Best Fishing Spots in Pennsylvania: Five Waters and the Exact Place to Fish on Each

How these five were chosen

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission publishes biologist reports for the waters it surveys, a steelhead guide for the Lake Erie tributaries and an annual fishing summary; DCNR publishes the fishing pages for its state parks. This page is built from those documents. A water made the list if the agency’s own numbers describe a strong fishery there and it names a specific public place we could put a pin on.

Two of the five are on Lake Erie, because that is where Pennsylvania’s steelhead and some of its best shore fishing are. The other three cover the northwest lakes, the centre of the state and the big-river smallmouth fishery.

Pennsylvania requires a fishing licence from age 16. Lake Erie, Presque Isle Bay and their tributaries also need a Lake Erie permit or the combination trout/Lake Erie permit; anglers under 16 do not need either permit.

Walnut Creek — mouth at Lake Erie

Why it is on the list. Pennsylvania’s steelhead — migratory rainbow trout — run up the Lake Erie tributaries from fall into spring, and PFBC’s steelhead guide puts the average adult at 6 to 11 pounds and about 24 inches. Walnut Creek produced the state-record steelhead, 20 pounds 3 ounces, in 2001.

Why this exact spot. The mouth is the one stretch you can fish at any hour. From September 8 until the April trout opener, PFBC closes all Lake Erie tributaries from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. — but Walnut Creek below Manchester Road Bridge to the lake has no time restriction. The pin is on the creek just above its mouth.

Target fish (PFBC). Steelhead · other trout and salmon, which PFBC manages under the same tributary rules.

Techniques by season (PFBC steelhead guide).

• Early September to early November: streamers and nymphs — woolly buggers, egg-sucking leeches, pheasant tails, hare’s ears, black stoneflies.
• Mid-November to early March: the same, plus egg patterns.
• Early March to mid-May: add worm patterns and terrestrials.
• Spin fishing: an 8½- to 10-foot light rod, 8-pound line and a 4- to 6-pound fluorocarbon leader. Bait: egg sacs, single eggs or skein, minnows, nightcrawlers, maggots, waxworms — natural colours in clear water, bright ones in stained water.
• The drift: cast upstream into holding water and let the bait drift at or slower than the current; set on any hesitation. Steelhead hold in deep water, riffles and around rocks, timber and overhead cover.

Timing. PFBC’s guide says the best chance is when the creek is rising or falling, and that steelhead are most active near dawn and dusk. Walnut is a medium tributary — fishable one to two days after rain.

PFBC’s safety advice is plain: never fish alone, watch for quickly rising water, and wear cleated or studded wading boots. Some nearby creeks — Trout Run, Godfrey Run and Orchard Beach Run among them — are nursery waters where fishing is not allowed at all. Our trout vs salmon guide explains where steelhead fit.

Presque Isle Bay — North Pier

Why it is on the list. Presque Isle Bay, sheltered by the Presque Isle peninsula, holds a diverse fishery with many migratory species. PFBC’s spring 2025 trap-net survey found bluegill and pumpkinseed numerous, with many preferred-size fish and catch rates up since 2019; yellow perch popular in winter and spring; black crappie rising since 2016; and northern pike to 34 inches and muskie to 43 inches. Steelhead are in the bay from October through March.

Why this exact spot. DCNR lists the North Pier among Presque Isle State Park’s popular shore fishing locations, and it is one of the park’s accessible fishing piers. It runs along the channel between the bay and Lake Erie. The pin is near its end.

Target fish (PFBC and DCNR). Bluegill and pumpkinseed · yellow perch · smallmouth bass (spring, from Lake Erie) · northern pike and muskie · steelhead (October–March) · black crappie.

Techniques by season.

• Spring: PFBC’s nets caught smallmouth bass of 13 to 20 inches migrating in from Lake Erie in late April and May, along with spawning perch — many of the largest perch are lake migrants that return to the lake after spawning.
• Summer: panfish — bluegill, pumpkinseed, rock bass and white perch are all available in good numbers. Small baits and light tackle.
• Fall to early spring: steelhead in the bay and channel from October; pike and muskie for anglers after bigger fish. PFBC also points out that bowfin are abundant and an underused, hard-fighting target.
• Winter: DCNR lists Presque Isle Bay, Misery Bay and the marina for ice fishing, and advises at least 4 inches of solid ice for one person and 7 for a small group.

The other shore spots DCNR names are the Waterworks and the Ferry Dock, the East and West piers, Perry Monument, the lagoons and the boat landings. A Lake Erie permit applies in the bay. Our panfish guide covers light-tackle tactics.

Pymatuning Reservoir — Espyville causeway

Why it is on the list. Pymatuning is the largest lake in Pennsylvania, a 17,088-acre warmwater reservoir on the Ohio line, and PFBC’s 2025 survey reads like a recommendation. It netted 2,248 walleye averaging 17.8 inches — 95% of them quality, legal-length fish, up to 29 inches — at a catch rate well above the average since 1989. Almost every muskie was over 30 inches, 22% over 40, the longest 50.8 inches and the heaviest 39 pounds. Black crappie averaged 10.2 inches.

Why this exact spot. The causeway crosses the lake mid-way, and the Espyville Marina at its east end has one of the park’s accessible fishing piers. The pin is on the water beside the causeway.

Target fish (PFBC and DCNR). Walleye · muskellunge · black crappie · yellow perch · bluegill · channel catfish · largemouth bass.

Techniques by season.

• Spring: PFBC’s walleye survey runs in April, when fish are on the spawn; its May night electrofishing found largemouth bass well above average, up to 21.4 inches and 6.7 pounds.
• Summer and fall: PFBC warns that forage — gizzard shad, alewife and spottail shiners — is “extremely numerous,” which can make for challenging fishing. With that much food around, natural-looking baits and patience pay off.
• Winter: DCNR says walleye, perch and crappie are the fish most often caught through the ice. The park does not monitor ice thickness.

Licences work differently here. From a boat, either an Ohio or a Pennsylvania licence is honoured anywhere on the lake; from shore, each state’s licence covers only its own shore. Motors are limited to 20 horsepower. The famous Linesville spillway, where visitors feed carp, is a wildlife-watching stop rather than a fishing spot. Our walleye fishing and crappie fishing guides cover the rest.

Raystown Lake — Seven Points

Why it is on the list. Raystown is an 8,300-acre Corps of Engineers reservoir and the largest impoundment entirely inside Pennsylvania. PFBC calls it a “two-story reservoir”: deep enough to keep cold- and cool-water habitat all summer, so it supports lake trout and striped bass as well as warmwater fish. It produced the state inland record striped bass, 53 pounds 12 ounces, in 1994.

Why this exact spot. Seven Points is a Corps of Engineers recreation area with a public boat launch, a marina and more than 260 campsites, and the lake has no horsepower limit. The pin is on the bay beside it.

Target fish (PFBC). Striped bass · lake trout · walleye · muskellunge and tiger muskellunge · largemouth and smallmouth bass · crappie.

The striper numbers. In a March 2016 gill-net survey, PFBC caught 88 striped bass from 18 to 38 inches; the biggest was just over 21 pounds. The catch rates of stripers over 20 and over 30 inches were the highest PFBC had recorded on the lake since 1983. Stripers there reach about 20 inches in three years and 30 inches in six, and PFBC calls Raystown the largest lake in the state stocked with striper fingerlings.

Techniques (PFBC, statewide striper advice).

• Casting and trolling are both popular.
• Bait: large live baits — PFBC names live trout and alewife.
• Lures: minnow-shaped crankbaits and jigs.

In summer, the two-story structure matters: stripers and lake trout hold in the cooler, deeper water, so fish deeper than you would on most Pennsylvania lakes. Our striped bass guide and thermocline explainer go further.

Allegheny River — Kennerdell

Why it is on the list. PFBC calls smallmouth bass the most popular fishery on the Allegheny, and it has surveyed three fixed sites on the free-flowing river every summer since 2005. Of the three, Kennerdell has the highest average catch rate: 148.9 bass per hour of night electrofishing, with 2,874 bass caught there over the 20 years.

Why this exact spot. It is the site itself. PFBC credits the big boulders that smallmouth prefer, and notes that its 2024 survey at Kennerdell produced the highest catch rates of bass over 12 and over 15 inches since 2018 — and the survey’s largest fish, 20.75 inches and 5.11 pounds. The pin is on the river by the Kennerdell bridge, in the Allegheny’s wild and scenic stretch between Franklin and Emlenton.

Target fish (PFBC). Smallmouth bass · walleye · muskellunge · catfish.

Techniques.

• Where: fast, shallow water and boulders — the habitat PFBC identifies as the reason Kennerdell outfishes the site nearer the first lock and dam.
• When: PFBC samples at night in August and September. Low light is a good bet for anglers too.
• What: lures that imitate crayfish and minnows, worked along the bottom between boulders, are the classic river-smallmouth approach.

Access and rules. PFBC’s Allegheny water trail guide notes that the private launch at Kennerdell has been closed to the public since 2018, so plan to float in from a public launch on the water trail. Pennsylvania’s river bass season includes a spring catch-and-release period; the 2026 Fishing Summary has the dates. Our largemouth vs smallmouth guide covers the species.

Before you go

Licences and permits. A fishing licence from age 16. A trout permit to fish for trout in most cases, a Lake Erie permit for Lake Erie, Presque Isle Bay and the tributaries, or the combination of both. PFBC’s licence page has the options; our licences and regulations guide explains where to look.

Rules that change where you stand. Night closures and nursery waters on the Erie tributaries, the two-state shore rule on Pymatuning and the spring river bass period are all in the 2026 Pennsylvania Fishing Summary.

Pick the day. Steelhead want rising or falling water after rain; lake walleye want low light and changing weather. Our fishing after rain and river levels pages explain both.