Fishing Report For Blue Marsh Lake, PA

Current Report: Good

FALL. Now that Fall has arrived, bass here have moved shallow, following schools of baitfish into coves and shallow bays around 4 to 10 feet of water. Locals report the northern section of the lake to be the best area to start. Brushy shorelines in the Blue Marsh Lake Park area can be ideal this time of year. Currently topwater, jerkbaits, crankbaits, and slow-rolled spinnerbaits are catching most of the bass. Later in Fall, as deeper water cools, bait and bass move out to ledges, channel edges, points and humps where flutter spoons, jigs and drop shots are often good choices in 8 to 20 feet of water.

WINTER. Winter will isolate largemouth around slightly deeper structure, flats, points and creek channels. They can be found from 15 to 30 feet deep. Here they hold, feeding less frequently, awaiting warmer water to return in Spring. Slow presentations are key to getting bites.

SPRING. Once water temperatures rise into the low 60's, largemouth will move from deep wintering holes, to shallower water nearby spawning areas. Locals report the northern section of the lake to hold a good concentration of bass during the spawn cycle. Brushy shorelines in the Blue Marsh Lake Park area can be ideal, as well. Vibrating jigs, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits typically get bites just away from the shoreline. At this time they are feeding aggressively in about 10 to 15 feet of water, and preparing for the spawn. Once water warms into the mid to high 60's, they will move into 2 to 4 feet of water, and create nests, then lay their eggs. Immediately afterwards, females move to deeper water and males remain to guard the eggs, and then the fry. After a couple weeks, the males also move to slightly deeper water. Crankbaits, vibrating jigs, plastic worms and swimbaits are catching bass during this period.

SUMMER. Water temperatures will warm considerably in Summer. Bass will feed shallow, early and late in the day, where they will be caught on topwater, crankbaits and swimbaits. Wacky-rigged stick worms always catch finicky bass when the bite is slow. Largemouth bass here feed on gizzard shad, small sunfish and crawfish. During the hotter parts of the day, they are being caught on points, channel edges, and ledges 12 to 25 feet deep.

Current Report: Good To Very Good

Smallies also reside here and tend to concentrate in the deeper, clearer water on the Southern half of the lake. Rocky areas, especially rocky points are a good place to find smallmouth. Crawfish-imitating crankbaits, like the Rapala DT-6, are a good choice.

FALL. As Fall arrives, smallmouth here follow schools of baitfish into coves and bays 5 to 10 feet deep. The section of lake from the State Hill Boat Launch to the Blue Marsh Lake Dam gets reports of good numbers. This is where jerkbaits, crankbaits, and slow-rolled spinnerbaits, are quite successful. The average fish being caught averages about 1 to 2 pounds, but occasionally 4 to 5 pound smallies are caught. Fishing shallow for smallmouth is often good on cold, windy, cloudy and rainy days.

WINTER. Winter will isolate them around deeper structure, points, flats and creek channels, often suspending in open water above these features. They can generally be found from 15 to 30 feet deep. Tube baits, drop shots and Ned rigs often produce when fished wit a very slow presentation. Here they hold, feeding less frequently, awaiting warmer water to return in Spring.

SPRING. When water temperatures rise into the 50's now, smallmouth have moved from deep wintering spots to shallower water, just outside spawning areas. They feeding heavily in 4 to 8 feet of water at this time, and are typically caught on jerkbaits, crankbaits, tube baits, Ned rigs, and crayfish imitating plastics. Once water warms into the high 50's, they move into shallower water, and create nests in gravel or sand areas, then lay their eggs. Females then move to deeper water and males remain to guard the eggs, and then the fry. After a couple weeks, the males also move to 10 to 15 feet deep, and feed aggressively. Crankbaits, tube baits, Ned rigs, plastic worms, spoons and swimbaits are catching smallies during this period.

SUMMER. Smallmouth bass feed shallow early and late in the day during the hot-weather months, where they are being caught on topwater, crankbaits, swimbaits, Ned rigs and tube baits. Smallmouth bass here feed on crawfish, gizzard shad, and small sunfish. They prefer rocky or gravel bottom areas, as this is where crayfish live. During the hotter parts of the day, they are being caught on points, humps, and ledges 15 to 25 feet deep. Often these deeper fish are part of a large school of smallmouth.

Current Report: Good

FALL. In Fall, stripers are drawn back to 10 to 25 feet of water, as well as the upper end of the lake into inflowing water. Look for deeper sections in the upper river channels, and fish them thoroughly. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission reports the lake record striper to be 48 pounds.

WINTER. In Winter, stripers again hang out in deeper water and feed close to the bottom, often as deep as 80 feet. Warm, sunny afternoons occasionally draw stripers shallower, to around 25 or 45 feet deep as they feed on roaming schools of gizzard shad. Locate schools of bait, then look for stripers close by. Fish finders, and forward facing sonar, are a big help in locating these roaming schools. Nice stripers are caught while drift fishing with live bait or cut bait. Spoons, blade baits, and heavy hair jigs are also effective this time of year. Due to the stripers slower metabolism this time of year, anglers are triggering more strikes by working baits more slowly.

SPRING. Water temperatures are return to the mid 60's, and that's ideal for the stripers to spawn. In Spring, work the upper end of the lake, and the backs of coves, where there is inflowing water. If they spawn, this is where they will lay eggs in the moving water. They also move into transition zones on the main lake, feeding on baitfish which are moving into the shallows. Expect to locate them on mid-depth ledges, flats or points.

SUMMER. In Summer, stripers hang out in deeper water during the heat of the day and feed close to the bottom, 25 or 45 feet deep. Morning often draws the stripers to much shallower water, so look for them around the 15 to 20-foot range as they feed on shallow, roaming schools of gizzard shad. Being successful at fishing for stripers is a matter of locating schools of bait, and wolf packs of stripers are likely to be nearby. Fish finders are a big help in locating these roaming schools. The channel on both sides of the big island tends to hold big schools of stripers. Swimbaits, jigs, spoons, live bait and cut bait are all effective here. Nice stripers are being caught while trolling or drift fishing. Spoons, blade baits, crankbaits, live bait and cut bait are all effective here.