The Pymatuning Reservoir is a massive man-made body of water that is located in both Pennsylvania and Ohio. Covering 17,088 acres of land, the reservoir first emerged in 1934; however, this land was once much different before the reservoir was created. The areas of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and Ashtabula County, Ohio that are now covered in clean water were once the home of different Native American groups including the Adena, the Iroquois, and the Lenni Lenape.
The waters of the Pymatuning Reservoir run on the warmer side, so there are plenty of excellent warmer water species that are regularly stocked in the reservoir. In order to fish in the reservoir, one must possess a fishing license from either state if fishing from a boat, and if one is fishing from the shore, only Ohio-licensed fishermen can fish from the Ohio shore and Pennsylvania-licensed fishermen from the Pennsylvania shore. Below are the most common fish species that can be caught while fishing in the Pymatuning Reservoir.
Pymatuning Reservoir Fish Species
1) Walleye (Sander vitreus)
Walleye are a very popular species in the Pymatuning Reservoir, and they can often be found in areas with submerged coverings. This species has a brownish-green body that fades to a cream belly complete with dark horizontal lines. These fish are the largest of the perch family, and they average about 11 pounds.
Walleye get their name from their big, glassy pupils, and these eyes look like this due to a reflective layer on the inner eye called the tapetum lucidum, which helps walleye see prey in times of low visibility. This layer makes walleye sensitive to bright light, however, so they often hunt for their prey, like fishes and mudpuppies, at dusk or night. In the Pymatuning Reservoir, the daily creel limit for walleye is six fish, and the fish caught must be over 15 inches in length.
2) Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy)
Muskellunge, more commonly known as muskies, can be found in the Pymatuning Reservoir because they do well in slow-moving waters. These fish come in three subspecies that have slightly different patterning and native ranges, but they will all have darker green or brownish backs that fade to light green sides and a whitish belly. Muskies are the largest of the pike family, and they can reach about 30 – 40 inches long and 10 – 20 pounds on average, but there have been several muskies caught in the reservoir that measured over 50 inches long.
These fish have jaws lined with long, sharp teeth, and the roof of their mouths are covered in smaller curved teeth. They also have excellent vision both during the day and at night. With these factors combined, muskies make for top predators that eat a number of larger fish species. There is currently a two-fish daily creel limit for muskies at the Pymatuning Reservoir, and the fish must be 30 inches or longer in order to keep them.
3) Black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus)
Black crappies are a highly abundant panfish species in the Pymatuning Reservoir, and they can be found near areas with submerged coverings. These fish have compressed bodies and are generally a darker green on the back with dark mottling on the silvery sides. They also have 7 – 8 spines on their dorsal fins, which distinguishes them from white crappies, who have 5 – 6 spines.
This species exhibits sexual dimorphism, so the males tend to be larger and darker than the females. Black crappies typically grow to about 8 – 12 inches long and weigh 0.25 – 1 pounds. This species is generally nocturnal, so they will hunt during the night for small fishes, crustaceans, and insects. The daily creel limit for crappies in the reservoir is 20 fish, and there is a minimum size limit of nine inches in length.
4) Yellow perch (Perca flavescens)
Yellow perch are found throughout the Pymatuning Reservoir because they enjoy the clear, temperate waters. Perch can live in areas with low oxygen content; however, they will not be able to survive in waters with higher turbidity. This species is known for its golden yellow to greenish body covered in 6 – 8 dark vertical bars. These fish have yellow or green eyes and orange-red tinted fins.
Yellow perch generally grow to about 7 – 10 inches long and weigh around one pound, although this species is prone to having stunted growth in areas where food is limited. When food is abundant, adults will feed on the bottom of the water with their subterminal mouth, and they will search for items such as benthic macroinvertebrates as well as smaller fish.
5) Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)
Bluegills are a very common sunfish throughout the United States, and they can be found in shallow, vegetated areas of lakes and rivers as juveniles, but adults will tend to be in deeper waters during the day. These fish are characterized by having disk-shaped bodies with an olive green back, an orangish-yellow belly, and a black dot at the base of the dorsal fin. Bluegills get their name from the bluish hue surrounding the gill covers.
This species averages around 7.5 inches in length and weighs around half a pound as adults. These fish have very little mouths, so they will only eat smaller prey such as zooplankton, insects, worms, and snails. Bluegills are a main source of food for many larger fish species such as largemouth bass, so they have adapted to be maneuverable. For instance, this species can make very quick stops by spreading out their pectoral fins.
6) Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)
Largemouth bass are found in the Pymatuning Reservoir typically in covered areas with vegetation. Largemouth bass get their name from their mouth, which extends past the eye, unlike smallmouth bass. Largemouth bass have olive-green bodies with dark mottling along the back and speckles along the sides.
This species has an average length of 13 inches and will generally weigh 2 – 4 pounds, although the largest largemouth ever recorded was 22 pounds and 4 ounces. Largemouths are carnivores that primarily feed on crayfish but will also eat other fishes and insects.
7) Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu)
Smallmouth bass are also a common sportfish in the Pymatuning Reservoir, and they can be found near similar areas as the largemouth bass. Smallmouths are an olive-green color with vertical bands on the side of the body, and they range from 12 – 18 inches in length and weigh around 1 – 4 pounds.
While smallmouth bass look very similar to largemouth bass, the major distinction between the two is that smallmouth bass have a smaller mouth that extends to the midpoint of the eye. Despite the difference in mouth sizes, smallmouths eat a diet similar to largemouth bass. The current daily creel limit for black bass species combined in the Pymatuning Reservoir is five fish, and all of the fish must be 12 inches in length or longer.
8) White bass (Morone chrysops)
White bass are slightly less common to find around the Pymatuning Reservoir compared to largemouth and smallmouth bass, but they can often be found in deeper areas with no vegetation. These fish are a silvery white color, and they wear 6 – 8 black stripes laterally across their bodies. They have an underbite mouth, much like the largemouth bass; however, white bass are more closely related to striped bass.
White bass are a mid-sized fish, and they average about 12 – 14 inches in length and weigh around two pounds. This species is highly aggressive when it comes to feeding, and schools of white bass will hunt together for items such as gizzard shad, perch, carp, and other fish species.
9) Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)
Channel catfish are one of the most abundant types of catfish in the United States, and this species can be found near rocky shores and other covered areas throughout the Pymatuning Reservoir. Like all catfish, the channel catfish does not have scales and has barbels on the upper and lower jaw; however, the channel catfish can be distinguished by its deeply forked tail, silvery body, and overbite.
These fish grow to about 10 – 20 inches long and weigh anywhere from 2 – 10 pounds. Catfish tend to eat quite a bit of food, so they use their barbels covered in taste buds to sense their surroundings in murky waters and find food like snails, fishes, snakes, frogs, insects, aquatic plants, and even birds.
10) Common carp (Cyprinus carpio)
Common carp, also known as European carp, are one of the most abundant fish species in the spillway of the Pymatuning Reservoir, and they prefer areas where water is warm and still or very slow-moving. This species has a robust body with a brassy green back and white to yellow sides. They have large scales with a black dot on each and two pairs of barbels on their upper jaw. These fish have rows of pharyngeal teeth that they use to dig up aquatic plant roots to eat in addition to catching insects, crustaceans, and small mollusks.
Common carp are a non-native species to North America, and they were brought to the United States in the late 1800s because they were a wildly popular food item for immigrants who wanted to be able to continue eating them when they came to the United States.
Common carp are so heavily populated in portions of the reservoir that tourists flock to the area in order to see ducks actually walk on the backs of densely packed carp fighting for pieces of bread that are thrown into the water! In 2017, however, numbers of common carp dwindled due to an outbreak of koi herpesvirus, which killed many carp. Although the population took a bit of a hit, there is still a very large number of common carp in the reservoir. Due to the natural abundance of this species, carp fishing is rather popular and encouraged to control the population.
