Springtime steelhead in Presque Isle Bay.

Although the weather was cold and ugly we had a good day of fishing in the bay. We landed 7 fish for 9 bites.  Best lures of the day were orange junior thunder sticks 50 foot back on the big boards and tiny spoons right behind the riggers.  smallprogramcharters.com

Lake Erie Pa fishing report 4/18/14

 Steelhead are still in the creeks for the catching. To the east of Erie, steelhead are in all of the usual creeks. As of Thursday, creeks had good flow and color. Anglers have been enjoying good success. No large steelhead were reported. Top baits have been minnows, egg sacks and nightcrawlers. Fly fishers have been using egg patterns and streamers.

West from Erie, steelhead fishing has been good at times at Lower Walnut Creek, and more consistent upstream. Elk Creek is starting to get into good condition after being brown from rains. Steelhead anglers are doing well. The lower creek is loaded with suckers, and some nice smallmouth bass have been reported. A 15-pound steelhead was reported from upstream Elk Creek, but most have been 25 inches to 27 inches, along with a few jacks. Fly fishers should try emerald shiner streamer patterns, and small, hot pink single egg patterns.

Perch fishing is good in Presque Isle Bay. Hot spots include the head of the bay in depths of 4 feet to 5 feet, the Stink Hole, the Water Works, the Yacht Club, where crappie also have been hitting, the old Border Patrol, the lagoon near the boat rental, and it is starting at the North Pier and the South Pier early mornings. Crappie fishing generally has been slow.

Lake Erie weather buoy

The Regional Science Consortium is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of a Grassroots Grant from Boat U.S. Foundation at www.boatus.org/grants/vote.asp.

Thanks to the impressive community support, RSC and its project partners can educate boaters and others on how to access and use the data from a new buoy system that is being deployed in the Pennsylvania waters of Lake Erie. The projected launch date for the buoy is May 1 (weather permitting). The buoy will collect meteorological data required for accurate forecasts for this region, and could help reduce "the loss of life and negative impacts caused by coastal storms," according to the consortium's proposal.

Your vote helped to secure funding to pay for signs at boat launch locations and marinas, window clings, watch cards and fact sheets for distribution at marinas, bait shops, lectures and other events. The grant will also pay for the development of a text-alert system that can send text messages to users when weather, water or wave conditions change.A video camera attachment on the buoy system will provide 30-second clips of lake conditions (updated hourly). RSC and its partners will also provide lectures to yacht clubs, sailing groups, boater organizations and sportsman's clubs to educate boaters how to access and use the information.

2014 Walleye and Perch limits set

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has set the 2014 creel limit for Lake Erie yellow perch at 30 per day and the creel limit for walleye at six per day. They limits are the same as they were in 2013.
“This year’s assessment showed that both yellow perch and walleye populations remain stable,” Chuck Murray, the PFBC’s Lake Erie biologist, said in a news release. “Based on this, the creel limits are being held at the 2013 limits.”
The PFBC adopted a regulation in 2012 that established adaptive creel limits for walleye and yellow perch based on the annual quotas established by the Lake Erie Committee. The committee includes fisheries managers from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Michigan, and Ontario. The PFBC sets its daily creel limits for these two species by April 15 each year.
“Adaptive fishing regulations are based on the most recent fishery assessment results and are better aligned with the current status of the yellow perch and walleye stocks,” Murray said in the release. “This regulatory flexibility gave fisheries managers the ability to change daily harvest limits prior to the onset of the summer boat fishing season on Lake Erie.”

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.