There was still plenty of ice fishing in the district last week.  Ice conditions appeared to be rapidly deteriorating as of this past weekend. 

Ice anglers are still catching a few northern pike on Yellow Creek Lake.  A few anglers also reported good numbers of yellow perch in the 10-inch range.  
The few anglers on Blue Spruce Lake are catching some trout.  
One angler reported catching a 46-inch muskellunge on Keystone Lake (Armstrong County).

A few diehard anglers have been trying the Loyalhanna Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only (DHALO) section.

Mill Creek and Hanna's Run were preseason stocked March 4th.  Unfortunately, it took only 24 hours for the first complaints of illegal fishing activity to be reported.

Beaver County

Anglers are reporting catches of walleye in the Beaver River and Ohio River.
The winter trout stockings in Hereford Manor Lake (lower), Bradys Run Lake and Raccoon Lake last month have anglers catching numerous trout through the ice on a variety of baits.  An angler was observed landing a 20-inch largemouth bass at Hereford Manor.

Greene and Southern Washington County

Anglers are fishing Grays Landing Lock and Dam on the Monongahela River on a regular basis and are having good success catching walleye and sauger.  The walleye have been averaging around 17 inches and the sauger are averaging between 12 and 14 inches.  They are catching some on white or chartreuse soft plastic jigs but most catches have been on live minnows.

The pre-season trout stocking of Browns Creek and Tenmile Creek took place on March 3rd.  Nice rainbow trout and brown trout that averaged about 13 inches in size were stocked.  About ten people came to volunteer on Tenmile Creek but there were just two helpers to carry buckets at Browns Creek.  Thank you to those who volunteered their time and efforts to help with the stockings.

The Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only (DHALO) section of Meadow Run was stocked on March 2nd with nice trout.  There was quite a bit of snow still on the ground and it was an adventure getting the fish to the creek.

Anglers are having sporadic success catching trout at Dunlap Lake through the ice.  There were about a dozen anglers ice fishing on Saturday and they catching one now and then but it wasn’t a steady bite.  Reports were received of an angler recently catching a walleye in the 10-pound range through the ice along with some nice crappie.  He was reportedly fishing at the mouth of the cove near the boat launch ramp.

Waterways throughout southwestern PA are being stocked with trout.  Waterways Conservation Officers (WCOs) are always in need of volunteers to assist with the stockings.  If you are interested in helping with a stocking near you, visit the Trout Stocking section of the website for dates, meeting places, and times.

Deer Creek, Allegheny County, was float stocked on March 3.  Many volunteers made their way through the snowy conditions and cold water (29°F) to stock 5,230 trout into the creek.  Many of the volunteers were Tri County Trout Club members.

Western Armstrong County

The weather has been keeping most anglers away from the waters in Armstrong County.  Parking areas and boat ramps still have a foot of snow at most waterways.  In addition, the mouths of most tributary waters are iced up making them unfishable.

Fayette County

Virgin Run Lake and Dunlap Lake were both stocked on February 23.  At the time of stocking, 10 inches of ice were on both lakes.  Both lakes are under the Early Season Trout Stocked Waters program and are open to fishing and a 3-creel trout limit until midnight March 31.

The Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only (DHALO) section of Meadow Run was stocked on March 2.  This section of the stream is open to fishing, but is catch and release only at this time.

Southern Somerset County

On February 23, Robert Laskowski Jr. of Boswell caught the biggest chain pickerel that the district WCO has seen to date at High Point Lake.  Both the 25¼-inch pickerel and an additional pickerel measuring 23¾ inches were caught on tip-ups baited with shiners.

John Spittal and Bob Litle, both from Ursina, PA, iced this stringer of fish on February 22 at High Point Lake.  Their catch consisted of: a 17-inch and 20-inch largemouth bass, 12½-inch crappie, 14-inch yellow perch, 27-inch northern pike, and 3 chain pickerel ranging from 19 to 20-inches.  Not a bad day of fishing!

Somerset lakes still have plenty of ice.  The challenge is snowed-in parking areas and making your way through the snow to get to the lakes.  Hopefully the forecast of warmer weather will melt some of the huge amounts of snow that have fallen in the Laurel Highlands this season.

The Youghiogheny River tailrace and Laurel Hill Lake were stocked with nice –sized trout on February 24 and have seen little fishing pressure.  Both waters are under the Early Season Trout Stocked Waters program and are open to fishing and a 3-creel trout limit until midnight March 31.

All other approved trout waters are closed to fishing until opening day of opening day of trout season, April 17 at 8:00 a.m.
Westmoreland County

Anglers are catching nice trout at Donegal Lake; however, the ice conditions are not very good at this time.

Anglers have been doing really well at Mammoth Lake where they are regularly catching their creel limits.

Green Lick Dam has nice ice conditions and anglers are catching good numbers of perch.

Anglers are still doing well on both the Upper and Twin Lakes.
Anglers are reminded that Indian Lake in Northern Huntingdon is not open for ice fishing.

Four-year-old Ashlynne Brumbaugh, daughter of Frank Brumbaugh, caught this 16.5-inch, 2-lb. crappie at Glendale Lake last week.

Glade Run Lake (Butler County) was stocked on with trout on February 18, 2010.  Everyone that has been fishing there has had great success.  Over 60 anglers, families and friends came out to enjoy the sun and fish on Sunday alone.

A reminder to all anglers that trout season ends Sunday, February 28, 2010, except in select lakes and waters.  Knowing where you are and where you are fishing is your responsibility.  Please consult your 2010 Fishing Summary book or the trout fishing regulations section of the PFBC website for further information.

Southern Armstrong, Southern Indiana, and Northern Westmoreland Counties

Other than a steady group of ice anglers fishing primarily after stocked rainbow trout, there is little fishing activity in the district.  Unfortunately, anglers that target "last minute holdovers" in local approved trout waters are probably not going to get much of an opportunity this year.  Accumulated snow and ice will likely not be gone before those waters close to all angling at midnight, February 28th.

Eastern Armstrong and Indiana Counties

Ice anglers are catching good numbers of northern pike at Yellow Creek Lake, but most are in the 20 to 24-inch range.  

Anglers are also catching northern pike at Hemlock Lake but they are small as well.  Good numbers of trout are being caught at Hemlock Lake and there are only a few anglers there.

Not many bass seemed to have been caught through the ice in the past few weeks.

A few anglers are starting to fish the Cheat River from the fishing pier at Lake Lynn.  They are having some success catching walleye and sauger in the 15 to 17-inch range.  The anglers lucky enough to be able to obtain live minnows to use for bait are having all the luck.

The Monongahela River had been full of ice, then it was high and muddy and it is finally gotten to the fishable stage. 

Dunlap Lake has about 5 inches of ice covering it except for an open hole of water approximately 5 by 5-foot large at the pipes near Stoney Point Road.  There have been a few anglers fishing the open hole and they are doing fair catching trout in the 10 to 11-inch range.  Most of the catches have been on scented artificial bait.  There has been very few anglers ice fishing the lake, perhaps because there was quite a bit of snow covering the ice.  The few that have been ice fishing are doing fair, catching trout in the 10 to 11-inch range.  Two anglers had fished from about 10:00 am until 2:00 pm and caught four.  They reported catching them on mealworms.

Washington County

Anglers are ice fishing on Canonsburg Lakeand Cross Creek Lake. 
Ice anglers are catching trout stocked at Canonsburg Lake on February 17, 2010.

Southern Westmoreland County

Donegal Lake, Mammoth Lake, and the Upper and Lower Twin Lakes were stocked last week with some fantastic trout.

The ice at Donegal Lake was not very solid and there was nobody fishing there. 
Mammoth Lake appeared to have fishable ice and anglers have been doing well over the past week.

Twin Lakes had a good share of anglers recently.  On February 18th, the day of stocking, several anglers were doing quite well on the upper lake and appeared to be taking a well deserved break from their day jobs.

Be careful and check ice conditions before going out.

North Park Lake, an impoundment located near McCandless, Pa., Allegheny County, is scheduled to be drained starting September 8, 2009. The purpose of the complete drawdown is for major reconstruction of the lake to include sediment removal and installation of habitat structures. The project is being jointly funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Allegheny County. This lake is owned by Allegheny County as part of the County Parks system within North Park. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) manages the lake for fishing and boating opportunities. Recreational angling levels have been measured at very high levels at North Park Lake. The PFBC targets fish management of the lake for largemouth bass, channel catfish, panfish, and stocked trout in spring, fall, and late winter programs. The lake rehabilitation work is scheduled to be completed by May 2011. Trout stocking and warmwater fish management will resume at that time

In conjunction with the start of the draw down, the PFBC is removing season, size and daily creel limit restrictions for fishing at North Park Lake starting September 8, 2009. The relaxing of fishing restrictions does not apply to Pine Creek upstream and downstream of the impoundment. The Commission will conduct fish salvage operations in conjunction with the draw down of the lake. Enhancing opportunities for anglers to harvest fish prior to salvage efforts provides both additional recreational opportunities and can help reduce the number of fish that will either be captured/transported or potentially stranded when the water level drops.

Individuals or organizations interested in assisting with formal fish salvage operations can contact the PFBC's Fisheries Management Office in Somerset at 814-445-3454 or rlorson@state.pa.us. The Commission has not established a date for formal fish salvage efforts; lake conditions will dictate timing and it is projected to be in mid-October.