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Post by AAB0417 on Apr 8, 2015 21:27:31 GMT -5
I have heard there are Pike in Hopeful…… any true to this? How about Pickerel?
Andy
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Post by joe1944usa on Apr 9, 2015 0:00:33 GMT -5
Yes and yes. Pickerel are also in Scotts Runn.
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Post by WalkingOnWater on Apr 9, 2015 7:24:44 GMT -5
ive seen 1 or 2 pictures of pike from hopewell. somehow i found an older picture on google when i was doing so reasearch about ice fishing the lake of a guy who caught a nice 1 with a crooked back on a tip up.. i feel like there are very few. there is ateast 1 musky in there also. seen some reports of pickerel. if you go through all the older posts n here and the ice fishing reports you will find some info
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2015 8:02:45 GMT -5
Friend caught a pike there years ago. I've seen a few while night fishing in the shallows.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2015 8:47:12 GMT -5
If you look at the latest issue of PA Outdoor News there is a pic (on the back page) of a girl holding a 43" Musky caught at Hopewell Lake last August. It was also a purebred, not a tiger musky. I have seen musky's in Hopewell a time or two over the past couple of years but never caught one myself. I personally have caught a few small pickerel out of Hopewell though. I don't think there's near as many toothy fish in there like there were years ago but they are still swimming around in there.
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Post by teb67gt on Apr 10, 2015 6:57:40 GMT -5
It has been many moons but I have caught 2 pike in Hopewell in the past. Both were in the Fall, both were not very big...maybe 26-28". They were Northern pike...not pickerel nor muskies. It would be cool if any remain but I know stocking them ceased a long time ago.
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Post by luckshed on Oct 1, 2018 20:30:12 GMT -5
A long time A goe I caught a 36" northern there. As well as some smaller ones. That was back in the early to mid 90's....lots of pickerel and now there are a few Muskies.
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Post by quickestdoublee on Dec 9, 2020 19:01:37 GMT -5
Has anyone caught or seen any pike recently at Hopewell? Been looking for a pike lake to fish but most lakes do not seem to have them.
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Post by icemole on Dec 10, 2020 7:13:45 GMT -5
None that I've heard about or seen since the early 00's.... about the only thing I've seen recently was a few pickerel. It has not been stocked with anything in the last 10-20 years - the last thing being crappies.
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Post by Harry on Dec 12, 2020 20:30:00 GMT -5
Friend caught one in maybe 2005. Unfortunately they don’t stock pike in SE PA anymore. There’s a few here and there but not enough to target them. I emailed with a guy from the pfbc about it. He said there’s a reproducing population at memorial state park. Things freeze up it’s at the top of my list.
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Post by joe1944usa on Dec 29, 2020 19:40:32 GMT -5
BIOLOGIST REPORTS Area 6. Nothing current. Last for Hopewell was 2002? Other lakes 2018
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Post by Gsseagle on Dec 30, 2020 10:56:19 GMT -5
Hopewell Dam
2002 Spring Trap Net Sampling
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission completed the spring trap netting survey of Hopewell Dam, located in French Creek State Park, on April 18, 2002. The trap netting effort was part of a comprehensive lake survey, which began with largemouth bass electrofishing in the fall of 2001 (see Hopewell Dam 2001 report). Nine Pennsylvania style trap nets were fished in the late winter (March 13 – 15) to evaluate the northern pike and chain pickerel populations while eight Pennsylvania style trap nets were fished during the early spring (April 16 – 18) to evaluate the panfish populations.
Hopewell Dam - click for larger image Anglers Pursuing Crappie During the Late Winter Season
Only four northern pike between 24 and 30 inches long were collected during the late winter trap netting survey. In Pennsylvania northern pike are native to the Lake Erie and Ohio River drainages. The introduction of northern pike into Hopewell Dam in the mid 1970’s led to a low density, self-sustaining population.
Northern Pike Collected in Late Winter Trap Net Northern Pike Collected in Late Winter Trap Net
Chain pickerel were captured in fair numbers during the late winter survey. Fifteen chain pickerel ranging between 15 and 20 inches long were collected.
Crappie and bluegill were the primary species of interest during the early spring trap netting effort. A total of 277 crappie (black and white) were collected during the survey with fish ranging in lengths from 2 to 15.5 inches long. Nearly one-quarter of the crappie collected were 9 inches long or longer.
Large Black Crappie Collected in Early Spring Trap Net Large Black Crappie Collected in Early Spring Trap Net
Bluegill were also present in good numbers with a total of 555 collected. Bluegill generally ranged in length from 2 to 8.75 inches long, although one 10 inch bluegill was collected. Thirty-five percent of the bluegill collected were 7 inches long or longer.
Black Crappie and Bluegill Collected from Late Winter Trap Net Black Crappie and Bluegill Collected from Late Winter Trap Net
Hopewell Dam supported a modest yellow perch population with some quality individuals available. Overall, yellow perch were collected in fair numbers during both the late winter and early spring trap netting efforts. Seven percent of the yellow perch collected during the late winter sampling were at least ten inches long compared to 31 percent during the early spring sampling. The largest yellow perch collected was 13 inches long.
Yellow Perch Collected During Late Winter Trap Net Yellow Perch Collected During Late Winter Trap Net
Brown and yellow bullheads were also collected in good numbers. Bullheads ranged from 8 to 16 inches long.
A good largemouth bass population combined with attractive panfish populations and the unique opportunity to catch northern pike in southeast Pennsylvania should put Hopewell Dam on any angler’s list of lakes to fish.
-- Area
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Post by icemole on Dec 30, 2020 19:27:16 GMT -5
They forgot to mention that it was restocked with pike(and other fish I'm guessing) after it was refilled when they put in the new spillway. If I remember right that was in the mid 90's and for a year or two you could go through 4dz shiners in a morning catching hammer handle pike. Each winter they got a bigger but numbers dropped as they got into the 24" range we were telling people they had to be 30" to keep.... sadly somebody read the book. I think the last one I saw caught was probably around 02/03. Some nice pickerel were still being caught but I haven't been down since around 2010... A) no ice and B) no weeds - I think it got sprayed with weed killer for a couple of years like Marsh Creek And Nockamixon.
There was an insane amount of pressure for a few of those years - often more people down there than at Ontelaunee
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Post by icemole on Jan 5, 2021 8:59:39 GMT -5
Not exactly sure "when" guessing early 00's. But one of the last pike caught + released by a member of the "crew". I never managed to get a nice pike - for some reason I was the "bass king"
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