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!