Page 5 - Fishing Report - 02-17-2015

were between 7 and 11 inches. Quite a few thick black 9-inch crappies were taken home for a
fish fry. I caught all of mine on small plastic baits but my buddy Ron and Steve used maggots on
Swedish Pimples and Fiskas Jigs.”
- File 2/9: “I had so much fun on the 8th, that I invited my buddy
Al to come down from Saegertown since he had never fished
Shenango on the ice. We went back to the same areas fished a
couple days earlier and drilled holes all around the area looking
for the school of crappies. After more than 20 holes and fishing
them for over an hour, we decided to check an area that had
produced for me in the past. I drilled ten holes, while Al checked
each for brush…and found some. We set up on it and started
hammering crappies. Again, they averaged a little over nine Smith’s Shenango crappies
inches but they were biting good and fast. We caught over 80
crappies, with Al keeping 20 of them; I kept 30 for our upcoming church Fish Fry. About 90% of
the crappies came on plastic, with the other 10% on maggots.”

Lake Wilhelm
Vickie @ Fergie’s Bait Shop; filed 1/29: “Here is what was happening on Lake Wilhelm the end of Janu-
ary. Ice was 6-1/2 inches. Anglers were picking up perch and bluegills at Bachop Road and accesses #1,
#2 and #3. At accesses #1 and #2 they were picking up good size crappies in 7 to 8 feet of water, just off
the bottom. Water clarity is between 1 to 3 feet. Grubs and wax worms on a Horrobin Ant seemed to
work best, plus minnows.”

Neshannock Creek
Bob at Neshannock Creek Fly Shops; filed 1/22: “We are only a couple months away from the official
start of trout season. Our annual pre-Season Trout Stocking will be Saturday, March 7. We will again be
open every Sunday beginning on March 8. The Lunker Stock and Rod Raffle is Saturday, March 14; win-
ner does not need to be present and gets their choice of any Orvis 2015 Recon Fly Rod. I am seeking
volunteers age 18 and up to help us float-stock on both Saturday, March 7 and Saturday March 14. We
are also taking reservations for Female Anglers Fly Fishing School, Young Anglers Fly Fishing School, Fly
Fishing Lessons and Guided Fly Fishing. Details on any of the above items can be found at our website
www.ncflyshop.com.”

VENANGO COUNTY
Bill @ Griffins Bait & Tackle Shop; file 2/12: “Here at Griffins Bait & Tackle we have been selling a lot of
maggots, wax worms, shiners and fathead minnows. We have been getting new products in, including
Arnold, DOT, Moon, and Ratso ice jigs in sizes 10-14. Griffins now offers GAMMA line in sizes 6, 8 and
10 pound test in the pony spools or filler spools. We are now able to purchase K&E Stopper products –
mostly ice fishing lures, accessories and equipment. Griffins also will be handling HT products. With
temperatures staying below 32 degrees, ice fishermen have been reporting nice catches. Sugar Lake
has been producing crappies in the 10 to 11 inch range. Alex and Bob Keith have been catching pike
and walleye on frozen sections of French Creek. Also good catches from the Allegheny River, including
Bob’s northern pike at 33 inches, Matty’s northern pike at 32 inches, and Ryan’s musky at 35 inches –
th
all taken on February 8 .”