 |
|
Take youngsters out for white bass when the summer jumps are occurring and they’ll be hooked on fishing. |
On Conneaut Lake during summer, white bass push young-of-the-year gizzard shad to the surface. Then all heck breaks loose. Predators slash through fingerling shad schools. Individual prey fish separated from the pack skip across the surface trying to escape the jaws of death chomping at their tails.
If you can move quickly into casting range of a surface eruption before the fish sound, vicious strikes are guaranteed.
Conneaut has produced the last four Pennsylvania state-record white bass during a span of two decades. Bob Hornstrom caught the present record of 3.98 pounds in 2002.
“White bass reproduction appears inconsistent,” said Hornstrom, who has been fishing Conneaut for 30 years. “A couple years of low numbers are followed by strong year-classes. This past year, the white bass were as fat as I have seen them. I fully expect my record to be broken in 2009, likely in the fall when whites are feeding nonstop. I just hope that I do it.”
At 925 acres, clear-water Conneaut is Pennsylvania’s largest natural lake. It produces quality-size fish of several species, including a 54-pound, 3-ounce, state-record muskie. Shallow flats covered with thick aquatic weeds yield a nutrient-rich environment, while multiple deep-water basins separated by midlake humps capped with gravel provide a variety of fish-holding structures.
“If you want to get kids excited about fishing, take ’em white bass fishing,” said Hornstrom, who has introduced several youngsters to the lightning-fast action provided by this often overlooked fish.
When bass are chasing bait on the surface during July and August, Hornstrom targets them with a topwater chugger. However, while explosive hits are exciting, hook-up ratios aren’t that great. Better connections will be made with a 3-inch swim-tail grub on a one-quarter-ounce lead-head jig retrieved just under the surface.
Although Hornstrom always keeps one eye peeled for surface activity, white bass jumps rarely occur during the middle of the day, perhaps due to the intense recreational boating traffic. When the sun is directly overhead, Hornstrom turns his attention to other species.
 |
| The summertime white bass surface-schooling action means fast, exciting action from hard-hitting fish. |
“Conneaut yields big bluegills if you look in the right places during the summer,” he said. “I fish deep, typically between 12 and 28 feet, on hard-bottom slopes immediately adjacent to weed beds. The best sites are outcroppings of gravel or softball-size rock that occur along main lake points or on isolated midlake humps.”
An effective presentation is vertical fishing a modified drop-shot rig with small bug-imitating jigs. Hornstrom sweetens each jig with a live maggot. Or, try casting and counting down a one-sixteenth-ounce blade jig.
Crappie usually are encountered along the deep edge of a thick weed bed where vegetation begins to thin out. A 2-inch swim-tail grub on a one-eighth-ounce jighead or a Blakemore Road Runner usually will get the job done.
“Don’t miss Conneaut’s fantastic largemouth and smallmouth bass opportunities,” Hornstrom said. “It is possible to catch 6-pound-plus specimens of both species. A Zara Spook, soft jerkbait, deep crankbait or Carolina-rigged stick worm are all good picks.”
Lodging can be found at small motels around the lake or at the century-old Conneaut Hotel. Rental cabins and campgrounds are available at Pymatuning Lake State Park just 8 miles west of Conneaut Lake.
Resources
Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau
16709 Conneaut Lake Road
Meadville, PA 16335
(800) 332-2338
Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission
PFBC Headquarters
1601 Elmerton Ave.
Harrisburg, PA 17110
(717) 705-7800
|
|
|