Lake Erie and tributaries (Erie County) Up-and-down pool levels made fishing difficult, and open water over slow pools was hard to find. Nevertheless, anglers reported steelhead hookups in all of the major tributaries. Single eggs and live minnows under a bobber were effective, as were single egg patterns and Wooly Buggers. Anglers reported 1 to 3 inches of ice had formed in shallow lagoons but safe bay ice was still several days to a week away. In the bay, yellow perch were hard to reach from shore.
Pymatuning Reservoir (Mercer County) Ice looked good in some places but remained unsafe for fishing.
Conneaut Lake (Mercer County) On Thursday, ice remained too risky. If the weather holds it could be safe next week.
Shenango Reservoir (Mercer County) No safe ice. Skim ice was reported at shorelines. Fish and Boat reminds anglers that the lake is now managed under the Panfish Enhancement Lake program. Crappies must be 9 inches to harvest and the creel limit dropped to 20.
Allegheny River (Forest County) Muskies, northerns and walleye went for creek chubs and other live bait. In the Tionesta Outflow, muskellunge and walleye continued to be taken from the wall.
Allegheny River (Armstrong County) Warm weather contributed to high water levels and boat launches were operational. Muskies and walleye were caught.
Bradys Run Lake (Beaver County) Skim ice continued to form.
North Park Lake (Allegheny County) An angler reported a sheet of thin white ice covered much of the shallow Pond below Babcock Boulevard early Thursday morning, but it dissolved by 9 a.m. Two rainbow trout were hooked from shore using a tipped jig and twister tail; both were released.
Twin Lakes (Westmoreland County) A few anglers were seen showing up with ice fishing gear and leaving disappointed. Tipped jigs thrown from shore attracted rainbow trout.
Northmoreland Lake (Westmoreland County) Don’t test the morning ice — it remained far too thin to support an angler. Fishing from the pier in the middle of the lake was consistently good early in the day. Trout anglers using live bait or paste bait under bobbers took daily limits. Some rainbows went for live minnows suspended at various depths depending on time of day.
Laurel Hill Lake (Somerset County) Trout were taken by shore anglers fishing near the inflow. No safe ice was reported.
High Point Lake (Somerset County) No reports of fishable ice, but skim ice formed near exposed structure.
Cross Creek Lake (Washington County) A few anglers were spotted fishing from shore. No safe ice.
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First Published: January 18, 2019, 5:00 a.m.
