Lake Construction

[lunkerlover]

With the boat still out of commission, I was out beating banks last Thursday night and caught five bass all 1-2 lbs and were in 1’-4’ of water. Senkos and small finesse jigs were the ticket.
With regard to the water levels, I’m not positive but the release could be in support of the dredging and bank buildup That construction crews are doing in that last cut to the right before you get to the LC bridge (coming from the ramp).
I agree, timing is poor with the spawn beginning but fish do seem to still be in the same general areas as normal. Their beds just aren’t as visible which could be a good thing from a conservation standpoint.

[wader105]

just a reminder to all you guys concerned about the low numbers of bass in the lake. even with all the stupid stuff the lake mgt does to the lake, you can help during the spawn. in case you didn't notice, spawn came a little later this year, likely due to the colder temps during the last couple of months. even with the drawdown, i've seen several spawning beds - quite a few with bass still on them - meaning, the spawn is still on and likely will be for the next couple of weeks.

that said, you may want to stop "beating the banks" until the spawn is over to allow as many eggs to hatch as possible. when you pull a bass off of her bed, even if you're doing a quick release, the smaller fish jump in and attack the nest and gorge themselves on the eggs until the female returns. btw, when you catch the female, it usually also spooks the male that would also be guarding the nest.

i know beating the banks this time of year will yield more catches, but, like i've said before, "just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

[Soof]

May 28, 2020 10:25:46 GMT -5 wader105 said:

just a reminder to all you guys concerned about the low numbers of bass in the lake. even with all the stupid stuff the lake mgt does to the lake, you can help during the spawn. in case you didn't notice, spawn came a little later this year, likely due to the colder temps during the last couple of months. even with the drawdown, i've seen several spawning beds - quite a few with bass still on them - meaning, the spawn is still on and likely will be for the next couple of weeks.

that said, you may want to stop "beating the banks" until the spawn is over to allow as many eggs to hatch as possible. when you pull a bass off of her bed, even if you're doing a quick release, the smaller fish jump in and attack the nest and gorge themselves on the eggs until the female returns. btw, when you catch the female, it usually also spooks the male that would also be guarding the nest.

i know beating the banks this time of year will yield more catches, but, like i've said before, "just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

I completely agree with this! As much as I have been tempted to head out - especially over the past week or so, I have decided to wait a bit longer for Bass anyway.

[Me]

I posted this the other day, people generally do not care........and most do not research about fish habits. They just want a fish and picture. Just look at guy trying to have a guide service on this lake for musky.

[fisherman]

The stocking of invasive musky in Marsh Creek, both hybrid and pure, has wreaked havoc on the bass population. Shallow water fishing during the spawn is not the issue.

Like one guy says, just because you can [stock an invasive species], doesn't mean you should.

[MasterBaiter]

May 28, 2020 14:34:05 GMT -5 fisherman said:

The stocking of invasive musky in Marsh Creek, both hybrid and pure, has wreaked havoc on the bass population. Shallow water fishing during the spawn is not the issue.

Like one guy says, just because you can [stock an invasive species], doesn't mean you should.

Muskie are introduced not invasive, and have not affected Marsh's bass populations at all. In fact, muskie keeping fish that really hurt bass populations (like crappie) in check is what has, in part, made marsh such a great bass lake. Even though it is mismanaged the fisherman who care about the lake take care of the fish, and the environment of the lake and the grasses it has are great for the bass, as are the muskie. 

[fisherman]

Introduced species that have profound effects on their new ecosystems have been termed invasive species. These effects include outcompeting native species, sometimes causing their extinction, and altering ecosystem functioning.

It's laughable to think musky have enhanced the bass population.

[lunkerlover]

@ wader105: I have priorities which include feeding my family. Fixing my boat is not on my list of priorities. Therefore, “beating the banks” and fishing the few shore access areas I can during the two times a month that I’m able to get out and fish, is all I can do.
So save your bullnuts rhetoric for the guys who make a thousand casts at the same bed, because that’s not me.

[MasterBaiter]

The common misconception is that the introduction of another higher order predator into an ecosystem, in this case muskie, will be bad for bass. But, what you have to realize is that this is not always the case. In fact, the crappie in Marsh creek are much more harmful to bass populations than the muskie are. Marsh is a small reservoir to house both bass and crappie, and crappie populations, research shows, have very negative impacts on bass populations and bass health. Introducing muskie has helped bass by keeping the population of crappie in check, and also by keeping the population of very large bluegill and crappie down, providing perfect feeder size fish for bass. Lastly, there is a common stigma in the northeast especially against keeping bass, but if you look into it, to manage a pond or lake for larger bass, you need to remove a certain portion of the small fish. Most of pennsylvania's bass lakes are bass crowded, and have good fish numbers but very few fish eclipsing the three pound mark. Muskie in marsh eat bass, but not catchable size bass. They eat bass that are small and or unfit, which drastically increased average size of fish in the lake. So yes, muskie are truly one of the main factors that makes Marsh Creek one of Southeast PA's best bass lakes.

[fisherman]

The tiger musky (along with their parent species) generally prefers to hunt prey species that are easy to catch, manipulate into a head-first position, and swallow. Deep-bodied fish with spiny fins are low on the menu, while torpedo-shaped fish with soft fins are preferable. Tiger musky would prefer the large mouth bass over the crappie.

[PAFishingExpat]

I have a small pond with bluegill, crappie and largemouth in it. There has never been a population problem for the largemouth. And by small I mean 1/2 acre. There are also loads of crappie in Ontelaunee lake. It's overloaded with them. Again, not a largemouth population problem at all.

[fisherman]

I could be wrong, but I don't think there are musky in Ontelaunee lake

May 29, 2020 16:26:27 GMT -5 PAFishingExpat said:

I have a small pond with bluegill, crappie and largemouth in it. There has never been a population problem for the largemouth. And by small I mean 1/2 acre. There are also loads of crappie in Ontelaunee lake. It's overloaded with them. Again, not a largemouth population problem at all.

[icemole]

There used to be a healthy population of musky in Ontelaunee... Sadly the PFBC in their infinite wisdom no longer stock them(last stocking was 07 and "tigers" are not long lived. There is a very small population of N. pike and pickerel in the lake, surprisingly they are having some limited spawning success(it ain't over run with them). Ontelaunee went to "Heck" after the white perch showed up. For a couple of years there were millions in the lake you could stand on the RR tracks at Peters and see a massive "school" of them on their spawning run in April. In short order they ate themselves(and everything else in the lake) out of a home. Still today you don't see the bugs hatching or fish eating those bugs that we saw before the white perch. I've fished that lake since the 70's and know where several "spots" are and bass fishing got to the point that catching 1 fish was a good day. Fortunately the PFBC did re-stock crappie and bass after the white perch crashed(hopefully they won't make a "comeback") and while still not back to the old days it is improved!

[fisherman]

There used to be a healthy population of large mouth at Marsh Creek, then all the musky matured. Now it sucks. All you need to do is look at the results of the Tuesday night tournaments from last year. It was a struggle to catch 1 bass.

[Jonny Jetboat]

ALL of the fish in Marsh Creek lake could be considered "invasive or not natural".
It is a manmade reservoir ( also not natural), and was artificially stocked with a variation of fish species.
There are thousands of actual natural lakes that harbor excellent populations of both muskies and bass SUCCESSFULLY AND NATURALLY.
I have fished in a few them for both species, and witnessed the numbers.
Perhaps a better explanation of why the bass seem to have "disappeared" from Tuesday night bass tournament counts,
is the Tuesday night bass tournament itself. LMAO!!!

Constant, weekly pounding of a small reservoir by a group of anglers targeting the same species most definitely could wisen up the populations of bass to catchability through over targeting in my opinion 😀