Jul 16, 2016 4 min read

We are fast approaching the dog days of summer. Most anglers have given up on trout fishing and are doing little but hiding in the living room.

That’s a shame because there are other fish to be caught such as bass, walleye and muskie.

While you must fish deep for summer walleye, muskie fishing is just coming into its own. There is little walleye angling locally but Pymatuming, Wilhelm or Woodcock lakes are only a two-hour drive.

Pymatuming is famous for producing high numbers of walleye in the spring but seems to shut down after the first of June.

Just a couple of nights ago, I was talking to Jim Roberts of Prosperity while he was at Pymatuming. It was dark, about 11 p.m., and he landed two walleye – one 20 inches, the other about 17.

Oh, the wonders of communication.

I talked with Jim while he was fishing more than 120 miles away. Jim catches walleye all year, though on some days, he might land only one or two fish.

The fact he is out on the lake while it is dark tells me something. One must change methods as the seasons change, and fishing after dark is a change from what most anglers do.

Jim, I’ll be down for that walleye dinner you promised.

Bass fishing has been hot as of late in almost any county water that holds them. I know of two friends who were hooking and releasing bass up to five pounds in local ponds.

There are bass in the local reservoirs. No. 2 Reservoir, which is located between North Strabane and Peters townships, is a good spot. The time to fish this water is just before dark.

I like spinner baits and plastic worms, but some anglers like buzz baits and rattle traps. I guess I am just old-fashioned but a black jitter bug brought across the surface as the light is fading is a favorite of mine. Why? Because it works.

There are quite a few farm ponds in the county and many of them are underfished. Many of these little bodies of water hold a lot of undersized bass, but on occasion, you can hit the jackpot and find a pond holding three to five-pound bass.

That’s a pond you keep to yourself for you and a trusted friend.

While bass are common across Washington and Greene counties, there is one undesirable trait to this hard-fighting fish. It is just not a good-eating fish.

Under those circumstances, why kill it? Just carefully return it to the water. If you want good, eating fish just switch tackle and catch a mess of bluegill from the same water. Now, there’s a fish to eat.

Just about every year, I hook onto a muskie. There was one that grabbed my Hot N Tot as I fished for walleye. This happened a couple of years ago on Lake Piedmont in Ohio.

With a medium weight tackle, a 7-foot rod and a 6-pound line, I played the fish for a while before finally getting it belly up alongside the boat.

That’s when John Dino asked, “Are you going to keep it?”

“No,” I answered.

He said the darn thing was too big for the net. With that, he pulled out his tape and measured the muskie while it was still in the water. He told me it was 48 inches and we watched as the tired fish slowly swam away.

On another day, we were trolling along Woodcock Lake north of Meadville. I shouted to turn off the motor as I thought I snagged the bottom.

That brake was doing its job and slipping now and again going slack occasionally. The boat and its two passengers had a great day being towed around the lake compliments of a large muskie.

Finally, my line tired of the game that huge muskie was playing and gave up the ghost. How big was that fish? I don’t know, but he towed me, John and the 14-foot boat for about 20 minutes.

So you see there is still plenty of fishing to be had.

George H. Block writes a Sunday Outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.