STRUBLE LAKE
Fishing on Struble Lake in Chester County is a unique experience for southeastern Pennsylvania. The best way to cover this shallow, 146-acre impoundment is with waders. Even halfway to the center of the lake, the water will barely touch your knees.

While bass fishing on Struble Lake is not considered to be world class, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission survey teams routinely find large specimens in the lake.

In the southeast corner of the state, an electro-shocking catch rate of 3.6 bass over 15 inches per hour is considered average.

A recent study found the largemouth population on Struble Lake to be below average in terms of total numbers, but similar to or better than the Southeast Region’s average for numbers of larger fish. In fact, the catch rate for fish larger than 15 inches was 7.5 bass per hour.

Biologists were impressed with their catch of five largemouth bass exceeding 18 inches, including a 20-inch, 4-pound largemouth.

In general, the largemouth bass population at Struble Lake appeared to be in good condition with a fair population of fish up to and including 14 inches long and a better-than-average population of bass 15 inches long and longer.

Anglers wishing to catch numerous bass may want to fish elsewhere, but anglers interested in catching large ones should give Struble Lake a try. It’s great for an evening of fly-fishing in shallow water. There are good stump fields in the northern sector. Because anglers are able to wade well into the lake, there’s nothing to mar a backcast.

Struble Lake is in the rolling Chester County countryside near Elverson. From Downingtown, go west on Route 322 and then right on Chestnut Tree Road for 2.5 miles. There is ample parking.

PINCHOT LAKE
Harrisburg-area anglers have a great opportunity to fish an unusual lake with Pinchot Lake in York County. This 1,275-acre impoundment is full of large boulders the size of a bus, and that’s not common in the Southeast Region. The lake’s substantial largemouth population will crowd those boulders like relatives at the dinner table to feast on the impoundment’s equally abundant crayfish, alewife and gizzard shad populations. Pinchot Lake’s largemouths are well fed, and that can make them a challenge to catch at times.

A warm spring day is a good time to fish the shallow southeastern end. Launching at Boat Mooring Area No. 1 off Route 177, you can work the shallow bay and cattail line on the upside of the bridge, or pass under the bridge and work the nearby riprap. From there, head to the large bay that culminates in a substantial point with a swimming beach.

The boulder fields are on the south side of the bay’s shoreline. Use caution when motoring around this area. At normal lake levels, the boulders come fairly close to the surface.

Other good places to fish are the many indentions along the south shore. There are plenty of small coves and deep curves in the shoreline between the Conewago Day Use Area and the dam at the lower end.

When putting in at Boat Mooring Area No. 3 off Kunkle Mill Road, anglers can easily work the pockets along the shoreline. Don’t neglect the mooring area while you’re there.