I've had opportunity to get out and do some fall fishing while the majority seem preoccupied with hunting. I've been hitting it hard the last two weeks with just my neoprenes, a bucket of bait, and not a soul to be seen, haha!
In addition to chasing the walleyes around on the lower stretches of the Allegheny, I made visits to the Woodcock Creek Lake (outflow), Lake Arthur (outflow), and Shenango (Outflow)
Despite the freezing cold weather, the fish seemed more than willing to cooperate. I had an entire series of photos that I wanted to post to accompany my fishing reports, but my IPhone had an unfortunate encounter with the water.
So a brief report for each. I fished soley using live bait (Fatheads & Shiners) setting about 2-4 feet of line under a slip float. This technique seemed to work well for me, given that these outflow areas are shallow, rocky, and snag infested.
Woodcock Creek ~ 3 weeks ago.
4 walleyes (all 10-14 inches) 1 large crappie (12-13 inches), and several small bass.
Lake Arthur ~last Sat.
3 walleyes (10-14 inches) and 1 large hybrid striper (25-26 inches)
Shenango ~ last Sunday
10 smallmouth bass (10-15 inches), 2 largemouth (8-12 inches), 1 rainbow trout (12 inches) 2 walleye (1 14 incher and 1 25 incher) I thought long and hard about keeping the big girl, but decided to put her back.
Too bad I couldn't get to share my pictures, but overall I was impressed with fishing. In the future I might have to put in more time in late Oct & November and hit these areas. Last Sat and Sun were extremely brutal with the highs only in the low 30's and standing in the frigid water. I was also impressed with the numbers and different species that I caught at Shenango. If only it weren't an 82 mile trip each way for me .