ANDOVER After having such good luck last year fishing and camping at Pymatuning Reservoir, my wife, Jeannie, and I were anxious to get back there this spring to see if it was just beginner’s luck, or that the lake really is a premier fishing destination.
The short answer is yes, the fishing is fantastic.
Pymatuning is at 17,000-acre lake that sits on the Ohio and Pennsylvania border, with the state line going right down the middle of it. The lake is co-managed by both the Ohio and Pennsylvania departments of natural resources, and a fishing license from either state is valid when fishing in its waters.
About a 2-hour and 15-minute drive from Wooster, the lake is ringed with campgrounds, marinas, beaches, cabins, picnic areas and launch ramps, making it easy to access the water and take advantage of everything the area has to offer.
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Once again, we stayed at the Pymatuning State Park campground on the Ohio side, and were just 100 feet away from the boat ramp and just a five-minute paddle to our fishing spot that has now produced for two years in a row.
The campground has 352 sites, so getting a reservation usually isn’t a problem, however, getting one with full hookup is a lot easier during the week than on the weekend. The campground has heated showers, restrooms and laundry facilities, and just up the road are another 58 cabins that can be rented.
Camp site up, supper is over, so it’s time to cast off
After setting up the camper and eating supper, Jeannie and I headed to the same spot we had success at last year, and it wasn’t long before we started catching fish.
An eagle was munching on its own supper on the shore, and after having its fill, flew up to a tall tree for some people watching. It would fly off its perch and soar around the lake, then come back as to keep and eye on us as we caught bluegill, crappie, perch and smallmouth and largemouth bass in and amongst the weedy bay that we were fishing in.
There also was lots of commotion in the water around us, as carp were in their spawning rituals, rolling, splashing and muddying up the shallow waters. It didn’t seem to affect the fishing, though.
Out on the main lake, boats were trolling for walleye, but Jeannie proved you didn’t need to cover water to catch them as she reeled in a nice 22-incher on a Ned Rig by popping it through the weeds.
The next morning I headed out on a solo trip to the same spot, and the eagle was there to greet me. The fishing wasn’t as good as the night before, but I did manage a 12-inch black crappie and a nice smallie, before heading back for brunch.
Checking out the eagles and shore birds on Conneaut Bay
After that, it was off to Conneaut, on the shores of Lake Erie, about a 30-mile drive north from Pymatuning. We went to check out the eagles and shore birds on Conneaut Bay, to fish some on Conneaut Creek and to have supper to cap the day. We saw several immature eagles while walking out to the observation platform, along with Egrets and shorebirds, took a short stroll on the boardwalk, then headed to the creek for a walk and fishing.
The water was down, but the stream fishing and eagle watching was fantastic. Two mature eagles flew the river and kept landing just ahead of us as we walked and fished upstream. Fishing the deep pools, I landed six smallmouth bass, including a 3-pounder, and two rock bass in just over and hour of fishing.
After that, it was back to the bay, where we relaxed and took in the views high atop Conneaut Township Park, then ate dinner looking out on the water at Breakwall BBQ, before heading back to the campground.
Next stop, Pymatuning and Linesville Spillway
The next day we drove across Pymatuning to Pennsylvania to check out Conneaut Lake and Meadville. We had a picnic lunch at Bicentennial Park on the banks of French Creek in Meadville, where I tossed in a line, but the only thing I caught was the bottom.
On the way back to the campground, we stopped at Pymatuning Reservoir’s most famous attraction, the Linesville Spillway on the Pennsylvania side. The spillway is where carp congregate and if your timing is right, you’ll literally see thousands of them, so thick it’s said the ducks and geese walk on their backs as people throw bread to feed fowl and fish.
There were no geese walking on the backs of the carp, but there were hundreds of geese and thousands of carp swimming at the spillway, admittedly a cool sight and one not to be missed if you’re ever in the area.
Fishing causeway gives you a choice of north or south, depending on how the wind blows
Before heading back across the lake, we had to stop at the designated shore fishing pulloff on the causeway (both Pennsylvania and Ohio have causeway fishing), and I caught a few small bass and perch. It’s also a favorite spot for boat fishermen, with some trolling just off the rip-rap for walleye, and others fishing for perch and crappie with minnows and bobbers.
The great thing about fishing the causeway is you can pick either the north or south side, depending on which way the wind is blowing.
After dinner that night, with our eagle buddy watching us again, we caught more bass and bluegill, and Jeannie also jigged up a 12 1/2-inch jumbo perch, again on the Ned Rig in vegetation.
Then before packing up to come home the next morning, we decided to fish around Stockers Island, where there are less weeds and more rocks and gravel on the bottom, and we managed six more smallmouth bass to round out our trip.
For fishing out of a kayak, and barely targeting an area bigger than two football fields, the fishing at Pymatuning was once again fantastic, and the side trips were equally rewarding. And making it all the better, we got to fish with the eagles.
Outdoor correspondent Art Holden can be reached at letsplabal@yahoo.com.
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