Lake Wilhelm

It gets both Fry & Fingerling.

Thanks for the heads up and stocking information. Maybe i'll try some new things this upcoming spring/summer. I typically troll thundercranks and worm harnesses with thunders catching the majority of the fish. I also jig twisters on windy days with decent success.

will be up wilhelm saturday, i'll give a report sunday sometime.

ORIGINAL: coldfront

according to the pa. fish commission, it was the explosion of shad population that decimated the panfish population, not the amish.

Hey what ever you say. I read it and I agree something went wrong but next time your over there look in one of there buckets. Keeping a blue gill that 4 inches or even smaller doesnt help the cause.... Gamewardens are not to happy with them at Pymatuning either. I've talked to the wardens and they write numerous fines per year to the amish cause of them not following regulations....

Might as well post it...




The reason for the decline in size and abundance of the panfish is likely due to the introduction and expansion of gizzard shad in Lake Wilhelm. We do not know how they were introduced into Lake Wilhelm but it may have been from a bait bucket.


Since their introduction in 2004 the population has exploded and was the most abundant species caught in our trapnets. Gizzard shad consisted of 48% of the total fish captured in our trapnets. In 2004 only 4 gizzard shad were caught compared to 1,945 in 2010.


While gizzard shad can serve as an important diet component of larger predators such as largemouth bass, walleye and muskellunge, they also have negative ecological consequences on other species, especially panfish. Gizzard shad are known as “prolific spawners”, meaning they can spawn multiple times for several months producing up to 400,000 eggs and can easily over-populate a lake. Young gizzard shad often out-compete panfish species for food resources such as zooplankton, which can lead to reduced growth rates especially in bluegill and young crappie where food preferences overlap. Reduced growth rates in panfish mean fewer large high quality panfish for anglers.


The PFBC strongly encourages anglers not to release live bait into a lake when fishing to prevent the spread of undesirable or Aquatic Invasive Species.


As can be seen from this catch data, gizzard shad are adversely impacting the panfish fishery. The future is unclear for the recovery of the panfish fishery at this time. We are hopeful that increased predation and competition will reduce the overall aundance of gizzard shad over time and the panfish populations will improve but it is difficult to predict how long this might take. Experience in other lakes with gizzard shad indicate that crappie populations may recover and large crappies may actually use young of the year gizzard shad as forage. It remains to be seen if this can happen at Lake Wilhelm.




http://www.fish.state.pa.us/images/reports/2011bio/2x05_03wilhelm.htm

ORIGINAL: TheBlueLagoon

Couldn't agree more with the assumption of the gizzard shad destroying the panfish population namely the crappie. Crappie was abundant up until a couple years ago. The amish have always been around, the gizzard shad haven't...watch pretty soon they'll start putting hybrid stripers in Wilhelm to eliminate the gizzard shad. I would also have to think the gizzard shad have had both a negative and positive effect on the walleye, l/m, and muskie population, providing a valuable food source but also alot of the walleye, l/m and muskie fingerling/fry prob have been gobbled up by those **** gizzard shad. 48% of their catch that is a CRAZY percentage.

Obviously Gizzard shad is the primary "bait fish" in Wilhelm, does Wilhelm have any others?

They don't eat fry...just plankton & plant matter.
That's why they're effecting the panfish population more than the rest...
both compete for the same forage, there are just waaaay more G.shad than panfish at this point, so the food supply for the panfish is limited.
Thus you end up with a lot of 3-4" crappie you can almost see through.

At least that's my understanding....here's a link about the G.shad...
Gizzard shad

My guess is the "poor" walleye fishing reported is similar to the "poor walleye fishing" phenomenon at Chautauqua. With an incredible amount of biomass in Chautauqua of small yellow and white perch, the 'eyes on Chautauqua have an absolute smorgasbord to dine on...making jigging raps and crawler harnesses less effective. Walleye anglers lament the fact that walleye fishing isn't like it used to be, while fisheries biologists state that the walleye population is healthy...both in quantity and quality. You've got a better shot at a 10#+ fish on Chautauqua than you do on Erie.

While I agree that the shad have decimated the crappie population on Wilhelm...I'd bet the walleye population is just fine...and very fat.

Just a thought blue.. Is there a place close to you that you can get bait in the eve before you go?? Just asking!!! John

ORIGINAL: TheBlueLagoon

Does anyone have information on bait shops around Wilhelm that open Early?...made a few calls and everyone says 7, which is LATE to me. any info would be great!

Hey blue, have you tried Fergie's? They're not far from the marina.

I used to go there early-early when I was younger - before daybreak - and they would be open. This was probably 15 years ago. Not sure if they're the same now.

Fergie's Sporting Goods‎
857 Georgetown Road
Sandy Lake, PA 16145
Maurice K Goddard State Park‎
(724) 253-3655

Google Maps Link

they open at 7... i had minnies alive for 3 days before i finally poured them in the pond the other day... was pretty suprised lol

Fished from 430 to 700 tonight. Targeted walleye. Did not catch any but caught some crappie and perch. I sure hope i fivure them out before i die some day. I know they are there. I saw a 25 incher dead floating. Hope you guys did better.

Fished wilhelm for Crappies last evening near launch #1, caught between 20-30 fish. Only one nice fat female, the rest where between 6-8", threw them all back.

This was the first time I fished Wilhelm since 99-2000, from what I remember those fish where a descent size, but not as big as ones I've caught in Shenango. Hope to make it back up in a few weeks.

since either of the two places im bout to mention aren spot burning cuz of how much pressure they get id figure id give a report ... hit the dam the last two days and stopped at dugans run today as well ... brought home about sixty of those monster gils the lake is famous for these days (what a laugh right) wouldnt of bothered but my mom is up an wants a fish dinner before she heads home ... caught probably close to a hundred or better little 3-4inch crappie in that time as well ... it was all fun nuntheless ... sad part of the trip was in the good ol brush pile at dugans run there was a walleye floatin that was everybit of 25 inches dead ... would of been a nice fish to catch alive ... best fish i got in those two day was maybe a ten inch gil its sad to have to catch about 3 hundred fish between multiple people and that be the biggest ... hopefully the stocking of fingerlings over the next couple of years puts a damper on the gizzards and bring the slabs an bulls of old back ... i miss the days of going up there an catching them crappie used to get some pigs

+1

ORIGINAL: CAPTAIN HOOK

Can't see how intoducing Stripers (wipers) into Wilhelm is a bad thing. They are a hybrid so numbers can be controled . Shenango has had Stripers for many years and Gizzard Shad are very high in numbers. Crappie fishing is good to excellent every year. Walleye fishing also is fair to good on Shenango over the years. Pike and Musky also hold good numbers. Stripers have been caught at Pymatuning also and it is a shallow lake like Wilhelm. If they want predator control on Shad the number one fish is your Hybrid Striper! I have seen Stripers attacking schools of Shad and they don't stop at eating one or two. The Fish Commish can make all the excuses they want but they are missing the boat on this one. This is a win win situation for Wilhelm fishing and controling the Shad population. I mean what would it hurt to stock Stripers now. I don't see any reports on banner fishing on Wilhelm !  # 1 Shad buster big Stripers !

In time the population will adjust and correct itself........I hope......at least that is what I want to believe.

The bass population definately has been affected. What I cannot figure out is how. I cannot imagine a drop in numbers but that is what it seems like. I'm more inclined to believe that the bass have changed their ways and haunts since the proliferation of the gizzard shad thus making them more difficult to catch......until you figure 'em out that is.

On another note about Wilhelm, how about the weeds? They sometimes puzzle me more than the fish. Some years they grow thick and lush, and out to 7-8 feet. Other years they only grow really shallow. Any ideas on why that may be?
Seems like it's been a few years since the lake has had really nice weedlines like it used to.