Photo by Pete Maina

With the stable weather of summer upon us, Keystone State muskie anglers will find a variety of good options.

Opportunities exist on lakes, reservoirs and rivers. On still-water environments, anglers can expect to find muskies in main-lake areas. In waters featuring submergent vegetation, weedbeds should be developed to the point of holding baitfish and hence muskies.

Though anything but a certainty, given the experiences of the past two years, river flows often are stable at this time, rich in forage and cover.

The sum of this is a long menu of muskie-angling opportunities in an interesting blend of water types. Here's a sampling of some of the finest muskie waters Pennsylvania has to offer this month:

PYMATUNING LAKE
The 13,000-plus-acre Pymatuning Lake has a rich history as muskie habitat. During the 1970s, its productivity was well documented, and anglers came from afar to sample its outstanding muskie fishing.

Then the lake fell on hard times. Its Esox population suffered a dramatic bout with red spot disease. The epidemic devastated the muskie fishery, and angler interest fell off.

During the 1990s, Pymatuning's muskie fishery began to recover. Today, the lake supports a healthy muskie population consisting of several year-classes. While it may not be the best bet (yet) for a 50-inch fish, specimens in the upper 40s are taken each season.

A border water, the management of Pymatuning Lake involves the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Ohio Division of Wildlife. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission stocks about 7,000 muskie fingerlings in the lake annually. During the period of 1997 through 2002, the ODOW supplemented Pennsylvania stockings with advanced fingerlings. Ohio helped stock the lake again in 2004 with 1,085. Pennsylvania's fingerlings averaged about 6 inches. Ohio's fish averaged 7.9 inches.

The Ohio DOW works in concert with the Ohio Huskie Muskie Club, a non-profit group formed to support muskie fishing in the state. One component of the program involves anglers sending scale samples of caught (and in most cases released) fish to the ODOW. This provides an excellent means of documenting muskie growth rates as well as angler success. Through late November 2004, some 87 muskies had been entered from Pymatuning Lake. Fifteen of these fish exceeded 42 inches in length.

The Fish and Boat Commission biologists sampled the lake during the spring of 2004. A total of 53 muskies ranging in size from 25 to 46 inches were collected. Twenty-four of the fish were over 36 inches and three were over 40 inches.

Club catch-and-release tournaments held on the lake the past couple of years have yielded impressive results. If the dreaded red spot disease does not return, the muskie picture on Pymatuning is a bright one indeed.

Pymatuning Lake is a shallow, fertile, windswept reservoir. Though much of its woody cover has deteriorated due to age, the lake still supports a fair amount of cover. Submergent (milfoil) weeds grow out to a depth of 4 to 6 feet, depending on the water clarity of the year. Stumpfields are present, particularly in the northern portion of the lake. Weed humps in the southern end of the lake are popular spots with casters.

Trolling is an efficient method for covering water on Pymatuning. Good catches are made trolling the shallows, concentrating on the zones just off the outside weed edges.

The lake is loaded with baitfish -- both alewives and gizzard shad -- so some time should be spent trolling open water for suspended fish.

In addition to the pelagic forage, plenty of yellow perch, crappies, white bass and young carp add to the menu. Wiley and Leo lures are popular on the lake.

Boat launches dot the perimeter of Pymatuning Lake. The better launches for larger boats are found at Linesville, Manning, Snodgrass and Jamestown. These are in at least semi-protected waters.

Fishing Hot Spots produces a map of the lake, and tackle shops in Espyville and Jamestown carry them. Boats are limited to 10 horsepower. There is no closed season on muskies on Pymatuning.