State College, SC

[flyfishingNZ]

My wife and I are planning a day out bass fishing in our region this weekend, however where to go? We do not have a water craft so shore fishing is preferred.

On our list to try are (mainly because we have been to these places already for walks, but that does not mean we know where the fish are):

Whipple Dam
Black Moshannon
Bald eagle

An other places would be greatly appreciated.

 

[troutbert]

Juniata River for smallmouth. Between Huntingdon and Lewistown. There are some official PFBC access points, and some "casual access" points too, where you can park the car and wade fish.

Of the lakes you mentioned, I think Black Moshannon is probably the best bet. I think you may be able to rent a boat at the state park, but give them a call.

There are lots of sunfish in Black Mo. I saw in the paper recently that a kid caught a 6 1/2 lb bass there, which is huge for central PA.

It's just an interesting, scenic place, too. Enjoyable whether you catch much or not.

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear nz,

I know they have been working on these dams for the last few years so I'm not sure if the lakes are filled to capacity but you might want to check out Colyer Lake which is only a few miles east of State College just off Rte 322, and Lake Perez which is a University property out Rte 26 west of State College.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[BelAirSteve]

I second Colyer...a nice mix of fish, and with all the recent rains, it should be at a decent level. You can catch largemouth on top with poppers, and smallies and pickerel on streamers. You can wade out just where the shallows drop off and get into some crappie too. If you are fishing poppers and see boils but no takes, switch to streamers...that means the pickerel are cruising!

 

[troutbert]

Lake Perez was bone dry last year. I'm not sure, but I think it still is. There was some structural issue with the dam, so they drained it.

 

[flyfishingNZ]

So I have been out to Lake Colyer twice now and got into a range of fish, but no bass. Most of the time I have fished from 0800-1300 and had a lot of fun, but I would like to know when the best time is for some bass if there is one. So far I have fished from the shore and waded out a bit. Was going to go out again this weekend and try around the forest area as I have not made it around there yet.

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear NZ,

You caught a teary-eyed pickerel and you're asking for advice?

You should be writing books about your warm water exploits lad.

Seriously, the general wisdom says that during the warmer part of the year the best time to fish for bass is early in the mornng, or later in the evening as the sun sets.

Otherwise, just go fishing and see what bites.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[Fishidiot]

+1 on Tim's advice above.

Nice job on the pickerel. We don't see many nice pickerel pics here on Paff.

 

[flyfishingNZ]

Light rain and bass, that was the results of today. Finally got into a few bass today on Lake Colyer. However, when I went to try out my big poppers back came the pickerel, which was really decent but not my target species. Still, a very nice day out even with all this rain.