Photo by Vic Attardo.

This month, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has 54 lakes scheduled for trout stocking. Most will get rainbows exclusively, but four will get only brook trout, three will get browns exclusively and two will get brookies and browns. Other than those stocked during February, several of these lakes or their tributaries have also been stocked with trout.

ERIE COUNTY
The two waters that will be stocked with brook and brown trout are West Basin Pond and East Basin Pond in Erie County. Cold winds whipping across Lake Erie bring ice consistently here, and it tends to linger later when the big lake is frozen.

The ponds, located within Presque Isle State Park, the most-visited state park in Pennsylvania, are scheduled for Feb. 1 stockings.

While this might lead you to think that fishing pressure is very heavy, it's not because the adjacent waters of Presque Isle Bay, smaller ponds and bays are perhaps the best place for ice-fishing in the commonwealth. Yellow perch, bluegills and crappies get much more attention.

One regulation worth noting here is that the park closes at sunset.

An unusual opportunity to ice-fish for steelhead exists within walking distance of the ponds at Presque Isle Bay.

Steelhead provide the best sport possible for ice-fishermen. You won't simply flick one of these battlers through a hole! Most steelhead caught during winter weigh 2 to 5 pounds, but some might weigh 10 pounds, and a fight could last thirty minutes.

Steelhead are also caught at Marina Lake, one of several ponds within Presque Isle. It is separated from the main bay by a short channel.

Few ice-fishermen target steelhead. Most are caught incidentally by ice-fishermen targeting yellow perch.

To target steelhead specifically, use emerald shiners for bait. Jigging spoons such as the Swedish Pimple tipped with large (3- to 4-inch) shiners can be very effective, as can tip-ups baited with shiners.

Steelhead cruise at various depths, so set baits from just under the ice to within a foot of the pond's bottom.

The park is accessible from Interstate Route 90 via state Route 832, also called Sterrettania Road. Major links to Sterrettania Road from the city of Erie include West 12th Street and West 28th Street. The main road into the park passes these ponds.

The park closes at sunset, so access the bay off Bayfront Parkway. Approaching from the south, I-79 becomes Bayfront Parkway. There are several public access routes off the parkway including Dobbins Landing, the large public dock in the city of Erie.

For more park information, contact the Presque Isle State Park office, P.O. Box 8510, Erie, PA 16505-0510. Call (814) 833-7424; or e-mail presqueislesp@state.pa.us.

Information about local services is available through the Erie Convention and Visitors Bureau, 208 East Bayfront Parkway, Suite 100, Erie, PA 16507. Call 1-800-524-3743, or log onto the agency's Web site at Visiteriepa.com.

Other lakes scheduled to be stocked with trout this month in the Northwest Region are Upper Gravel Pit and Lake Pleasant in Erie County, Chapman Lake in Warren County, Justus Lake in Venango County and Glade Run Lake in Butler County.

SOUTHWEST REGION
In the Southwest Region, Area 8 fisheries manager Rick Lorson suggested Lake Rowena in Cambria County. This 13-acre lake is on the east side of Ebensburg off Route 22 on Lake View Road. The lake is slated to be stocked February 9 with rainbow trout.