Fishing Report For Shenango River Lake, PA

By Rick Seaman

May 7, 2025

Popular Fish Species Reports
Shenango River Lake Fishing Video
Available Fish Species
Today's Weather & Forecast
Fishing Boat Rentals
Boat Launch Ramps
Marinas
Fishing License
Map
Contact Info

Fishing Report Shenango River Lake, PA

Fishing Reports

Popular Fish Species Shenango River Lake, PA

Black Crappie - White Crappie

Uncle Buck's Panfish Creatures Curly Tail Minnow Rigged

Current Report: Good To Very Good
Outlook: Very Good

Crappie fishing is quite good now at Shenango River Lake, as they are hanging out around shallow cover. Spring is the premiere time to be on the water and crappie the average crappie are running 12" to 16" or more. Bridge pilings, brush, wood and deep vegetation are holding crappie all over the lake. Small crappie jigs or live minnows are the top options. Once the spawn is over, and the hot Summer sun warms the shallows, crappie retreat to depths of 20 feet or deeper. Light tackle with 4 lb to 8 lb line is ideal. Crappie enthusiasts are reporting good success using fish finders and forward facing sonar to locate schools of crappie.

Channel Catfish

Current Report: Good To Very Good
Outlook: Very Good

Fishing for channel catfish is often productive around any kind of structure. There's plenty of structure in Shenango River Lake, and it is considered to be one of the top lakes in the area for channel cats. Fishing late in the day until midnight often produces the best fishing activity as this is prime feeding time for channel cats. Spring, and again in Fall, are some of the best time of year. Submerged road beds, creek channels and rocky points are all good places to begin. Line shad, cut bait, nightcrawlers and prepared baits are all catching some good size channel catfish, including some in the 25-pound class. Use a slip sinker or Carolina rig setup.

Largemouth Bass

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Good

Worms, jerkbaits, crankbaits and vibrating jigs are catching nice largemouth bass this month. Stick worms, rigged wacky style, are teasing wary bass into striking, especially some of the larger bass. By early June, warmer water temperatures will heat up the topwater bite with virtually any topwater lure. Later in the month, many of the better bass will move off-shore to ledges, humps and river channel edges with focus on schools of baitfish.

Fish species to fish for...

Guide to fishing for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish, black crappie, white crappie, walleye, bluegill, white bass, yellow perch, hybrid striped bass, muskie and northern pike at Shenango River Lake in Pennsylvania.

Fishing Video

Shenango River Lake is a 3,560-acre reservoir with 56 miles of shoreline to fish for bass, catfish, crappie, walleye, perch, bluegill, white bass, stripers, wipers, muskie and northern pike. Clark Recreation Area has a fishing pier and fish-cleaning station.

Primary fish species to catch

Click images for fishing tips and details about each species.

Today's Weather & Forecast

Fishing Boat Rentals

Click here for fishing boat rentals available at this lake.

Marinas

Click here for marinas available at this lake.

Public Boat Launch Ramps & Landings

Click here for boat ramps available at this lake.

Fishing License

Click here for a Pennsylvania Fishing License.

Map - Fishing & Access

Rick Seaman is a fishing enthusiast with over five decades of fishing experience, a retired tournament fisherman, author of numerous published articles on fishing, and co-author of the book "Bass Fishing - It's not WHAT you throw, It's WHERE you throw it".