Lake Erie Pa fishing report 3/28/2014

All of the steelhead creeks are in reasonably good condition. The better fishing on the west side of Erie has been at Elk Creek and Crooked Creek. Fishing in both is best as far upstream as you can get. Catches have been about 50/50 silver fish and dark fish. On Elk Creek, steelhead are upstream from McKean. This might be a fitting time to check upper Conneaut Creek. At the mouth of Trout Run, anglers have been fishing both on the ice and fishing open water. Steelhead are feeding on emerald shiners. A couple of 30-inch steelhead were reported on the west side. Both were spawned out and were not heavy. White has been the hot color on the west side. White jigs, white flies and egg sacks with white netting have been effective.

All of the main east side creeks hold steelhead. Probably the better fishing has been upstream on Twenty Mile Creek. No exceptionally large steelhead have been reported. Many of the fish have been silver. In addition to baits mentioned for the west side, pieces of nightcrawler have been very effective here.

Anywhere you fish for steelhead now, emerald shiners can be the most effective bait. For fly fishers, it seems that black stone fly patterns are effective at about this time. White and olive streamers can be hot at times. At this time of the year especially, rain can change stream conditions quickly. If the water gets color, try egg sacs in orange or red netting, or nightcrawler pieces.

At Presque Isle Bay, perch have been hitting in the open water sections of Presque Isle Bay, including the Stink Hole and the South Pier. A few anglers were on the ice this week, but the warmer weather now will deteriorate this ice quickly. The best advice is to stay off the ice. Even a wind change could open water along the shoreline while you are on the ice.

Lake Erie Pa fishing report 3/14/14

Things are happening at Presque Isle Bay.

Some of the best perch fishing is in water as shallow as a couple of feet. Some crappie also are being caught in the shallow water. Near the Yacht Club, both crappie and perch have been taken in shallow water. At the Stink Hole, perch have been hitting in depths of 2 feet to 4 feet, while crappie fishing might be better at 18 feet. Some of those crappie hit near bottom, some hit about halfway to bottom. BAC Bait & Tackle reported a 16-inch perch caught Monday off the fourth parking lot. Several perch as long as 14 inches have been reported. At Misery Bay, crappie and bluegill have been hitting at 8 feet, to the right of the dirt parking lot on the eastern side.

Creeks are mostly open on both sides of Erie. On the east side of Erie, water flows and color might be better. Very few steelhead anglers have been out, though.

To the west of Erie, water flows are at a good level, but the water color has been gray. Snow melt starting today might raise flows too high. Ice jams on Elk Creek might cause problems. One is by Legion Park, another in the lower section. Be very careful. Depending on how the ice jams come apart, they could be dangerous. A fair number of steelhead have been caught at Elk Creek. Most have been in the 6-pound to 7-pound class.

Ice fishing for steelhead in Lake Erie off Trout Run has been good. Some of those fish are silver. Results in the lake off Godfrey Run and Walnut Creek have not been as good.

Lake Erie, Pa fishing report 3/7/2014

Ice fishing at Presque Isle Bay has been hit or miss. Some ice fishers have made good catches, others have not.

Misery Bay is the best bet for panfish. Some crappie are being taken at the Stink Hole. Good catches have been reported from 12 feet and 16 feet. Perch fishing is off and on near the second parking lot. On the other side of the bay opposite of the second parking lot, perch and very nice bluegill have been hitting at a depth of about 5 feet. Crappie were seen on underwater cameras, but they were not hitting. Perch are being caught near the middle of the bay off Chestnut Street. Ice is 15 inches to 18 inches thick in the middle of the bay, but only about 12 inches thick near shore.

All the creeks except Sixteen Mile Creek are locked in ice. Even at Sixteen Mile Creek anglers have been breaking away ice to get at pools. There are steelhead in this creek, and a few have been caught this week.

People have been ice fishing for steelhead at lower Elk Creek, but with little success. The same goes for Walnut Creek, except that the only ice fishing has been outside the mouth of the creek. Ice fishers have been doing better with steelhead in Lake Erie off the mouth of Trout Run, but not consistently. The hot lures are 3-inch-long jigs, either gold or emerald green.