I feel for you guys that fish the river bite. 8 years is way too long to be keeping your limits of eyes and not know the stocking had stopped. With very little to no reproduction, they had to be getting harder to catch. Hope your petition to start stocking again makes it thru. It'll still take a few years to get back to par tho.

CAPTAIN HOOK
 He also told me that the Fish Commission has never stocked Hybrid Bass in the lower river they all must be coming through the sluices into the river.  I don't know I'll take his word on that.

mike55
Yea I was told the hybrids are shot through the dam as well. Would love to see a 30 inch fish shot through with that amount of force, hit the center pyramid in the sluice, and survive.
 
They migrate up stream to the dam. They are not shot through the dam.

 
Something to ponder:
 
-Neither the lower Shenango River nor the Beaver River are stocked with hybrid striped bass
-Shenango Lake and the Ohio river are stocked with hybrids
-Between Shenango Lake and where the Mahoning dumps in(to form the Beaver River), there are 2 dams(near Sharon)
-There are also 3 additional dams on the Beaver between the confluence of the Shenango/Mahoning and the Ohio River(near Beaver Falls)
 
If the hybrid striped bass are truly migrating up from the Ohio River, and not dumping out of the lake......
 
-Why aren't any being caught in the Mahoning? Near New Castle, Youngstown, Warren, heck even below Lake Milton?
-What about lower Neshannock Creek, Connoquenessing, Slippery Rock Creek??
-Other parts of the Shenango near New Castle, Pulaski, etc.?
 
You figured if these fish are able to swim up to Shenango Lake Dam from the Ohio River by jumping over dams, swimming through shallow riffles/rapids and such, they will be in these other waterways as well. And if they can get over those dams, they can certainly get over the dam on Pymatuning Creek in Orangeville. And during most years fish do not make it above that dam(unless the lake level is high and the dam is underwater).
 
I certainly don't doubt the fact that they can swim up from the mighty Ohio(if they're able to get above the dams), but I still think the vast majority are coming out of the lake.
 
But yeah, how they survive going through the dam is beyond me lol

Glad to see you looked a little better into that Troutguy, I'll go with the flow. They must squeak through the sluices as fingerlings and grow in the river. There is no doubt the Striper action up on the lake has slowed way down compared to previous years. Several friends who also target them steady all agree there is a big difference over the past 3-4 years. I 'm not blaming the stockings they seem to be as you say . The numbers they put out say there being put in steady so I'm not sure what's going on.  ????
 
Anybody been seeing the big schools of Whit Bass lately ? Usually they start boiling up on the surface about this time of year. Can't miss them they pop the surface chasing bait in fairly large packs.  Even on their frenzy feeding they seem to be very selective on what they inhale. I've yet to find the magic Hot bait or lure for those guys. You would think live minnows......think again ! I've seen what they are chasing they look like neon needles zipping everywhere in the water. I have no idea what kind of baitfish they are, but those White Bass love em ! Tip of the week.............LOL

Because he can and he will continue too as long as special interest groups control the PFBC or, until John Arway is released by those who RR him into position so, John could fix their river for bass fishing.

Haven't ya heard the Susquehanna has suddenly (for the past ten years) been producing "hermarphrodite bass"?

Why rumor has it some bass are born crossed eyed with two tails and no lips. How the heck do you expect BassMaster Bobby to catch bass without no lips. Don't you support your local bass clubs by attnding their tournaments and watching them "ripping lips" when they set thier 1/0, 2/0 and 3/0 hooks?


Whyyyy... what's the matter for ya.... anyway?

I gotta get!

Best of fishin' to yinz.

ok guys,ive been trolling this post for a long time and I usually don't respond but here goes.to captain hook,im glad to see you are so concerned about the quality of fishing below the dam.as far as the lake goes,here is what I know.i fish the lake every weekend from april to November and sometimes after work.ive been doing it for over 30 years.as far as walleyes in the lake.there are plenty,and they are very numerous.the shad problem stems from the last 2 cold winters.they will rebound with the first hatch of fry that will show up in july.I net shad for hybrids and they will be about 3-4 inches long by early august.they can spawn 2 times a year and grow 3 - 4 inches long in a few months.the reason your not seeing the big schools of stripers is because the shad are just not big enough yet.by late summer they will be schooled as usual.you can still catch hybrids in the lake but you gotta change your strategy.i remember the days when there were shad everywhere due to mild winters.i could throw a cast net in any cove and I would have a net full.now I have to search for schools,there still there but not overpopulated.the white bass are also still there in great numbers.same scenario as the stripers.they will target them on top very soon as the first major hatch grows to eatable size,this pertains to the little neon needles you see.they are baby shad.just match the size and you can catch them till you grow tired of it.not tryin to be a know it all here.just giving my prespective on the lake.its in great shape as are the numbers of fish.i hope that captain can get the river fishing back to normal as I agree with what he sees happening there.

Striperguy , nice to get some experienced input on the lake. I've heard your name mentioned every time we talk Striper talk and do know you are well experienced on that lake . We've never met that I can remember ( bad memory syndrome )  but we work at the same place. I haven't been out as much the past two years but also have many years experience on Shenango Lake and River. I'm glad to hear that you do so well on Walleye because most guys I've talked to haven't faired as well.  I don't target Walleye at the lake as much the past 5-6 years basically due to chasing those Stripers and fishing the lower River. I also net Shad and totally agree that there are small schools but nothing like years past. I'm glad you solved the mystery of those neon colored needle size minnows for me, makes a lot of sense now. Amazing how many big White Bass schools roam that lake. Your right I've got to change some fishing tactics on those Stripers my catch rate has gone way down the past few years. Your comments are good and make sense to what's going on at the lake level. I guess I'll be targeting more Walleye there in the future since the lower river is about fishless without any restocking program. Feel bad for the guys and kids that don't own boats it's tougher fishing on the lake shorelines. Probably will be hitting the lake later this Summer and try to get into those big guys feasting on those Shad. Maybe Ill see you around the area Striperguy . I give the Fish Commish an A+ on that program . They put Shenango Lake, and Lake Author, back to the top of the list for great fishing .Those big Stripers are about the strongest fighting fish pound for pound one can experience . It's probably a good thing their not acrobatic jumpers when hooked.............................you would never land em !  Thanks' for all comments guys .....good dialog on our local fishing waters .........hope others that enjoy fishing are reading or have more comments.

to the captain,i guess you and I both share the same compassion for the hybrids.they are my passion for fishing.i have fished the great lakes for salmon and the atlantic coast for saltwater fish,but I enjoy chasing hybrids more than any other.nothing has the power that these fish have and we are blessed to have 2 lakes in our area that have them.morain has them but they don't get as big and thick as the shenango fish due to the fact that they feed on alewives instead of shenangos gizzard shad.love to see your pics here also.we both have a son about the same age and we both spent our time taking them fishing.the world needs more of that.hope to see you out on the lake this year.im in a white alumacraft lunker mag.it has striper decals on the side.if you see me stop and say hey.ill be out after them when the lake comes down to a fishable level and all the noise makers are down to a tolerable amount.ill pm you when it turns on.keep up the fight for the lower river as it should be stocked with walleyes every year.they cost nothing for the commission to raise.and provide a great fishery for all.see ya on da lake.

BTDT spotted on a very muddy Shenango surrounded by nekkid old hairy guy junk in loud boats.  News crews tried to get comments from passing polar bears but the bears were like "what the... I don't even... skroo this let's go further South where it is warm."

python73
BTDT spotted on a very muddy Shenango surrounded by nekkid old hairy guy junk in loud boats.  News crews tried to get comments from passing polar bears but the bears were like "what the... I don't even... skroo this let's go further South where it is warm."

 
OHHHHH STTTTTOP......ya big tease!
 
 
Zelie did you make it out on Arthur this weekend?  Inquiring minds want to know if ya caught sumthin' and with what, where and, when?
 
I got some catchin' up to do and I'm thinkin' Shenango just might be the place to do it this week.
 
Weather idjuts predicting some gooder weather (yeah right) for this week.
 
If I don't answer it's cause I ain't here or, I lost my electrical power because somebody knocked down wires 'cause they forgot to take down the mast before towing their sail boat.  Could be by somebody stacking too many yaks on top of their Fiat also.
 
Tonight, I'll be checking the charge on my batteries, gasoline in the tank and, dang sure the drain plug is in this time.
 
Gotta get..... stay in touch and happy fishing.

python73
I made it to the hospital for a scalpel to the kidney, plus a bunch of other not so fun bonus rounds.  I'll spare you the details of those.  So no fishing for me.  I'm out of comission for a couple more weeks, then we'll see if I can't eek out some summer magic on Arthur.

 
 
SAAAAY.............  WHAT?
 
Tried to send a pm.
 
Wish you well and godspeed to recovery.
 

I've never looked at a map of all those rivers that connect below Shenango River. I personally have no idea if fish can travel up to Shenango River from lower Rivers . I take it there are some serious obstacles for fish to travel upstream . We talked a little about this earlier in this forum . I did see that a girl in the local O. J. magazine did catch a nice size Striper in the Beaver River. Now I'm not sure , are they stocked in the Beaver River area ? If not where are these Hybrids coming from ?  Anybody care to clarify or have any info feel free to comment.  Just curious about what fishing goes on down stream.  

Thanks BTDT....looks like lots of Stripers are stocked steady in the Beaver and the Ohio Rivers. Too bad Shenango River also gets zero stocking on these. Still wondering can they get into the lower Shenango ?

Caught Byrds many moon ago Elwood City.
 
crappY

richardw
Just to clarify, it is impossible for any fish to swim from the Ohio river to the Shenango dam unless they grew wings.

Well, I guess it's possible with the very high water we had this month, but yes very, very unlikely. I'm not exactly sure how high all of the dams are in the Shenango/Beaver watershed.....I've only seen some of them in person. That river does get high though. And regarding hybrid striped bass......they're not a species that jumps over dams. Heck I've never even had any on the end of my line jump! All the fish below the lake in Sharpsville spill out of the lake
 
 
 

BeenThereDoneThat.
I think it is a shame the way the PFBC ruins good fishing water and waste so much money with stocking a fish that most people don't care to catch let alone eat. (my guess says; more go in the garbage can then the frying pan)  A fish that is not native to the waters they are thrown into, can't and don't survive, just so the PFBC can charge anglers for a stamp even though the species if caught, would be released.
 
Speaking of table fare, I know people eat them and some people say they are good if prepared properly but, I just can't imagine eating carp, suckers or even worse, trout stocked by the PFBC!  Yuk!

The PFBC is hurting for money. I wonder why! Anyone with half a brain could point the PFBC in the right direction towards saving money.....but they won't listen. Remember.......rubber rainbows are the best eating fish in the world!! Just ask all the dudes on opening day who drag their stingers full of em along the criks. Powerbait probably tastes better. For real......some of that stuff actually looks yummy
 
Stock streams that can possibly sustain a year-round or almost year-round(Say September through June) trout fishery, but don't have many wild fish for whatever reason(poor spawning habitat, warm mid-late summer temps, etc). DON'T stock places that already have hard fighting and fun-to-fish-for wild trout, and places where the trout die off or easily get roped up by the end of May. Less rubber troot in the hatcheries = more room for hybrid stripers and 'eyes, etc..

So much for the Fish Commission worrying about PCB's in the Shenango River !  I guess 17,000 gallons of crude oil seeping in is trumped that problem. Those Trout are going to be slippery to hold onto now as well as wading those rocks ! Time to get the Dawn detergent ready ! Don't worry no Walleye were found dead ......... none left !!!
Maybe this is next..................