When he realized big crappies like 4-inch baitfish, Glasgow now ties larger jigs than most crappie anglers use.
Destination: Pennsylvania’s Lake Arthur
by Darl Black
Exceptional crappie fishing just north of Pittsburgh
As a youngster, I learned the basics of crappie fishing from my dad at Pymatuning Lake where we fished minnow-and-bobber around shallow cover during the spawn. But then we switched to bass and walleye for the summer. However, it was on 3,225-acre Lake Arthur years later where I acquired my first advanced lessons on summer slab fishing from crappie master Jerry Swidzinski.
This was during the mid-1970s when flasher-style sonars from Lowrance or Humminbird were the ultimate in depth-sounder technology; every serious angler had two on their boat – bow and stern. Lake Arthur was loaded with offshore brushpiles placed clandestinely by bass anglers. However, that open-water cover created perfect summertime crappie habitat. On my first trip with Jerry, he had me dump the minnows and take up the plastic. We each had two rigged rods, one with a brightly-color two-inch tube and other with a four-inch smoke Galida’s Grub.
Using triangulation of visible landmarks on the shore (remember, no GPS), Jerry cruised slowly over a brushpile watching for telltale lines to determine how high above the top of the brush crappies were holding, or if they were hugging closer to the bottom in the fringe of the cover. With no down imaging, side imaging or especially live imaging, all information was gleaned from carefully reading the thickness and brightness of lighted lines on a clock-like face sonar.
A buoy marker would be tossed to the side, and the boat was positioned casting distance from the cover. Jerry instilled the count-down technique I still use today to swim the jig at the correct level for observed crappies.
It’s been four decades since my first trip to Lake Arthur. A lot has changed. Jerry is no longer with us. But one thing that hasn’t changed – there is still an abundance of crappies in Arthur. And with the aid of advanced electronic fish-finder units, anyone can find them. The local angling team of Gus Glasgow and Dan Druschel are positioned to acquire the unofficial title of crappie masters of Lake Arthur.
Glasgow has been fishing Lake Arthur since he was old enough to hold a fishing rod. Today he operates G&G Marine Electronics, installing the latest Garmin technology on fishing boats. Three years ago, Glasgow teamed up with Druschel to fish regional crappie tournament trails.
Druschel started his crappie fishing at Pymatuning Lake (renowned as a crappie mecca for decades) with his grandfather. Following the passing of his grandfather, Lake Arthur became Druschel’s home water.
By fishing tournaments on a number of different lakes, Druschel gained better overview of regional fisheries.
“Pymatuning has not been fishing consistently as in the past. This season was particularly tough. At the present time, I prefer fishing Lake Arthur because there are so many large crappies in the lake. And that’s both white and black crappies, with many fish weighing 1.5 pounds or better. My largest Arthur crappie was a 2-pound white.”
Glasgow’s Personal Best Arthur crappie weighed in at 2.5 pounds, and he is confident a larger one is in his future.
“We regularly catch a two-pounder or better each outing on the lake – and that big fish might be either a white or black. Over the season, we catch roughly the same number of whites as blacks.”
Glasgow and Druschel utilize the same lures and techniques for both species of crappies during the summer and fall. Only during the spring spawn do they notice a difference in location; blacks are oriented to weeds, while whites prefer hard cover.
Musing over why the team catches numbers of large fish during the summer when other anglers are struggling, Glasgow believes it’s because they fish the main lake water rather than the fingers and large bays where many anglers spend their time.
“When crappies set up for the summer, we target brush in 10 to 12 feet of water in the main section of the lake. Most fishermen overlook these areas due to boat traffic. Some of our best spots are right in high traffic areas. I believe the fish have become accustomed to the motor boat traffic and therefore are not skittish when we approach a brushpile.”
Both gizzard shad and alewife baitfish are found in Arthur. On the rare occasions he keeps a few crappies, Glasgow says he typically finds 4- to 5-inch alewife in the larger fish – but never gizzard shad.
“Feeding on bait of that size is the reason I use a larger than normal hair jig for crappie,” he said. “I tie my own with chenille for the body and hackle feathers for a tail.”
“Some of our best spots are right in high traffic areas,” says Glasgow
Fishing a jig and slip float has become Druschel’s strong suit since starting tournaments.
“Color-wise across the spectrum of lakes, my pick is either a silver/white jig, or something with lots of chartreuse in the pattern,” he said. “Of course, we are not opposed to using live minnows if the situation calls for it.”
Due to the dingy water of Lake Arthur with visibility only about one foot, Glasgow’s first pick is always an Electric Chicken pattern he ties.
As might be expected, slip-sniping is the technique this two-person team executes most often to bring home the money in competition, whether on Arthur or another lake. Their basic rigging consists of a Thill Gold Medal Slip Float, a 1/16-ounce hand-tied hair jig with a 3/0 split shot, making the float practically neutrally buoyant.
“Garmin LiveScope has really upped my game on Arthur,” explains Glasgow. “I have a run and gun approach, hitting as many brushpiles as possible. The more piles I can visit, the better we do. Having LiveScope not only helps me determine if fish are present, but helps me save a ton of time by being able to set my boat down, shine it left or right and almost immediately identify my target. No more hunting for hours just to locate a single pile. I run the Garmin LVS34 LiveScope on a 126sv Echomap graph mounted on a zero-degree mount that helps me follow my jig all the way back to the boat.”
With Lake Arthur the center piece of 16,700-acre Moraine State Park, this is an ideal destination for either a guys’ fishing trip or for a family vacation. The 20-horsepower limit on the lake eliminates the high-speed racing about and water skiing which often interfere with fishing. However, the large number of sailboats docked at various marinas may agitate anglers on busy weekends when everyone decides to go sailing at the same time. If boat traffic bothers you, consider a fall fishing trip to Arthur.
Moraine State Park offers swim beaches, windsurfing, a disc golf course, 28-miles of hiking trails, a 7-mile paved multi-use trail for biking & walking, a 6-mile mountain bike trail, 20-miles of horseback riding trails, and wildlife watching around every bend of a trail or jiggle in the shoreline.
The State Park rents 11 modern cabins, but offers no in-park family campground other than for organized groups. Several family-oriented campgrounds are located just outside park boundaries. Pontoon boats, motor boats, kayaks, canoes and rowboats are available for rent at Crescent Bay Boat Rental on the South Shore. For more information on Lake Arthur, go to www.visitPAparks.com.
Darl Black began his career as an outdoor writer over 50 years on a on a long-forgotten communications instrument – a typewriter. Since then, his columns, articles, and photos have appeared in dozens of regional and national fishing related publications.
