4/5/18 Tioga County Fishing Report
It's been another strange, cold start to spring, but finally the ice is gone from all of the area lakes. You may still see small chunks on Hamilton and Cowanesque, but otherwise everything is open and fishable. Water temperatures across the county are still very cold. Temps range from the high 30's to the mid 40's right now. Cold nights with temperatures below freezing have been the norm this week.
Some of the best action lately has been in the Keystone Select stretch of water on Pine Creek. Anglers are enjoying catch and release trout fishing and catching some giants still! Roostertails, panther martins, and Kastmaster spoons have all been popular. Fly fishing has been good too with anglers catching fish mostly on nymphs and streamers. A few trout have been rising to small stoneflies. Once it warms up, we'll start seeing the early season mayflies!
Action in the spillways has been consistent. Anglers are catching and releasing nice walleyes in the Tioga spillway using small swimbaits and twister tail grubs. Storm swimbaits in white have been particularly popular. Live shiners are also working. Perch have been biting on fatheads and pieces of nightcrawler
We've had a lot of questions about crappies on Hammond this week. It's still very cold and slow. It will be a few more weeks at least till things really turn on . Temperatures need to rise at least another 10-15 degrees to really get things going. Anglers catching them now are finding most fish suspended on deeper structure using live minnows. Perch will be spawning soon. This would be the bite to look for first. Target them with crawlers or minnows.
Hamilton and Beechwood Lakes are both under 'Year Round' fishing regulations and anglers are having fun with preseason trout, plus a few bass and pickerel. Please remember trout MUST be released until April 14th. Various spinners, spoons, and live baits have been effective.
Mentored Youth Trout Day is this Saturday, April 7th. Don't forget to pick up a Mentored Youth fishing permit or purchase a Voluntary Youth Fishing License. This is a great opportunity to take the kids out for a day of preseason trout fishing fun!
Voluntary Youth Fishing licenses are just $2.90! For every one sold, the PFBC receives $5 in federal funding for youth education and outreach programs.
Learn more about the Mentored Youth program here- http://www.fishandboat.com/Fish/FishingRegulations/Pages/MentoredYouthProgram.aspx