor only.  This is an area of the lake that is real shallow and has tons of flooded timber.  It's right out of a bill dance show.  Great fishing.

Shenango is a good bass lake, and an excellent crappie lake.  I don't do much crappie fishing, but I've seen many large/trophy crappie taken from this lake.  I fish shenango ALOT through the year for bass and always seem to do pretty well.  There are also alot of nice stripers in the lake, and it has a very nice campground on the lake that you can camp and if you get a spot close enough to the lake, leave your boat in the lake.

You can't go wrong with either lake, as both have excellent fish in them.  You can pickup a good FHS lake map for either @ Dicks in cranberry or even the wal-mart in cranberry.

[pabassin]

I currently have a 16 Sea Nymph w/ 15 hp. I finally finished up college and bought my home so im ready now to but another boat, looking at a new Stratos 275 Pro XL w/ 115. Do you think that Shenango is considered one of the better bass fisheries in western PA? Im used to fishing places like Raystown, Yough dam, Keystone, Yellow Creek. Are there better lakes to fish in our area? i have done a lot of map studying this winter on Arthur, Wilhelm, and Shenango. Would you rather fish the 3 Rivers than Shenango? THanks for all your imput

[JF1]

IMO if your targeting bass, you are waisting your time on the 3 rivers.  Not that there aren't any bass there, but there are much better fisheries in the area.  I grew up and lived in Monaca for 25yrs.  Lived right on the ohio, fished it A LOT and never was able to catch any real quality bass.  

Arthur  I dont care much for except for the wiper bite.  It is something to experience, in the dark w/ them feeding on alewifes!  Other than that I struggled at arthur.

Wilhelm, I've done really really well on.  We used to have a permanent site @ the local campground, so I put alot of time into the lake.  Like I said, alot o 3-5's there.  I don't think you'll ever go there and think that you caught A TON of bass, but def catch alot of quality fish.

Pymie is a good bass lake too, and in my opinion is very underratted as a bass fisherie.  I think it contrasts to Wilhelm in that you will catch A TON of bass here, but the numbers of big fish will be fewer.

I love fishing shenango.  I just started fishing it last year alot (my work is less than 3miles from launch!).  I haven't figured it out yet, alot of offshore structure.  But by end of year I could do very well.  Like I said it is unlimited HP, which I like because you can move around alot and do it quickly.

I've started fishing alot of the Ohio lakes nearer to me (mosquito, Berlin, West Branch, and Milton) because of the unlimited HP accomodates my new bass boat.

Also, you aren't that far of a run from Pesque Isle.  We all know what a great smallie factory Erie is, but I think it is the most underrated LM fisherie in the state!

I've never fished the lakes you've mentioned, so I can't fairly compare.  http://forums.fishusa.com/  is a pretty good Pa fishing site.  Ask over there and see what they tell ya.  I'm sure some of the other PA guys on here will chime in.

Have you considered joining a club?   HPBB president is an active member on here and he has been helpful to me w/ any quesitons I've asked.  I believe his name is Jim.

[JF1]

One thing I forgot, if you get the stratos, obviously you won't be fishing the smaller 20hp lakes.  You aren't that far of a drive from cranberry to the OH lakes I mentioned.  In my opinion, I'd put the bass in these ohio lakes up agains any of the Pa lakes I mentioned.  I don't know why, but the bass fishing seems to be MUCH better over here.  I caught over 5 bass that were over 4 and 4 of them were 5+ just last year.  And yes I do have pics and a digi scale so no they aren't fish stories!

[RobbyZ5001]

I go to Penn State so I fish a lot out there with a club and my bass team.

Raystown has some pigs, but hit that in the spring time and fall. Summer is a very tough time... ask Ike.

Wilhelm is a blast... I wouldn't be suprised if that lake had a state record in it. I had a two day tournament on Wilhelm and we had a blast.

Yellow Creek has nice pike and muskies.

I really had a blast at the Yough pig smallmouth. They were not eating like they should, but I saw between 10-15 smallies that would have went 4+ lbs.

You are in a nice area man I am originally from the allentown area, but I am having a good time fishing wentern pa.

[pabassin]

Thanks guys for all your input. You are right about Raystown, it is very good in the spring and fall, but in the summertime you might as well stay at home, way too much boat traffic. It was tough fishing there in the summer in my 16' w/15 hp. white caps all day crashing over the boat! I plan to keep that boat with the addition of a stratos. everyone i talk to loves Wilhelm. So i think it is important to have a bigger bass boat along with a smaller one to complament the smaller restricted lakes. i think misquito lake would be one of the closer ones to me (cranberry, pa). I may consider trying them out. I have a lot of interest in presque isle bay, im sure its a blast up there. how are the smallies in the bay? Its a shame that the rivers suck as bad as they do. FLW has the Forest Wood Cup on them this summer. Its gonna be as bad as the Bassmaster classic weigh in im sure.

[pabassin]

I see that there is also a Shenango River Reservior in ohio, how does that compare to the Shenango River Lake? Which lake out of the ones you mentioned in ohio the best?

[JF1]

Shenango river lake, and shenango river reservoir are the same lake.  Its confusing when u look on the map, but they are the same thing.

Of the Ohio lakes I mentioned, I think Mosquito has the best quality and quanity of bass.  Lake Milton has a good # of smallies that have some size to them.  I live 10 minutes from Mosquito, and it is almost exactly an hr drive to cranberry from here.  Berlin is a great lake too, but I'd stay away from it in summer, due to boat traffic.

I plan on going to watch the FLW on the 3 rivers this year.  Hope they can have some current so they have better numbers than the bassmaster. Winning fish will be from Allegheny or yough IMO.

[Pittsburgh Reeler]

Berlin & Mosquito in OH shouldn't be that far from Cranberry (within 2 hours).

There's always Erie!  Edinboro is a fun little lake that is unlimited HP.