Friday evening we fished the upper DHALO section on Neshannock Creek. Got two right away on buggers drifted under an indicator behind the shop. I noticed some fish rising(to flies and 2 rose to my indicator!) so I tied on an elk hair caddis and ended up getting 3 on top, and missed a bunch of others. Mostly caddis were hatching, but I did see a few mayflies.

Got up real early Saturday morning to fish it again.  We were the second ones in the creek and started catching fish right away on streamers, although I did see a few fish rise. Had to deal with some ice on the guides but it wasn't too bad. Fished from the shop down about a mile. Caught most of them by the shop, but also some farther down. Between the two of us we got around 17 fish, mostly rainbows but a bunch of browns too. 

After Neshannock we decided to give a nearby special regs section a try. Caught 5, mostly on small streamers and the green weenie. Some fish were rising so I tried a dry and got two hits but couldn't get the hook set. Even caught 2 little suckers, one on a bugger and another on a green weenie. 

Both of the streams were at a good level. 

Friday we headed out to New Castle. PA to do some more trout fishing.  We fished the same small creek we fished on the opener, and there was actually more leftover fish than I thought.  The water was still way too low and clear.  The fish would come up to my fly and reject it at the last second.  Ended up catching a decent smallmouth bass and a shiner.  Did hook a few trout though but didn't land any.

Saturday we decided to try out a nearby lake.  It's been I think 3 years since we fished it last,  and it was in the summer so this was our first time targeting trout there.  When we first got there it was a largemouth on every other cast before they became spooky.  Also got two decent sized crappie.  The lake also got re-stocked with rainbows while we were there, and after the fish got dumped in it was one fish after another!  Ended up with 20 or so trout.  Most of the fish were caught on small streamers. 

Trout Opening Weekend, Bass, and Panfish

Yesterday was the opening day of trout season in Pennsylvania.  We fished the same stream we do every year.  The creek was very low which made fishing in the shallower runs very tough.  Every time we would walk up to the shallower water all the fish would just dart up or down stream.  We still managed to catch many trout(20 or so) in the deeper holes , and even a bonus smallmouth bass!.  Live minnows produced the most fish. 

After fishing there, we took a break for lunch and then headed to a few spots on Neshannock Creek.  Every spot had some people, but the water there was very low too and we decided not to fish.

Our last trout stop for the day was a smaller creek.  The fish were extremely spooky there also and hard to catch.  I got one trout, and had a few hits as well but didn't land them.  My brother did catch a few suckers though.

After dinner we decided to head up to Tamarack Lake.  The water level was still very low.  We didn't catch anything in the lake, but did very well with small crappie and a few perch and gills in the outflow.  The fish hit small streamers and live minnows. 

This morning our first stop was a local marsh.  The first spot we fished which produced lots of bowfin and crappie last year only gave up 2 bass and a few golden shiners.  It's still a little early though.  The next spot we fished we found TONS of crappie.  We slammed them on streamers and jigs.  On our way back home we stopped at a few spots on Lake Wilhelm.  The first spot I only caught 1 little bass, and the second spot produced 1 crappie, a very small bass, a perch, and two bluegills. 

It was a great decision getting a way from the overcrowded stocked trout streams and spooky fish and fishing warmwater instead.  Overall a great weekend!





Mosquito and PA Trout

On Friday we fished Mosquito Lake and the spillway.  The lake was very choppy on the north side, and on the southern end.  We fished the south side of the causeway but got skunked, and only saw 2 perch caught.  At Mosquito Creek we ended up getting about 11 crappie, perch, and a smallmouth bass.  Everything on live minnows under a bobber.  There were tons of other people out also.

Saturday we fished Neshannock Creek.  We only got one rainbow, and only saw one other fish caught.  The water was a little low and clear.  There were a few caddis hatching, midges, and some small mayfly of some sort.

Today I ended up going to a different stream.  Caught 3, and missed many more including a 20in. bow.  Didn't see many bugs, but there were some rises here and there.  Tried dries but didn't get anything.  Tried nymphs and only hooked one.  Then switched to a small egg and caught a few.  Also had many fish chase streamers but didn't take the fly.