Knapp: From the Allegheny to Crooked Creek, my winter fishing preferences and strategies
The sound of the township snowplow clearing the nearby street on a recent stormy Sunday morning reinforced the accuracy of the snow event that had been forecast for the past several days.
And it was just starting.
Later, the day would be spent clearing the fluffy burden from the driveway, but in the meantime the otherwise still morning hours provided a time to meditate on spring fishing, which despite winter weather always comes around, though sometimes not as quickly as hoped.
For me, early spring fishing comes down to the best options based on weather, water conditions and access.
A favorite is walleye fishing on the rivers of western Pennsylvania, namely the lower Allegheny and Ohio rivers. Based on online videos on the Monongahela, the walleye population is in excellent shape there. It’s been years since I fished the Mon, and I’d like to give it a revisit.
The season ends in mid-March, so whether or not this becomes a reality will be based on whether the rivers are still iced up, as well as the condition of boat ramps, which are often covered with snow, ice and mud.
By early April, river smallmouth bass will be up and chewing. The pools out of East Brady, Parker and Oil City will all be worthy of attention. And like the river walleye scenario much will have to do with access.
Another nearby early spring smallmouth destination is the Piney Dam section of the Clarion River. Smallmouth bass filter into this long, winding reservoir from the free-flowing sections above during the fall, wintering over in the semi-currentless deeper holes.
From ice-out until mid-spring, the action can be outstanding, though a bit hit-or-miss as the fish begin moving back upriver toward the natural river. But when you find them, the number count can soar.
As much as I love river fishing, at times it’s the lakes that provide the first open water fishing (for warmwater/coolwater species) of the year as river ramps are buried in ice and mud.
Assuming the lake level has risen from rain and snow melt, Keystone Lake will be my first destination for bass.
Submerged cribs and brushpiles in the 15- to 25-foot zone will hold bass, largemouths mostly, ones that typically respond to a gold-colored blade bait vertically jigged near the woody cover. The bass can be stacked on specific pieces of cover. Find the right one and the drudgery of the recent winter will vanish. Crappies, and occasionally yellow perch, can be part of the mix, as well.
By the time the dogwood trees start to blossom on the hillsides, Keystone’s bass are usually moving toward the shallows. Targeting the 4- to 10-foot zones along rocky/sandy shores will provide lots of bites from prespawn bass.
Crooked Creek Lake and Lake Arthur are my ice-out crappie destinations. Crooked Creek is more of a numbers game, while the chance for quality-sized fish is greater at Arthur.
Once the ice is clear at Crooked Creek and the launch has reopened, I’ll focus on the upper part of the lake which warms quicker, plying laydowns and brushpiles in 10- to 25-feet of water. But since Crooked Creek is a flood control lake, it is subject to being closed due to rising water levels.
It always pays to check the status of the access. The Corps office does a nice job of doing so on a regular basis via its Facebook page.
Arthur will find me on the lower end of the lake at ice-out, zeroing in on cribs and brushpiles along the old Muddy Creek channel. As the water warms, I’ll fish more out of the 525 access area, plying wood cover within the three major bays as well as the main lake basin from the 528 bridge to Neely’s Point.
Pymatuning’s early spring walleye fishing is another annual event, though the action was slow last year due to a glut of Gizzard shad. But shad don’t fare well during harsh winters, so maybe the tough conditions we’re now enduring will thin the herd and make the ’eyes more catchable.
I can’t wait to find out.
Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.
