CBS Sports Spectacular, from 2-3 p.m., will cover the Toyota Texas Bass Classic World Championship at Lake Conroe, Texas. Lefebre, a Union City resident and Erie native, won $210,000 and a Toyota Tundra truck, his biggest payout as a pro, during the Oct. 16-18 event.

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: Steelhead fishing has been tough over the past week with no rain leaving the tribs very low and very clear. There is the possibility of rain in the forecasts, however at this point it does not look significant. Many anglers have chosen to wait out the rain and as such the low conditions have provided significant elbow room. Anglers that are catching fish are doing so at daybreak and at dusk for the most part. Very light presentations are a must with many anglers dropping line strength and tippets as low as 2 pounds.

There are fair to good reports of steelhead being caught in Presque Isle Bay and Marina Bay at Presque Isle State Park. A number of anglers floating shiners have picked up an occasional steelhead while targeting perch and crappie. Steelhead have been caught in these areas both from shore and by boat.

Best bets right now would be to target deeper water at the tributary mouths as well as the lake shore at Trout and Godfrey runs on calm days.

A few fish are being pulled from the Walnut Creek basin for the patient anglers.

Lake Erie water temperature as of this writing is 49 degrees. Area tributary conditions as of this writing are extremely low and clear.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife: When weather has allowed, the best walleye fishing has been between South Bass Island and Kelleys Island (including the shoals), and from Cedar Point to Vermilion in 30 to 45 feet of water. Most fish have been caught by trollers using crankbaits. Fish have also been caught by trollers at night around Cleveland, Huron, Vermilion and the islands. Limited success has been reported from the Huron and Lakeside piers.

Yellow Perch: Fishing has been best east of Kelleys Island and just off of harbors from Huron to Conneaut. The size keeps improving with fish from 8 inches to 14 inches being caught. Most perch are caught with perch spreaders or crappie rigs fished with shiners near the bottom.

» Current steelhead information

Based on the nearshore forecast the water temperature is 47 degrees off of Toledo and 51 degrees off of Cleveland.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation: Anglers have been able to fish Cattaraugus Creek for the past few days as water flow has dropped into the ideal range. Currently, the Cat is flowing at around 360 cubic feet per second and has a nice green color with a slight gray cast in the upper section. Good numbers of steelhead are spread throughout the creek. Your best bet is to move around and fish different water types such as the head of pools, tail-outs and faster water. Cattaraugus Creek will be fishable until the next significant rainfall. Spinning anglers do well with egg sacs, artificial eggs or small spinners and fly anglers see strikes on egg patterns and streamers (minnow patterns, woolly buggers, egg-sucking leeches). The small to medium tributaries (Chautauqua, Canadaway, Eighteen Mile, Buffalo and Cayuga Creeks) are quite low and clear. There are plenty of steelhead in these streams, however fish are spooked and finicky. It is best to move stealthily and downsize your presentation when fishing these conditions. Tiny hooks, small egg sacs, single eggs, small flies and light fluorocarbon tippet is the way to go. Anglers can also still catch steelhead by casting spoons from either side of the Cattaraugus Creek breakwall.

Stream temperatures continue to drop. This generally causes a transition in the “productive” fishing time of day. Look for the better bite to switch from dawn/dusk to the warmer, middle of day. Cold stream temperatures will also increase the rate at which muddy water settles out following a water surge.

The use of spoons, spinners and other sinking lures is a favorite of many anglers, but their legal use in or upon Lake Erie tributary streams requires comprehension. Below the bridge closest to a stream mouth, use of sinking lures with a treble hook (3 points) is permitted. From that first bridge upstream to the first barrier impassible to fish, the use of sinking lures that have a free-swinging hook with no more than 1 hook point and a hook gap of no more than half-an-inch (between shank and point) is permitted. Convert your spoons and spinners with split rings and single hooks. In the creeks, smaller lures are best with size 6 or smaller hooks. Size 1 and 2 hooks are around the legal half-inch hook gap regulation, but are overkill. Not to mention, one snag on a rock or log can widen the hook gap enough to set you up for a violation.

Boats have still been able to get out with the recent mild weather, most chasing yellow perch. Catches have been decent for perch anglers targeting shallower schools. A good start is in 50 feet of water between Cattaraugus Creek and Sturgeon Point. Watch your graph and move around, a few feet (depth) on either side of 50 should be good as well. Anglers can also give their favorite nearshore springtime areas a go for late season walleye. Walleye typically move back inshore at this time of year to feed before the onset of winter. For smallmouth bass, key on reef and shoal areas in 15-30 feet of water. A drop-shot rig with live crayfish or shiners works well, but tubes or plastics that imitate crayfish, gobies and shiners will also produce.

Dunkirk Harbor Anglers: The DEC Dunkirk Harbor Fishing Platform has been closed due to safety concerns over rotted railings and support posts. The platform will remain closed until necessary repairs are completed.

Upper Niagara River

Anglers are picking up a few trout from Broderick Park (foot of Ferry Street) and along the Bird Island Pier. Egg sacs and egg imitations have been working best. Muskellunge angers have had to work for their catches in Thompson’s Hole, near Huntley Plant, near Strawberry Island and in the Buffalo Harbor. Large 8-inch to 10-inch tube jigs or large stickbaits are the baits of choice.

Chautauqua Lake

The open lake fishing is winding down and many anglers are pulling their boats for the season. However, yellow perch action continues to be good for anglers fishing mid-lake areas in 10 feet to 16 feet. Anglers have also seen good perch and panfish action from shore, especially at Long Point State Park where a duo caught 90 perch on Sunday. Minnows are top bait, but worms or grubs will work as well. Muskellunge are still an option, target them by casting bucktail spinners or large stickbaits over the weeds in 10 feet to 12 feet.

Pro-Staff member: Erik Nilsson

Date: Nov. 16

Location: Western Pennsylvania

Weather: Clear to partly cloudy, cool, no precipitation.

Water conditions: Normal to low.

Feeding conditions: Sparse.

Species and numbers: Geese.

Migrations: None

Season stage: Midseason.

Hunting report: Scouting for ducks for the opener yielded very little promise for our opener. Finding geese in a field made the decision on what to hunt the next day. The birds worked good for not having any new birds in the area. There has been no steady increase in goose or duck numbers due to the mild temps and lack of any weather north.

Gossip: Hunting reports from the guys I spoke to were mixed. Some did well on geese where others did not. Geese seem to be jumping from water to water or not leaving. The duck hunting has been slow also. We need fresh birds.

Pro-Staff member: David Rearick

Date: Nov. 17

Location: New Castle.

Weather: Unseasonable temperatures and overall weather conditions.

Water conditions: Fair to good.

Feeding conditions: Good, lots of downed crops.

Species and numbers: Decent numbers of resident geese, but the migrant birds both ducks and geese are very low.

Migrations: None to speak of, the warm-up in temperatures after an early cold spell shut everything down before it got here.

Season stage: Just started back up for all seasons across the state.

Hunting report: Slow isn’t the word for it. It is pretty dismal for most around here, with only some good goose action available in most places.

Gossip: We need cold weather, that is the gossip I am hearing.

]]> http://www.goerieblogs.com/sports/nwpaoutdoors/?feed=rss2&p=811 http://www.goerieblogs.com/sports/nwpaoutdoors/?p=807 http://www.goerieblogs.com/sports/nwpaoutdoors/?p=807#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:26:41 +0000 Matt Martin http://www.goerieblogs.com/sports/nwpaoutdoors/?p=807 Saturday offered one of the finest days of the entire year in northwestern Pennsylvania, too fine to be cooped up when there was important stuff like trout fishing to be done.

Oil Creek boiled with trout top-feeding in the sun-warmed water. It was the kind of day you’ll read about in the high-end magazines, or see on the lodge or outfitter infomercials that pass for TV shows. Even when the sun settled behind a ridge, the feeding continued past dark.

So it was no surprise that Oil Creek beckoned again Sunday. The forecast wasn’t radically different, but for one change: No sun. The fish were feeding up top, but more selectively. A cold breeze washed the valley by 4 p.m., and anglers’ breath hung in the air.

I can hope it wasn’t the last outing of a remarkably rich Oil Creek fishing season, but every weekend that moves us closer to Christmas suggests time is running out on anything but desperation fishing in freezing water and low temps. Which sounds a lot better than it feels.

A few moments from the weekend on the water:

• The Adams reaffirmed itself as the go-to fly in my box. Even a scruffy, threadbare, hackle-clipped hanger-on caught two rainbows.
• The American bald eagle that glided 30 feet over the Petroleum Center waterline was the largest I’ve ever seen in the wild. Same with the American mink that ran the shoreline half an hour later.
• I’ve caught longer trout, but none heavier than the sipping rainbow that fell for a black midge spinner Sunday. As low and clear as the water was, 7x tippet was necessary to throw tiny midges and BWOs. The big rainbow muscled that 7x around as best it could, taking it into a deep current seam before finally coming to hand.
• The biggest trout hold in the shallowest lies. Sometimes.
• No fishing hole is worth fighting over, but the thought flashed through my mind. As my wife and I tied on at the back of the car — the last act in our fishing prep — a truck roared in, its fully dressed and strung occupants unloaded and we all virtually race-walked to the spot on the creek we’d scouted 25 minutes earlier. The four of us stood nearly shoulder-to-shoulder for an hour or more, bothering each other on principle. The fact there only were four of us on a long stretch of stream won’t impress combat-hardened steelhead anglers, but even that closeness defeats at least my notion of getting out.

On a related note, Orvis is sponsoring two photo contests worth checking out, for Cover Dog and Fly Fishing. Win cool stuff, including your dog or fishing photo on the cover of a future Orvis catalog.

Just a reminder guys and gals,

Please be courteous of landowners along the Pennsylvania tributaries. Please keep noise low in the early mornings. Park in areas that do not disrupt or block the landowners’ vehicular ways (it is still harvest time).

Please police our ranks if you see a problem individual either call the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission at (814) 337-0444 or in a (non-confrontational) manner inform the individual of the situation and the status quo.

Above all remember fisherman are uninvited guests and should be discreet about their actions on all landowners’ property. All it takes is a few to ruin it for all of us, or the next time we fish we may see a No Trespassing sign.

Hot spots:

• 20 Mile Middle Road area, and pond area, due to parking.
• Elk upstream of American Legion.

Thanks for your cooperation,

Chris Niebauer
President, PA Steelhead Association

Get a head start by checking out the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s season and field forecasts and the 2008 harvest numbers and facts.

Those people operating or aboard motorboats, canoes, kayaks, rowboats and sailboats less than 21 feet must wear personal flotation devices while they are on the water from Nov. 1 to May 1. Violations could cost $25 to $100 each.

Kids under 12 on boats 65 feet or less must wear life jackets regardless of the time year.

Check out Pennsylvania’s life jacket guidelines.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife:

Western Basin

There were very few walleye fishing reports from the western basin over the past week. Migratory walleye will return to the Kelleys and Bass Islands area as water temperatures drop. Expect fishing to improve in historical fall walleye areas within the next few weeks.

Yellow perch fishing remains good with the size of fish mostly from seven to eight inches with a few up to 12 inches. The best areas have been the gravel pit west of West Sister Island, the Toledo water intake, around Niagara Reef, west of Green Island and Rattlesnake Island, Kelleys Island, around the Catawba green can, and off of Cedar Point. Perch spreaders or crappie rigs with shiners fished near the bottom produce the most fish.

Central Basin

Walleye fishing was best from Huron to Cedar Point in 30 to 42 feet of water. Walleye were caught by trollers using worm harnesses with inline weights, jet or dipsy divers with spoons, or deep diving crankbaits. There were no reports targeting walleye again this past week from Cleveland to Conneaut due to the storms and being so late in the season.

Yellow perch fishing has been very good east of Vermilion off of the condos, in 45 to 50 feet northeast of Edgewater Park, 45 to 50 feet north-northwest of Wildwood State Park, 42 to 48 feet northwest of Fairport, 45 to 55 feet northeast of Ashtabula and 40 feet north-northwest of Conneaut. Perch spreaders or crappie rigs with shiners fished as far up as six feet off the bottom have been producing the most fish.

Steelhead fishing has been good from shore and anglers are catching fish at the mouth and downstream locations in the Chagrin River, Grand River, Geneva State Park, Euclid Creek (Wildwood State Park), Conneaut Creek and along the Conneaut west breakwall. Anglers are using small spoons and jigs and maggots rigged with a split shot under a light bobber.
» Current steelhead information

Based on the nearshore forecast the water temperature is 48 degrees off of Toledo and 54 degrees off of Cleveland.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation:

Lake Erie and tributaries: Steelhead action was decent this week despite low and clear conditions on most tributaries. Cattaraugus Creek also dropped into fishable condition over the past two days and a small window remains to fish the Catt; today and possibly tomorrow morning. Current flow is around 300 cubic feet per second and water is a nice shade of green. Rainy weather will likely muddy the creek at some point tomorrow. The medium sized tributaries (Chautauqua, Canadaway and Eighteen Mile Creeks) will benefit from the half inch or so of rain that will fall in the next 24 hours. Good numbers of steelhead are spread throughout the system, even in the upper stretches of the creeks. Spinning anglers do well with egg sacs or spinners and fly anglers see strikes on egg patterns and streamers (minnow patterns, woolly buggers, egg-sucking leeches). When fishing during low and clear conditions, it is best to move stealthily and use small hooks and light lines to fool wary steelhead. Anglers can also still catch steelhead by casting spoons from the Cattaraugus Creek breakwall or other tributary mouths or by trolling with spoons off major tributary mouths.

The use of spoons, spinners and other sinking lures is a favorite of many anglers, but their legal use in or upon Lake Erie tributary streams requires comprehension. Below the bridge closest to a stream mouth, use of sinking lures with a treble hook (3 points) is permitted. From that first bridge upstream to the first barrier impassible to fish, the use of sinking lures that have a free-swinging hook with no more than 1 hook point and a hook gap of no more than a half-inch (between shank and point) is permitted. Convert your spoons and spinners with split rings and single hooks. In the creeks, smaller lures are best with size 6 or smaller hooks. Size 1 and 2 hooks are around the legal half-inch hook gap regulation, but are overkill. Not to mention, one snag on a rock or log can widen the hook gap enough to set you up for a violation.

The open lake fishing is winding down, however there is opportunity for good action if weather permits. Yellow perch catches can be good in fall as schools tighten up and move a bit shallower. Try depths of 55 feet plus off Cattaraugus Creek, Foxes Point, Evangola State Park, Point Breeze or Sturgeon Point. For smallmouth bass, key on reef and shoal areas inside 30 feet of water. A drop-shot rig with live crayfish or shiners works well, but tubes or plastics that imitate crayfish, gobies and shiners will also produce.

Dunkirk Harbor Anglers: The DEC Dunkirk Harbor Fishing Platform has been closed due to safety issues. The platform will remain closed until necessary repairs are completed.

Upper Niagara River

Muskellunge fishing usually heats up as water temperature drops in the upper river. Large 8-inch to 10-inch tube jigs or large stickbaits are the way to go around Thompson’s Hole or the channels near Strawberry Island. Boaters can also target smallmouth bass by drifting in the channel areas. Minnows or crayfish combined with a three-way rig works well.

Chautauqua Lake

Yellow perch catches remain good along mid-lake areas just outside the weedline in 10-16 feet. Minnows are top bait, but worms or grubs will work as well. The crappie bite has been hit or miss with good catches one day and zero the next. Key on weed edges and in the canals for crappie. Muskellunge anglers have been doing well by casting bucktail spinners or large stickbaits over the weeds in 10 feet to 12 feet. Trolling on the outside of the weedline with large jointed stickbaits or crankbaits will also draw musky strikes. Smallmouth bass action in the northern basin has been decent on large golden shiners and crayfish.

Surplus Broodstock Trout Stocking

Randolph Fish Hatchery completed their annual fall stocking of broodstock trout in Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties between Oct. 9-23. All breeder trout stocked were over 2 years old, between 12-30 inches long and were stocked in waters where trout fishing is permitted all year. The following waters have been stocked: Allen Lake- 200 brook trout; New Albion Lake- 100 brook trout, 100 brown trout, 100 rainbow trout; Case Lake- 200 brook trout, 100 brown trout, 100 rainbow trout; Harwood Lake- 100 brook trout, 100 brown trout, 100 rainbow trout; Quaker Lake- 450 brown trout, 200 rainbow trout. Call the Randolph Fish Hatchery Stocking Hotline at (716) 358-4950 for updates.