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Time to Fish!
Well, it is time to shift gears over to fishing now. Oakland Catholic was too much for the Lady Dragons last nite. I plan to get the boat in the water on Sunday (after Saturday’s storm moves thru) to make sure the boat is running right.
Good Luck and stay tuned!
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It was a little too crappy out on Sunday just to go for a test drive! This weekend looks much better.
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My addiction to the NCAA wrestling tournament might keep at home today…..plus, the rain might suck just enough to keep me from a Saturday test drive.
. Leaning towards doing this on Sunday morning after the snow flurries are finished. I never feel comfortable taking Spring customers out before doing a complete boat check. Varmints have a way of chewing up wires and building nests in strange places no matter how much “deterrent” is used in my (heated) boat garage.
Water temps are finally warming up after some decent weather here in NW Siberia (I mean PA).
Stay tuned and good luck!
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We decided to reschedule today’s and tomorrow’s trips to wait for warmer weather and water temps. River outflow temps are in the 37-38 degree range and the discharge level is running fairly high. Muskies, Pike, Trout and Bass can be targeted, currently. The harvesting of bass ends on April 8 and then the C/R season lasts until 6/15. The harvesting of trout on the Trophy Trout section of river (Kinzua Dam to the Confluence of the Conewango) is between the opening day of trout season and Labor Day.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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We chased big browns after my appointment yesterday and lost every fish we hooked. They were not aggressively hitting our artificial lures so we slowed things waaaaaay down which made things even tougher to get the hooks to bite. Water temps at 38.3 is some of the coldest water I have ever seen for April Fools Day. The horizontal sleet storms also made things more fun for us. The river is very stained at the moment and did not help our cause either.
We decided not to fish today or tomorrow and push them to later this Spring. Today is looking like a good day to scrub down my boat since it will be above freezing.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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Another weekend of crappy weather and water conditions coming up. We decided to push this weekend’s fishing to a later date. I am still trying to understand how the bad weather always seems to fall on the weekends. Last year we had weekend snow during the second week of May!
With Spring Break beginning on Monday, I will be on the water every day. Let’s hope the water clears up some before then.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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We decided to fish the high water yesterday since the visibility was better. The bite was tough for us but Dave managed to stick a beautiful musky and lose a huge (accidental) walleye at boatside. The wind/rain/hail was a pleasure to endure.
We are not fishing in this crap today. Temps in the 60’s beginning tomorrow. Let’s hope the fish like it!
Good luck and stay tuned!
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After we decided to reschedule Monday and Tuesday’s trip, I hit the water solo for about 6 hours looking for pike in some “less traveled” locations. Sometimes you need to get out of your comfort zone and try new areas when conditions change. I had 6 fish moving (5 pike and 1 smaller musky) but couldn’t get them to eat at boatside. The fish seem to be coming out of the cold water funk but still not as active as I would like to see.
I forgot to mention the crazy strike that Dave had on Saturday. We pulled into an area and within the first 10 casts, Dave hooked the 2nd largest fish I have ever seen on the Allegheny. As soon as he hooked up, the fish immediately broke water and for an instant we both thought it looked like a sturgeon but it was a Paddlefish. As soon as she landed and rolled the lure popped out. We both agreed she looked to be in the 55-60 inch range including the bill. (The largest fish was another Paddlefish we had follow up back in ‘13 or ‘14.) It would have been the 4th paddlefish landed by my boat over the past 15 years and the previous 3 were hooked squarely in the mouth. Who said these fish won’t eat large meals?
Today’s plan is to hit a different stretch of river while looking for pockets of active fish. A different weather pattern coming today so let’s see what happens.
Stay tuned and good luck!
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After 6 hours of chasing pike in areas I rarely fish, the net stayed dry again today. I did not even move a fish in the ‘abnormal’ sunny conditions. The river may have bumped up a little bit while I was out there as well.
We will chase bass and pike today while hoping to get spared by any thunderstorms passing thru.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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We moved 3 decent pike in the first 4 hours then the crazy storms hammered us. After a very short discussion, we decided to seek shelter and call it a day. We were just fishing and enjoying great conversation when we began to noticed the severe temperature drop. As we looked downriver, the black clouds were coming and the big thunder began. The days of fishing during lightning storms are long gone.
Today, we are going to pound Tionesta Lake and see if she will cough up a nice musky or two.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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We worked our butts off yesterday while fishing thru big winds, a rainy morning and a flooded lake. The result was a dry net and no Esox sightings either. I am taking today off and will be back down there on Saturday to take another shot.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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Another rainy and cold morning yesterday. Within the first hour, we raised a big fish but could not get her to take Ian’s fly. After 7 more hours of grinding, we just couldn’t find anyone hungry. Lake levels are slowly receding and the temp dropped a degree or two.
No Easter fishing for me this year. I did wake up to an inch of snow this morning…..will it ever stop.
Good luck, stay tuned and Happy Easter!
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Another tough couple of days chasing toothies for my boat. We did catch some accidental pre-spawn smallies and had several rutting rainbows chasing our musky baits but no Esox sightings at all. We hit Tionesta on Saturday and decided to give the high-running river a shot on Sunday. The weather sure was nice but the Esox did not seem too turned on. Clear water fishing sure can be brutal.
The lake and river temps are finally headed in the right direction. Thunderstorms forecasted for today and snow coming on Wednesday. 
Good luck and stay tuned!
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Another lackluster weekend of musky fishing for my boat. We were sunburned on Sunday and rained out after 3 hours on Sunday. Booker had a decent fish follow on Saturday and 0 sightings on a shortened day on Sunday. River water temps range between 43 and 47 depending on location. Just when the river is ready to come down to normal levels, we get smacked with more rain yesterday and more forecasted for this week.
Water temps are slowly coming up but we are still behind the norm for May. The water clarity has been super clear as well but yesterday’s rain should have added some stain by now.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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Eric had a very nice musky hooked up around 10:15 on Saturday but 1/2 way back to the boat, she hit a nice gator roll and was gone. That was our only action of the day.
We decided not to fish for trout today after the river was bumped up for the 2nd time this week. It would have been a rough trolling battery grind with 4 of us in the boat fighting the current.
I am really forward to warming water and lower river levels sometime soon. I have officially had enough high water fishing.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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I had some inexperienced musky hunters out today and we had a good time but the fishing was poor wherever my boat was parked. We couldn’t buy a pike either. We only fished about 6 hours or so. The River temps are in the prime spawning temp range but at least the river was as low as it has been in 11 weeks.
We are hoping Day 2 provides some different results.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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After a last-minute decision to chase bass and walleye, we ended up having a pretty good day. We only netted a couple prespawn bass with the bulk of our fish being males or juvenile females. We landed about 15 smallies and 2 post spawn walleye in about 6 hours. Water temps were 55-57 where we were fishing. No accidental pike or musky.
A busy 3-day fishing weekend coming up for us. Muskies/pike on Saturday and a Presque Isle smallmouth hunt for Sunday and Monday. Let’s hope the weather is normal and the water keeps warming up.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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Been a hectic 3 days! On Saturday’s Allegheny trip, Elias the 7 year old manchild, had 2 toothies hooked-up (1 musky and 1 nice pike) but they both shook off. Al and Dave both had muskies chase them to the boat but could not convert. We did net a couple accidental bass and a smaller pike while down-sizing our baits later in the day.
Sunday’s smallmouth trip to Presque Isle was met with a nasty, rainy cold front with air temps dropping 30 degrees from the day before and 20-25 mph winds constantly pounding us. The fishing was decent in the morning but got very tough by noon. We mainly caught smaller males but a few prespawn females were netted. As the last boat left around 2:30, we decided to pack it in too.
Monday was a much better day as the fishing picked up as the temps rose into the afternoon. We had a very diversified species day with smallmouth, largemouth, pike, rock bass, perch and a single bowfin to round it out. I was surprised at the sizes of the pike that kept eating our jerkbaits and shiners over the 2 days. Our heaviest smallie was around 4-5 pounds and all 7 pike were 30+ inches except for 1 that was 28”. Water temps ranged between 64 on Sunday and 61 on Monday.
We are planning to do the same trip this coming weekend and battle the craziness known as Memorial Day.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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After a final discussion regarding the crazy amount of water traffic on Presque Isle this weekend, we decided to postpone our trip. So, we spread 6 yards of mulch and a few other outdoor jobs yesterday and more of the same slated for today.
Be safe and good luck out there!
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Saturday was a good day on the water. Anthony (who is 14), caught his first musky and he had a larger fish shake off a couple hours later on a Rig Boss 7”. Craig had an extremely tight follow just before noon but couldn’t get the fish to commit and that was it for us. Noon to 2pm was the dead zone for my boat.
A little later start for our musky hunt today as travel plans get tweaked a bit.
I have gotten away from posting pics the last couple years but since this was Anthony’s first musky, here it is:
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Sunday’s musky hunt started off with us visiting each spot where we had action the previous day with the hopes of finding a hungry fish. Instead, we fished thru those areas 2x but no action at all. We ended the day without seeing an Esox anywhere.
Water temps were 63-64.5 where we were fishing and clarity was very good. Another week of school in NY and then back at it again for the weekend.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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We had a very slow morning looking for an Esox until Ben hooked his first-ever musky around 1pm. He fought the fish thru the first set of headshakes and then his line went slack and the fish was gone. That was the only action of the day as we quit at 2.
River temps were 62-64 depending on location with some stain leftover from Wednesday’s heavy rains.
Today, we will chase muskies again with some first-time musky hunters. Let’s hope the lightning holds off long enough to squeeze in the trip.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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Another crew of first-time Esox hunters decided to try their luck on Sunday as John kicked off the day with his first-ever pike around 8am and then Steve (father) scored his first-ever musky around 10am. I’m sure glad I had the proper release tools because the fish gator rolled himself into a giant web of netting. After cutting some hooks and pulling the net out of her mouth, we managed a successful release. Steve also lost a big smallie after a few acrobatic jumps.
As soon as we get some consistent warm temps, I think the river will wake up and come alive again. I am just not seeing the normal surface activity or baitfish schools like I was just a couple weeks ago. The birds of prey hunting the river have been scarce which usually means their food source is staying deeper where the water is warmer. We have actually lost a degree or two since last weekend.
Good luck and stay tuned!
Last edited by Red Childress; 07-08-2022 at 07:18 AM.
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We pounded on a steamy Chautauqua Lake yesterday looking for muskies. After a slow few hours, we had an upper 30’s come in on a Musky Bomb, take a couple laps and left. The second fish was much larger (mid to upper 40’s) on a Beaver and showed up last-minute from underneath…….One lap later she left but we brought her back for another 1/2 lap and gone. The third fish was around 40 and went around a few times, left and came back and left for good. A fun day and a little frustrating.
Back at it Saturday looking for bass/walleye.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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We set sail yesterday looking for walleye and bass during a serious weather change. This cold front is about as bad as you can get. We had on extra sweatshirts as well. There was still some overcast during the first few hours and that was when all of our action occurred. We scored a few bass and had a small muskie boil at boatside. Then the sun popped out and we saw nothing the rest of the day. The river levels are low for sure.
Today, Jeff is chasing a musky with the fly rod. We are hoping the crazy winds from yesterday have calmed a bit.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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We had a successful day as Jeff was able to score his first PA musky on the fly rod. He also had another (larger) fish hooked up for a few head shakes until it rolled on the surface and was gone. The first fish came out of nowhere and crushed his fly at boatside. It was one of the coolest boatside attacks I have seen in awhile. That fish measured at 37”. I will post pics as soon as I get them.
Today will be a little shorter musky trip while using traditional reels.
Good luck and stay tuned!
Last edited by Red Childress; 07-08-2022 at 07:14 AM.
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We musky fished a few different areas today and only had 2 small pike and a big smallie slash at the boat. There were absolutely no musky sightings.
That was (likely) the last weekend of RIVER fishing for my boat until school starts back in September. I will stick with weekdays on the river to avoid the water traffic. I am heading to Chautauqua Lake this weekend to hunt some toothies.
River temps climbed back up a little as the cold front finally pulled out.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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We had a good day on Saturday with 3 muskies and 1 largemouth hitting the bag…..plus 4 follows. The 3 fish measured at 37, 40 and 43. Adam was finally able get his first boatside musky around 10:40 and she put on quite the show before being scooped up. The largest fish we saw was in the 46-47” range. We are starting earlier today so we can beat the afternoon storms.
The south end of Chautauqua water temp was 74 in the morning and got to 79 before we quit. The heat dome was real yesterday! Today’s plan will be very similar to yesterday’s. Leo’s and Shallow Invaders seemed to be a reliable food source yesterday. They will be on the breakfast menu this morning as well.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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It’s amazing how things can change in 24 hours. We had a very slow day yesterday with only a smallmouth and a largemouth hitting the net. We saw zero action from the muskies before quitting at 2:30.
Today, we will do a half day of bass and walleye before the sun gets overhead. I am not sure where we will fish until checking to see if we have any muddy tributaries after the storms last evening.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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We needed some sweatshirts this morning as a pretty decent cold front moves thru the area this week. The river was stained but still fishable as Brian landed his first ever musky around 7:30 as well as 7 bass hitting the bag. We had another 2-3 fish shake off before seeing them. We did see a big walleye flash at boatside but that was it until we quit around 11:30. The musky was around 34 inches and caught on bass tackle.
Water temps dropped a little with the cooler weather. This morning will be a similar plan.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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A little cooler than Monday morning and we even had some patchy fog as well. The bite was tougher for us but Nate came thru with 2 plump walleye in the 19-23” range plus a couple small bass while Brian scored the largest bass around 18”. We quit at 11 with no (sharp) toothy sightings.
We will chase a mixed bag of fish this morning while just trying to get a rod bent. River fishing techniques will be the primary focus this morning and catching will be secondary.
Water temps have been kinda stagnant the past few days.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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We hit a few bass and a decent pike but lost a boatside musky strike after a few thrashing headshakes and 1 other musky follow before we quit at 11:30. We threw a mixed bag of lures and had action from a mixed bag of fish.
I was nice to sleep past sunrise today in preparation for a little evening brown trout hunt coming later today.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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We had to deal with an ‘abbreviated’ evening trout hunt last nite due to travel snags. John tried to work his fly magic but couldn’t find any takers. Water temps near the dam were 62 when we left before dark.
I am taking a few days off until the 5th. Again, we will be looking for browns on the fly.
Good luck and stay tuned.
Have a happy 4th!
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Ken decided he did not want to get wet this morning so we cancelled our trout hunt. We will give it a shot on Thursday. The river flow is low but stable. Over the next couple of days, my wife and I might poke around a few areas known to hold big walleye and see if she can get one.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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Ken and Mitch worked nymphs and streamers for 4 hours yesterday morning and had 5 takes but could not get the hooks to stick. We worked several different areas but just couldn’t get the net wet.
My wife and youngest daughter hit the river for the afternoon shift. After my wife loses a decent smallie at boatside, she still took a 1/2 point lead for her efforts. It wasn’t until I made an “illegal” cast that brought the first walleye to the net. Our short tournament concluded under protest and video will be examined sometime today to declare the winner.
Andy and I are planning to musky fish Chautauqua this weekend but we haven’t decided which day yet. It won’t be long before the Chautauqua water will be hitting the 80 degree mark.
Good luck and stay tuned!
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