DISTRICT

Lake Erie: Rough conditions hampered angling much of this week. When fishable, the lake yielded excellent catches of perch in 65 to 70 feet, straight out from Walnut and heading west to the Ohio line. Walleyes were hitting in the same water, along with incidental catches of steelhead, which also were reported at the stream mouths. Presque Isle Bay was yielding largemouth bass and panfish.

Allegheny Reservoir/Allegheny River (Warren County): Catches of walleyes were reported down to 40 feet in the reservoir this week. A few perch also were reported. The river was yielding walleyes, bass, muskies, trout and northern pike in mixed sizes. Terry Schrader of Warren caught a 45-inch, 28-pound muskie in the tailwater recently. A 42-inch paddlefish was released on a Rapala by an angler targeting other species.

Allegheny River (Venango County): Fishing was slow in low clear conditions earlier this week. Most catches were coming on swimbaits in shallower water as of Tuesday.

Shenango Reservoir (Mercer County): Anglers continued to catch crappies amid good conditions and light fishing pressure this week.

Lake Wilhelm (Mercer County): Chuck Myers of Polk and a friend caught 10 largemouth bass Saturday, including five keepers totaling 14 3/4 pounds and ranging from 16 to 19 inches, on Hot 'N Tots. Ian Pace of Pittsburgh caught an 18 1/2-inch, 3 1/4-pound bass Sunday. Al Means of Bakerstown caught two walleyes, 21 and 23 inches, on Shad Raps. Crappies were hitting in deep water on small minnows. Bluegills also were hitting.

Woodcock Creek Lake (Crawford County): Nice numbers of smallmouth bass were reported in recent weeks.

Canadhota Lake (Crawford County): Catches of crappies were reported on the west side of this natural lake in recent weeks.

Lake Arthur (Butler County): William Pinkle and Jason Leslie won Sunday's Keystone Bass Buddy Circuit tournament with a six-fish limit totaling 17 1/4 pounds. Scott Sirakos caught the lunker, a 5 3/4-pound largemouth. Ninety teams caught 150 largemouths and five smallmouths totaling 385 1/4 pounds. Patrick Bayer, 21, of Butler caught a 6-pound, 12-ounce, 21 1/2-inch largemouth with 16 1/2-inch girth on a jig-and-pig Wednesday. Andy Radwansky of Prospect caught a 2-pound, 4-ounce crappie earlier this week. Christian Best released a 39-inch muskie trolling just before moonset last week. A few walleyes and numbers of catfish were reported in recent days.

North Park Lake (Allegheny County): Bob Cetrone of Stowe Township recently released a 28-inch, 9-pound channel catfish on a doughball.

Allegheny River: Rusty Goeller of Fox Chapel released a 38-inch muskie, along with some smallmouth bass, walleyes and saugers at the mouth of Pine Creek Tuesday evening. Elsewhere, anglers are catching flathead catfish on live bait around dusk. The Venture Outdoors Downtown TriAnglers landed more than 50 fish, including many skipjack herrings, Wednesday from the North Shore. Highlights included Bill Berg's 13 1/2-inch smallmouth bass, Marty Saunders' 17-inch freshwater drum, and Tom Lippert's 17-inch channel catfish.

Monongahela River: Average catches of saugers, catfish, smallmouth bass, hybrid striped bass and freshwater drum were hitting in recent days at the locks and the mouths of the creeks from Allegheny to Greene counties.

Youghiogheny River: Justin Romito of West Elizabeth leads the Elizabeth-based Shad Lure Bait and Tackle August Carp Contest with an 18-pound carp caught in the lower reaches last Friday.

Ohio River: Marcus Boyd of Chester, W.Va., won last Saturday's Chester Newell Sportsmen's Club Ohio River Catfish Tournament with a 40 1/4-inch catfish. The next contest is Sept. 13 from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. with boundaries from Wheeling to Pittsburgh. For more information, call 304-387-3982.

Youghiogheny Reservoir (Fayette County): Anglers reported decent smallmouth bass action Monday.

Loyalhanna Lake (Westmoreland County): Bass and panfish, including perch up to 11 inches, were reported this week. A tiger muskie of nearly legal size was released on a Firetiger Bucktail.

Keystone Lake (Westmoreland County): Anglers were catching largemouth bass at this state park impoundment this week.

Cranberry Glade Lake (Somerset County): The 112-acre Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission impoundment was yielding largemouth bass this week.

Kooser Lake (Somerset County): This 4-acre state park impoundment was yielding some trout in recent weeks, along with a 30-plus inch northern pike.

Spring Creek (Centre County): This limestoner typically fishes well when other streams are so warm that even careful handling of trout can harm the resource. A consistent morning trico hatch and intermittent tan, olive and dun-color caddis (16-18) were reported. Ants and beetles were a good bet, along with small Blue-Winged Olives (22-24) in recent days. Nymphing with Green Weenies, scuds, cressbugs, Pheasant Tails and Hare's Ears also was recommended. For more, visit www.tcoflyfishing.com.

Raystown Lake (Huntingdon County): The striped bass bite was slower than normal, with water temperatures in the mid-70 degree range yesterday. Fish were shallow in the river channels and deeper in the bays. The best catches were reported from mile marker 19 to the breast of the dam.

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