Fishing Report for Lake Erie, Pa

Sixteen Mile Creek has open water, but few anglers have been there while temperatures were low. Otherwise, the only steelhead action has been through the ice at the Walnut Creek Access, and in Lake Erie off Trout Run. Catches have been a mix of jack, some as long as 26 inches. Try a black jig tipped with a grub. At times, the action has been fast. Some ice fishers have been going to lower Elk Creek, but no reports yet of catches.

Ice fishing has been good at Presque Isle Bay. Look for perch in 16 feet of water off the Niagara Boat Launch. Crappie and perch are hitting at a depth of 20 feet at the Stink Hole, off the second and third parking lots and off Ferncliff. At Misery Bay, ice fishers have been catching crappie, bluegill, perch and some largemouth bass. Quite a few steelhead have been caught off the first parking lot. Try a silver and red Swedish Pimple tipped with a grub for steelhead. Use single hooks, which hold better than the small treble hooks. For crappie and perch, try a gold and red Swedish Pimple at the end of the line, and a teardrop jig about 18 inches up the line, both tipped with a grub. Or, to concentrate on larger fish, tip the Swedish Pimple with a shiner. Wiggle the jigs occasionally. Watch for suspended crappie and perch if you have a sonar, and react immediately when you do.

Steelhead and brown trout are being taken at the foot of East Avenue.

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PA Fish Commission creates voluntary youth license

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission today voted to create a voluntary $1 youth fishing license and to link the revenue generated from it to programs to increase youth fishing participation.
The voluntary youth license will be available starting Feb. 1 from all licensing agents and online through the PFBC’s Outdoor Shop. With a $1 agent fee and a $0.70 transaction fee, the total cost to purchase the license will be $2.70.
“Increasing youth and family participation in fishing, boating, and conservation programs has always been part of our strategic plan,” John Arway, Fish and Boat Commission executive director, said in a news release after the commission’s quarterly meeting.  “This goal responds to the fact that the percentage of children and young adults ages 6 to 15 who fished in Pennsylvania in 2010 was only 24 percent, as compared to  37 percent in 2005 and 41 percent in 1995. We want to continue to refine and develop programs to engage kids.”
For every youth license sold, the PFBC will receive approximately $5 in federal revenue from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Sport Fish Restoration Act program, which provides funds to states based on a formula that includes the number of licenses a state sells. The commission said approximately 25 percent of its budget now comes from federal funding.
According to the “2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation,” 367,000 children and young adults ages 6 to 15 fished in Pennsylvania in 2010.
“I want to emphasize that this is purely a voluntary youth license, and it is not required for kids to fish,” Arway said. “If just 25 percent of those 367,000 children were to purchase a voluntary $1 license, it would result in more than $550,000 in revenue for the commission to invest in youth programs,” Arway said.
Youth who plan to participate in the upcoming Mentored Youth Fishing Days must obtain either a voluntary youth fishing license or a free mentored youth fishing permit. The Mentored Youth Fishing Days are scheduled for March 22 and April 5.

Ice fishing report January 24

With the exception of Sixteen Mile Creek, which might have some open water, the only way to catch steelhead from streams on the east side of Erie is to break away some ice. Be very careful if you try this.

Creeks are also frozen to the west of Erie. Some anglers have been getting onto the ice at the basin, at the Walnut Creek Access. There is about 5 inches of ice. Some steelhead are being caught on jigs tipped with grubs or minnows.

Thursday morning, about 25 ice fishers were spread between Misery Bay and in Presque Isle Bay near the Bayfront Convention Center. The catch has included bluegill, perch and crappie. Ants have been popular jigging lures in colors green, metallic green and pink. A few pike have been caught at Misery Bay.

2014 Youth Life Jacket Give-away

Monroeville, PA – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC), Cabela’s, Port of Pittsburgh
Commission and the Pittsburgh Safe Boating Council are pleased to announce this year’s free Youth
Jacket Give-A-Ways. The mentioned sponsors will present 3 separate Give-A-Ways, the first to be held
January 26th, during the 54th Annual Pittsburgh Boat Show www.pittsburghboatshow.com. The second
and third will be February 15th and 16th at the 29th Annual Allegheny Sport, Travel and Outdoors Show
www.sportandtravel.com.
 Parents must register their children beginning at 12 noon at the PFBC booth. There is a limit of 50
youth life jackets (40 pounds to 90 pounds) available on each day of the Youth Jacket Give-A-Way. Each
youth/family that is registered for the youth jacket give-a-way will be required to attend a short workshop
about life jacket safety, workshop times not finalized at this time.
 At the workshop, a short talk (15 to 20 minutes) about proper uses of life jackets will be presented
by the PFBC staff and then each youth will be fitted with their own life jacket by a uniformed officer.
 This event is part of the national, “Wear It” campaign that promotes life jacket safely.
 The PFBC would like to thank the sponsors of this event: Cabela’s, Port of Pittsburgh
Commission and the Pittsburgh Safe Boating Council. This is the third year for the Port of Pittsburgh
Commission and Cabela’s to sponsor this event. At the end of the 2014 event, 450 youth in the region
will have received a fitted life jacket, long with over 1000 people learning about life jacket safety at the
workshops.
For more information on Fish and Boat Commission’s programs, visit www.fishandboat.com and
click on Learning Center.
The mission of the Fish and Boat Commission is to protect, conserve, and enhance the
Commonwealth’s aquatic resources and provide fishing and boating opportunities. For more information
about fishing and boating in Pennsylvania, please visit our website at www.fishandboat.com.

Lake Erie fishing report Jan 17

The steelhead creeks have been in good condition. Only a few anglers have been taking advantage of it, though.

On the east side of Erie, one angler reported catching several steelhead at Sixteen Mile Creek, including several fresh fish. This latest batch of fresh steelhead includes several larger fish than we have been seeing this winter.

The situation is similar on the west side of Erie. Flows are in good shape, with water color varying from clear to some good greenish color. Fishing pressure has been light to moderate. Temperatures are expected to drop over the weekend, so guides clogging with ice will be a problem. Some fresh steelhead have moved into the creeks. There are fresh steelhead as far up Elk Creek as McKean. The better fishing is in the mid-section of Elk Creek.

Emerald shiners are the top bait, with some coming on egg sacs, or if you can find it, skein. Near the mouths of Elk Creek and Walnut Creek, black jigs tipped with grubs are catching some steelhead. Fly fishers have been having success using bead-head nymphs and streamers with some flash.

Ice fishing at Presque Isle Bay has been fair to good. Ice fishers at Misery Bay are getting mixed catches of bluegill, perch, crappie, bass and a few pike. At the Stink Hole, nicer perch have been coming through the ice along with crappie and bluegill. Some good perch have been caught off the third parking lot. Big ships coming into the harbor apparently did not damage the ice to any great extent, but still be very careful.

Lake Erie Stamp update

After having Mr. John Arway speak today I had the chance to ask him for a summery on the future of the stamp and possible changes. He goes on to say....

"The Lake Erie Stamp is currently limited by existing law to provide public fishing access or improve fish habitat. In order to use the stamp funds for different purposes, the law would need to be changed by the legislature. The PFBC has suggested that the funding be used to support public fishing which would allow the funds to be used for broader purposes. The more groups that get behind broadening the language, the better it will be to get it done. Always strength in numbers."

Fish Commission @ Tom Ridge reminder

To all my friends that fish lake Erie. Please come to the epacba meeting on Saturday. We will be discussing the lake Erie stamp money and guides license issues with the executive staff at the pfbc. It starts at 10:00 am at the tom ridge center In Erie pa. Thanks

Fish Commission meeting this Saturday...reminder

Update: January 11th EPACBA Meeting with The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Meeting is open to the public. 

Please join us January 11th at the Tom Ridge Center in Erie, PA at 10:00 am for discussions and important information regarding Lake Erie Pa waters. In the forefront, we are having some heavy discussion concerning the Lake Erie Stamp. Where’s the money? Who’s benefiting from the Lake Erie Stamp? What about the boaters? If the money isn't used, do we lose it? Now is your chance to be heard. 
In a special EPACBA meeting this January 11th at the Tom Ridge Center @ 10:00 am, we have invited the head of the the PFBC, Executive Director John Arway, Commissioner Ed Masharka, Law Enforcement Supervisor for the NW Region Bob Nestor, All Local WCO's from Erie County, Fisheries biologist Chuck Murray, and Senator Sean Wiley to discuss your concerns of not only the Erie Stamp, but anything affecting you or your Charter business whether it be political, fishing, boating, on the water protocol, whatever! Bring your thoughts to the January monthly meeting.

Bios:
John Arway http://fishandboat.com/execdir.htm
Ed Masharka http://fishandboat.com/comm1.htm
Senator Sean Wiley http://www.senatorwiley.com/

Important notice: All questions for the panel of experts must be submitted in writing prior to the meeting. Preferred method is via email to smallprogram@comcast.net please send asap as we need time for the panel to prepare. All questions will be addressed. Mention who you’d like your question(s) to be directed to.