Fall has long been regarded as a time when muskies become more active, a response driven by the need to build reserves for the coming winter.

While the arrival of the Labor Day holiday doesn’t mean the fish will start jumping in the boat, the fall period is indeed a great time to pursue muskies.

Lake LeBoeuf and Canadohta Lake — two of the seven glaciated lakes located in northwest Pennsylvania — harbor respectable musky populations. Though similarities exist between them, they differ enough to provide distinctive challenges. They also lie close enough to each other to make fishing both lakes in one day possible, a viable option if your physical energy is on par with your enthusiasm.

Bill Logan, of Warren County, has targeted muskies in his area’s waters for over 35 years. Here he shares his thoughts and musky-fishing knowledge.

Lake LeBoeuf

At 70 acres, Erie County’s Lake LeBoeuf is the smaller of these two natural lakes. Despite its location in a marsh-type setting, LeBoeuf is surprisingly deep.

“For a very small lake, it has water 26 feet deep,” Logan said. “There’s an island in the middle that has brush and tree growth that extends out into the water. It’s like fishing a large donut.”

Logan further explained that, with the exception of a small, man-made beach area, LeBoeuf is completely surrounded by a weedy, woody brush that forms the buffer between the true shoreline and open water. Bands of lily pads often extend from the near-shore brush out to the first drop off.

Logan said in most places the depths drop fairly quickly into four to seven feet of water, and that muskies (and northern pike) will often tuck up close to the shoreline cover.

Bottom contour-wise, Logan said LeBoeuf is pretty much a bowl, with a couple of exceptions, ones that tend to hold muskies well into the fall. This includes a bar that runs from the north end of the lake, and connects to the island; the bar features submerged vegetation that grows out into eight feet of water.

There is also a significant weed-bed along the west side of the island. Logan’s most productive spot is a shoreline-connected point found near the boat ramp, one that tops off around eight feet, and quickly drops into 16 feet on both sides.

Feeling crappies are one of LeBoeuf’s most important food fish. Logan typically uses flat-sided crankbaits and minnow baits in either white or silver patterns. He also likes sinking rubber lures like the Bulldog.

LeBoeuf is annually stocked with musky fingerlings by the Fish and Boat Commission, typically with around 350 per year. While there is no horsepower limitation, boats cannot exceed no-wake speeds. The Fish and Boat Commission has an access area off of Water Street in Waterford borough.

Canadohta Lake

When Fish and Boat Commission biologists surveyed Crawford County’s 169-acre Canadohta Lake in 2006, they collected good numbers of muskies up to 48 inches. The agency stocks the lake annually with fingerlings, usually at a rate of around 425 per year.

“Canadohta is one of the few lakes in the state that has a nice bed of submerged cabbage weed rimming most of the lake,” Logan said. “In some areas these weed-beds are thick, with a wall of weeds at the drop-off. In other places they are intermittent, tapering off more sparsely. But muskies use both types of areas there.”

Whereas submerged weeds like milfoil and coontail are clingy, cabbage weeds (a variety of pond-weed) are more crisp, and easier to fish around.

In places like northern Wisconsin, where musky fishing is as popular as deer hunting is in this state, cabbage weeds are often called musky weeds, so great is the association of the species to that type of cover.

Canadohta’s clear waters run as deep as the mid-20 foot range. The bottom is mostly sand and silt, with only a few areas having some gravel-sized rock.

“There are three decent sized points in the lake,” Logan noted. “One is very obvious, found on the east side of the lake, about two-thirds of the way down the lake. It’s right by the park and restaurant. There’s also a point on the northeast corner of the lake, where a creek comes in. And there’s one in the southwest corner, also where a small creek enters the lake.”

Though Logan has taken Canadohta muskies in water as shallow as five feet and as deep as 24, he spends most of his time hammering the outside edges of the weed-beds, which extend out to depths of around eight to nine feet.

Typically these weeds, especially the ones in deeper water, stay green well into the fall. He said Canadohta muskies don’t seem to have a color preference. Jerkbaits, such as custom jobs like those made by the late Ed Latiano of Ellwood City, are among Logan’s favorite Canadohta baits.

There’s a 10 horsepower limit on Canadohta. The Fish and Boat Commission has an access area on the lake’s west shore, off of Mount Pleasant Road.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle