Page 7 - Fishing Report | 08-10-16

on shoreline blowdowns, six feet deep. Some crappies came from deeper brush at 13
feet with an 8-count on the jig. I left at 1:30 pm with the fish still biting. Just got too hot
for me. Shenango Lake is the best lake to fish during the summer as heavy boat traffic
doesn’t deter the fish from biting. Get out and enjoy a good day of fishing and take
some crappies home for fish fry!

Darl Black (Cochranton); filed 8/3: This week I fished Shenango Lake
with Rick Como of Sharpsville for a few hours one afternoon to gather
material for a Pennsylvania Angler & Boater article about white bass
and hybrid stripers. Although Rick routinely catches hybrids, we struck
out on hooking and landing one on this trip. Rick did, however, land
several very impressive white bass. These white bass were bigger than
any I have ever caught from the lake. Rick looks for the schooling activ-
ity on his depthfinder then he trolls a crankbait through the school. I
enjoy catching feisty white bass – especially when they are in the 14 to
17 inch range. Based on what I observed, it seems to me Shenango is
the new white bass capital of Pennsylvania. (See photos)

Mark Domhoff (Cochranton); filed 8/1: I’ve been fishing quite a bit in the Shenango Riv-
er below Shenango Dam, and enjoying the variety of species there. Using mainly worms,
leeches and minnows as bait, we have caught walleyes, pike and some nice flathead
catfish. (See photos in Livewell)

The Mercer Pits
Kevin Austin (Farrell); filed 8/5: Hey Darl, I caught this nice 14-inch
crappie at a strip mine pit that I fish regularly. I also caught thirteen
10-inch bluegills that day from the pit. (See photo)
(Editor’s note: As I teen with a car, I discovered just how great old
strip mine pit fishing in Mercer County could be for a variety of spe-
cies. Located on private property, most of the ones I fished back in
the 70s are now closed to the public. If you have permission to fish a
strip, be sure to carry out everything you carried in.)

VENANGO COUNTY

Justus Lake
Angler Al @ Buttermilk Hill; filed 7/29: I took guest Kathy and her granddaughter Leach
to Justus Lake. We trolled live chubs and shiners along the weedline near the Beach area
and across the lake from the Beach. The Catch of the Day would have been a hog large-
mouth bass weighing over 5 pounds…if the fish hadn’t collaborated with a weedbed and