Jonathon Freeman, of Buffalo, N.Y., caught a 24-inch hen steelhead at Walnut Creek Access Area using sucker spawn. He caught another on skein, and both were landed on an ultralight rig spooled with 4-pound test.

His fishing partner, Edward Lawrence, of Corry, caught three steelhead including a 25 1/2-inch, 6 1/2-pound buck upstream of the mouth of Twenty Mile Creek in late October. All hit on skein. Lawrence is a NWPA Outdoors contributing writer.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission will perform geotechnical drilling operations in the Walnut Creek channel area starting July 9-10.

The marina and boat ramp will be open during drilling, but the commission cautions boaters to proceed with caution when transiting the channel.

This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission:

Read the rest of this entry »

This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission:

Off-and-on rain Monday and an all-day soaker Tuesday brought the the Lake Erie tributary levels up to fast and muddy conditions There is  rain and possible snow in the forecast which may help to which may spawn additional steelhead movement and help keep water levels up and flowing. Catches have been good with anglers doing very well at the mouth of Trout and Godfrey runs and throughout most of the trib areas. The rain triggered some action at the Walnut Creek Marina basin with a good number taken over the past week on shiners, paste baits and tipped jigs. With the on-and-off rainfall, Crooked Creek has been productive and less crowded than the lower sections of Walnut and Elk. Current Lake Erie water temperature is 48 degrees. Area tribs were flowing and muddy as of late Tuesday afternoon.

Perch must be a minimum of 7 inches beginning Dec. 1 through March 31, 2012, for Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay. The creel limit remains at 30 fish.

We again want to emphasize that it is wise to wear at least some orange in the outlying areas of the tribs, especially on Elk, Crooked and Conneaut creeks. With the rainy weather we had for opening day and the kill possibly down, many deer hunters will be out over the next two weeks as the colder weather and possible snow reaches our area. Don’t put your self in their sights, wear some orange. If you are on State Game lands, wearing orange is a requirement during hunting season.

Sam Knox, 11, of Millcreek Township, caught his first-ever steelhead Nov. 13 on Walnut Creek. The fish measured 23½ inches and took a red beadhead nymph.

Walnut Creek Access Area made a Field & Stream blog — not for its fine steelhead fishing, or even its overcrowding, but as the centerpiece of an article on illegal snagging on the Erie-area tribs.

This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officers for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission:

Read the rest of this entry »

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is encouraging those who own stream frontage on Four Mile, Conneaut, Crooked, Elk, Walnut and Twenty Mile creeks to attend a public meeting about public fishing access and conservation easement programs Nov. 1.

The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in the Big Green Screen Theater at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive. It is being hosted by the Fish and Boat Commission and Pennsylvania Sea Grant.

Landowners interested in attending should RSVP by Oct. 28 to Dave Skellie at PA Sea Grant at (814) 490-3248 or dus18@psu.edu.

“Acquiring public access easements is part of the agency’s strategy to improve public fishing areas and ensure that the public has access to these opportunities,” said Jackie Kramer, the statewide fishing and boating access coordinator for the PFBC Bureau of Boating and Access. “Private landowners interested in providing public access for anglers and learning how this easement purchase program operates are encouraged to attend.”

A public fishing easement is a voluntary and permanent legal contract between the landowner and the Fish and Boat Commission. The easement typically provides a 35-foot corridor along a stream bank that allows the public to wade in or walk along the stream bank for the purpose of fishing. The landowner continues to own and control the land.

Tuesday’s fine weather saw anglers in pursuit of steelhead along all of northwestern Pennsylvania’s tributaries, including Walnut Creek:

This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission:

Read the rest of this entry »