Pymatuning Lake has become one of the best lakes in the state of Ohio and Pennsylvania for its springtime wading season. In early spring when the ice goes off the lake, anglers head to the lake for the ice off and kickoff of the spring walleye season. Anglers, including myself, take advantage of the excellent walleye fishing that Pymatuning Lake has to offer in early spring.
At one time, Pymatuning Lake was very popular in early spring for the #11 floating Rapala, but it is not as popular as it was. Lots of anglers are starting to use 1/8 oz. Jigs with 3-inch twister tails, that has become a very hot commodity for the diet of the good eating walleye.
In early spring the water is still very cold and walleye are still sluggish and are not very active, but on Pymatuning Lake walleye can be found near creek inlets because of warm surface water running off fields into creeks that empty into lakes. And at that time of the year walleye are looking to find some warm water. Fishing the creek inlets can be very productive for anglers wanting some good table fair.
When fishing cold water on the incline on Pymatuning Lake check the temperature daily it is very important that you are checking the temperature of the water because walleye will get a lot more active as the temperatures rise on the lake. I personally check the temperature of the lake every day I go wading and that is about every day after the ice is off.
I always tell everybody when the water temperature hits 52-55 walleye fishing will be in full swing and you don't want to miss out on the best early walleye fishing. Last spring the walleye average was 16-16 inch fish and I do believe that this year you will find that walleye will run 16-18 inch average and some nice 18-20 inchers. Some of the lures you should try casting in the evenings before dark one of my favorites is the Baby Thunderstick by Storm Lures Mfg. -- the manufacturer of the ever-famous Hot N Tot. The Baby Thunderstick is more durable then the Rapala because the lip of the Thunderstick is a molded in-lip and when retrieving from deeper water to the shallows I have yet to find the lip of a Baby Thunderstick break off.
Over the years I have sent about 15 Rapalas back to the manufacturer because the lips break off. And another thing -- Storm Lures have a wide variety of colors to choose. You may check your local bait and tackle stores around Pymatuning Lake for all your tackle needs. As far as line is concerned I field tested power pro fishing line for the manufacturer Innovative Textiles of Grand Junction, Colorado and have found this line to be one of the best lines I have ever come across. My favorite is the 2# diameter that is 10 lb. Test and it comes in many different tests.
A good rod for jig fishing and casting stick baits is the Bud Earhart Fishing Stick for walleye 6' 10 inches and its will compare to some of the best on the market when it comes to walleye rods. To keep yourself warm from the bitter cold water in the spring a good pair of neoprene waders.
After water has warmed up to the point where you can enjoy fishing in a shirt sleeve shirt then that is when the small mouth bass start hitting and the walleye start moving into deeper water. Then its time to fish in the boat and start working the riverbeds and ledges.
Walleye will hold up on them and still move into the shallows late at night, fish like the shallows to feed on the bait fish and as morning rives they start to move to deeper water. On a overcast day fish will not move into deeper water as they do on a regular padden because, the light is not as bad and they will hold up in shallow water. Pymatuning Lake can get very rough at time but always remember this: when the water is moving the fish are also moving and when the water is flat you will find that you must work harder for walleye. That is when you want to go to step two trolling Hot N Tots this will be your second choice when water is flat on Pymatuning Lake.
One angler that I know lead core Lenny is a man that rid Pymatuning Lake of about 700 legal size walleye every season on Pymatuning Lake. And keep this in mind, his madness is one of the best kept secrets around lead core line and Hot N Tots. This will be one of the hottest ways to fish the lake in the future because just a handful of anglers are fishing this way on Pymatuning Lake and those anglers that are have produced a daily limit of fish and did not spend the whole day doing it, just a couple of hours.
