Good Western PA Waters for Lunkers

Due to some engine difficulties with our boat we won't be able to make it up to erie for lakers this weekend sadly. Going to try to make the best of the weekend anyway though, going to scuba dive at the quarry Saturday or Sunday (probably Sunday) and the other day I'm going to try and hit two or three nice bodies of water for some big fish to make up for the lack of erie. I'm willing to drive anywhere in western pa but preferably only places north of me, not south (I live around the 'burgh). As avid of a fisherman as I am I really only fish my local creek and lake, the allegheny, and erie so I'm not to familiar with all out lakes and smaller rivers around here.

I'm thinking possibilities would be Arthur, Wilhelm, Oneida, Pymatuning, Shenango River and or Lake, French Creek, and Geneva/Conneaut Marsh.

I'll probably fish all day and preferably into the night if I can find a good spot for catfish. But getting to my main point, I'm looking for some bodies of water that do not disappoint in catching lunkers of whatever species I'd be targeting whether that's pike, stripers, catfish, carp, or anything else. It's been a lifelong dream of mine to catch really any Esox species so if anyone can recommend and productive lakes or rivers for Northerns or Muskies please let me know. I'd also like to try to get one or two Stripers this weekend so I might hit Lake Arthur for a few hours, again this is a species I've never caught so I'm in need of advice for targeting these fish, the one and only time I ever fished Arthur several years ago I only caught a few gills and a small largemouth. I've also heard that Arthur is productive for channel cats at night so any experiences with that here?

But regardless of species I'm honestly just looking to catch some rod benders this weekend whatever it might be so please feel free to give any tips you want such as bodies of water, time of day, rigs or lures, etc.

Back to the wanting to catch Northerns and Muskies, I've never fished for them much but the fish times I have have let me down and I've gotten skunked. I'm pretty much a total newb to these guys so really how do you even fish for them? From what I can tell it's basically just large lures with a steel leader and heavy action rods with hours in between fish. Any of you Esox pros out there please feel free to give any tips you have for me, especially where to fish around western pa!

As far as stripers go, from what I've seen it's larger spoons and crankbaits casted toward structure in the prescense of baitfish like alewives right, so would casting spoons towards bridge pylons work or is some type of large live bait better?

And for channel cats, I'm pretty good at catfishing, just never done it much outside of the allegheny and north park lake so I really just need a good spot for these guys.

Thanks for the help!
-Sean

I'm actually fishing around harmorville at my friend'a dock either this evening or tomorrow and I always use corn there because we catch tons of carp on it. I'd love to do some nocturnal flathead fishing but we don't like to overstay our welcome at his house. Can you catch flatheads during the day on live bait as well, if so would chubs and sunfish be the best bait?

Thanks for that write up. But did I read that right, you said 10 PM right? Lol. I just thought they'd be more diurnal site feeders but then again I've never fished for them.

Seems pretty reasonable to drop a boat in Arthur.  Troll around a bit & pick up a few musky.  Then whip some lures around, pick up a bruiser striper or two.  Then slam some catfish after dark.  Shouldn't be a problem for you.

Divemaster
Thanks for that write up. But did I read that right, you said 10 PM right? Lol. I just thought they'd be more diurnal site feeders but then again I've never fished for them.

Yessir.  What Porktown said.  
 
If you show up at 10 PM at any parking area on the lake this weekend, you'll have plenty of opportunities to watch and learn.  

rsquaredIf you show up at 10 PM at any parking area on the lake this weekend, you'll have plenty of opportunities to watch and learn.

 
He'll also see quite a few idiots doing things that I hope he doesn't think is a good idea to copy.  Think of Arthur at night like an internet search.  You'll get a lot of results, but not everything you see is worth reading.   That's the secret sauce... some of those guys know what they are doing and the rest read a few posts or a newspaper article from 2010 and rolled up there to get in on the "hot action."

Right on Sam.  Get a chuckle out of your rants about cast netters, although if I was trying to launch or trailer a boat probably wouldn't be so funny.  
 
In the dozen or so times I've fished on my own, I get skunked more than I catch 'em.  Couple of very generous board members who have chased these fish for many years showed me the ropes a few years ago, and even fishing their spots with the same lures, I was outfished.  At least in my experience, it's not a show-up-and-crush 'em type of fishing.  Like most other types of fishing, gotta put in your time and take good mental notes, and that includes learning what not to do from the monkeys throwing cast nets or fishing on the boat launch docks. 
 
 

From the looks of the Shenango thread, it might be worth dropping the boat in there for a few minutes too.

Well, my problem is that we can't use the boat in erie because in needs some engine maintenence that'll take several days so we are completely out of a boar for this weekend. This will all be shore fishing for the next few days. I'll look up the Shenango thread but what're guys catching there now?

You are looking to catch what you listed above, all from shore, in one day?  I'd go with the better odds and buy a Powerball ticket.

For number of species available, with the chance of a decent fish... Shenango outflow?  You'd have to wade, and good luck with the water levels (storms early this week crushed us) but guys do good there (or have in the past).  That said, the guys probably "know" the river, and knowing is a bit better than trying.  I can tell you specifically for wipers that the ones the Shenango guys posted could EAT the ones we catch at Arthur.  You have to account for the fact that Arthur is the hardest fished water in this side of the state if you don't count Erie.  So those fish have had lots of chances to get caught/killed/eaten.  Most of the summer Shenango is wall to wall jetskis and hairy old guys in speed boats racing back and forth hoping their junk gets bigger.  That's really not conducive to striper fishing.  
 
Summary: if I HAD to shore fish, and I didn't decide to just stay home and drink beer by the pool instead, and I really wanted a shot at a lunker... I'd probably try Shenango.  Or I'd take a bucket of shiners down to Clemente park and live line them for flatheads.  >.>  This thread was just too open ended for actual good advice.  Sorry man.

Porktown

python73
hairy old guys in speed boats racing back and forth hoping their junk gets bigger.  

That's funny stuff there!
 

I'll just let yinz know right now......that I personally.............. Represent that remark!
 
 
 
Geez..... fishing Shenango, especially on a weekend, could make a guy appreciate sailboaters.  He hee, at least on Shenango there's five bridges most of them can't get under!    

So how was the lunker hunt divemaster?  

'Cause no one likes to catch slimeballs if eyes are there for the taking.  Also, personally, I think you stress the fish more if you catch them from deeper water later in the summer and mortality is probably higher when CR'ing.  In the spring, when they are the only game in town, they provide action, in close and can be released relatively harm free when caught from shallower waters.

Divemaster
But not a single striper, was using live alewives and top water lures until 1:30 AM and not a single hit on the Stripers setups. 

I went Sunday night for a few hours.  Alewife activity, and fish busting, was much more quiet than I would have thought given the conditions in the couple of different places I fished.  
 

ZelieSam
I'm not saying the can't be caught in the dark, but anyone who tells you that the time to fish for channels on Arthur is after sundown is either full of it or they have some secret recipe.  They hit right up to dark, and they hit very early in the morning, but they are just not feeding in full dark.  

 
Sam, I've only fished for cats a few times at Arthur, never after dark so just wondering out loud:  Do you think when the sun goes down and the alewives start up that the channel cats follow them to the shallows to fill up their bellies?