Tioga County Lakes, Pine Creek, & Surrounding Waterways Report - -Updated weekly

Posted on 26 December 2023
By Don
Posted in Fishing Reports
0

Fishing Reports and info for Tioga County, Pine Creek, & Surrounding Waterways

Welcome to the new fishing report blog from Tackle Shack. Bookmark this page to easily reference fishing reports, ice conditions, and fishing updates for Tioga County and the surrounding waterways.

5/8/2024

Fishing has been excellent across the board for a variety of species. Pine, and area stocked streams are fishing well with good catches on a variety of live baits, flies, and lures. Butterworms continue to be a favorite. Dace and trout patterns jerkbaits are working well too. For flies, March browns, Caddis, and BWOs are hatching.

Crappie fishing has picked up considerably and most everyone is reporting good catches at Tioga, Hammond, and Cowanesque. Fish are starting to move in shallow, but expect a little slower shoreline bite this weekend with cold weather moving in.

Walleye fishing in the Tioga River has been excellent. Live shiners and small swimbaits are working best. Shad, perch, and similar patterns have been most effective in the 3-4" varieties.

5/2/2024

Pine Creek and most of the trout waters are fishing great. The Creeks are running clear and Pine is at great levels with good action for both fly and spinning tackle. Some of the smaller streams are starting to get low. Lighter line and good presentations are a must.

Crappie fishing is getting better by the day with water temps creeping into the low 60's. Rain this weekend and cooler weather could soften the bite, but we expect plenty to be catchable for the next few weekw.

Walleye season opens Saturday and anglers are doing very well in the spillways with small swimbaits, fatheads, shiners, and Rapala stickbaits.

4/30/2024

Trout fishing continues to be excellent across the county. Similar reports as below. Crappie fishing is starting to turn on and by the weekend many should be starting to move in shallower on all of the lakes for the spring spawn. Water temps are in the mid to upper 50's.

4/23/2024

Trout fishing has been excellent these past few days with good water levels and plenty of fish. A number of waterways were stocked this past week too. Butterworms, waxworms, redworms, and garlic salmon eggs have all been working. Small stickbaits in dace (redfin) and orange-bellied patterns are all producing. (Try our NEW Challenger Micro Minnow Dace!).

Crappie action has been slow so far. Water temps are in the upper 40's to low 50's and cold nights are keeping water temperatures hovering in that range. Warmer weather this weekend should really get things fired up. If you're planning a trip, the 2nd week of May should be peak crappie time this year! Stay tuned for updates.

4/15/2024

High water had the Corps lakes closed again on Saturday/Sunday. As of this morning, all but Tioga lake are open. For info on closures, be sure to keep an eye on the army corps facebook page.

4/12/2024

The Corps lakes opened a few days ago and a few anglers have been out targetting crappies and perch. Some are being caught, but the bite has been slower for most. Live minnows were working best. Hills Creek fished well for perch and bass. Live minnows were the choice bait here too. Trout fishing across the county has been good, however we expect to see a tough bite this weekend with rain and cooler temps moving in. Pine Creek is rising and we expect to see dirtier water for a days until this system passes. Smaller streams will be in better shape.

Pine Creek USGS gauge- https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=01548500&legacy=1

For reference- 2-2.5ft is considered ideal conditions for most people. At 3-3.5 upper Pine Creek (From Ansonia west) is high but fishable with caution. This stretch tends to clear up quicker than through the canyon as well.

4/6/2024

The Corps lakes are still closed, but water levels are receding across the region. The trout season opener was a tough one, but good reports came in from some of the smaller streams and beechwood Lake. Hamilton is still very high and dirty. Plenty of people were fishing here too from the bank. Conditions should be ideal in just a few more days.

4/4/2024

Tioga County has been pounded with rain for the past few days and most all of the lakes and streams are very high. As of 11:30AM (4/4/2024) Tioga, Hammond, and Cowanesque Lakes are shut down due to high water. They expect to be closed through the weekend. Conditions should start to improve early next week. Expect tough conditions most everywhere for the trout season opener this Saturday.

3/31/2024

Many anglers were out yesterday enjoying Mentored Youth Trout Day! Great trout catches came in from Pine, Crooked Creek, Hamilton, Cowanesque River, and Mill Creek, among others. Butterworms, wax worms, and powerbait were working best. A few anglers were catching perch and bass at Hammond too. Live minnows fished off the bottom were working for the perch. The Keystone Select stretch on Pine Creek is also fishing well with anglers catching nice trout on Yo Zuri Pins minnows and similar hardbaits. Redfin patterns are also particularly popular. Fly anglers did well with a variety of nymphs and streamers.

3/25/2024

Cold weather has made for interesting conditions this past week with ice cover coming back to the coves and small ponds across the county. Things are finally shaping up to more normal weather as we near April and the trout season opener. Anglers are catching some panfish now at Hills Creek, Hamilton, and Hammond. Live minnows have been popular for crappies, plus a variety of small jigs. Chartruese, white, and white/red were the most popular colors

2/18/2024

As of yeserday, all of the lakes were still ice free. Across the county we got 3 inches or so of snow. Likely we will see a little skim ice on the lakes, but we will not be ice fishing again this county. Get the long rods out and enjoy the early start to the open water season!

2/14/24

Lakes have thawed out this, but cold weather is expected through the weekend. It is unlikely that we will ice fish again this season, but not entirely impossible. We will check back Friday. Remember trout season is closed on Feb 19th. This includes most stocked waters, except specially regulated waters. Hamilton, Beechwood Lake, and the Keystone Select stretch on Pine are all open to fishing year round.

2/8/24

Cold nights have been refreezing most of the smaller lakes, but highs in the mid 40's-50's all week will prevent any fishable ice from forming. The Beechwood Ice fishing tournament was cancelled. Anglers are doing well in the Tioga River for walleyes, smallmouth, and perch. A few people have been fishing Hamilton Lake and catching trout near the boat launch too. Pine is at a nice level and a few people are fishing. Stickbaits, streamers, and nymphs have been best.

**2/2/2024 Tioga County ICE Update***

A moment a silence for an ice season come and gone here in Tioga County.

There is ice coverage of some sort on all of the lakes with Beechwood being nearly fully capped still. However, it is definitely thawing and what is out there is slushy and very degraded. We expect to see fully thawed lakes by next weekend. With lengthening days and no real cold weather in sight, it is highly unlikely that ice conditions will improve this season.

On the plus side, spring gear is showing up every week! Get an early jump on the upcoming seasons, or get the boat out and enjoy some winter fishing!

**1/26/2024 Tioga County ICE Update**

Rain, snowmelt, and high temps have brought all of the lakes up some and corroded the edges. All are still holding most of their ice cap and with a little cold weather, we will be back on at least Beechwood soon. A few people were fishing there yesterday before the rain with decent results. The CV Angler's Club Beechwood tournament is planned for February 10th with the 17th as a backup date.

Hamilton is up, and blown out at the creek mouth and boat launch area.

Nessmuk has a small open patch to the left of the dock. The Mansfield University Fisheries and Aquaculture Club Ice tournament scheduled for Feb 3 has been postponed until Feb 24th.

Hills Creek also has broken edges.

The Snow and slush is mostly gone on all of the lakes. We will check back again soon.

Pics available on our facebook page here- Tackle Shack Facebook Page

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1/24/24 A few people have been fishing Beechwood these past few days. Ice is variable, but anglers were finding 4-5 inches along the roadside shoreline. Perch, crappies, and trout are being caught. Ice conditions on the other lakes have not been suitable for fishing. Warmer weather is expected for the remainder of the week. We will post ice updates again late Friday.

***1/19/2024 Tioga County Ice Update***

Pictures, comments and more available on our facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/wellsborotackleshack

These reports are for your reference only. Remember to check conditions yourself before venturing out onto any frozen body of water. Snow continues to insulate the local lakes and has slowed the ice building despite colder temps in the area. Conditions were disappointing across the county and are unlikely to improve much over the next few days. Most of the areas are only at 2" with snow/slush or water mixed in.

Beechwood- A few people were fishing near the boat launch. The edge is hard and measured 3.5-4" near the launch. This thins to 2" heading diagonally across the lake. There is a layer of snow/slush across the lake. We did not check other areas.

Hills Creek- The lake is capped end to end with a layer of slush/snow on top. Both the Pines launch and the Beaver Huts launch only have 2-2.5" where we checked. A layer of water/slush is mixed in too.

Hamilton- The lake is completely frozens and edges were solid at the boat launch. However, here too, there is a layer of slush and water and only 2-2.5" of ice where we measured off of the launch. A layer of snow/slush is covering most of the lake.

Nessmuk- Lastly, Nessmuk is completely frozen too, but ice is thin and junky at the launch. We measured only 2-2.5" with a mix of black ice/slush ice, and a layer of slush/water on top.

Hammond Lake- We stopped up here, but the launches were closed. The lake appears to be solid. No update otherwise.

We are expecting a little snow today. This will slow the ice building more and we do not expect much improvement in conditions. With a warm up expected most of next week, we will update again next Friday to see how the lakes fair. Anglers are fishing other parts of the state. If you are able to get out. Good luck and be safe out there.

1/17/2024 Roughly 5-6 inches of snow fell yesterday across the county. Ice conditions reports will be posted on Friday. A few anglers were venturing onto some farm ponds today.

1/13/2024 We opted to wait a few more days to post ice conditions. These past few days have been warm and more snow/rain came through last night. The smaller lakes are holding some ice and should refreeze quickly with the cold temps moving in!

1/10/2024 Snow and heavy rain came through yesterday, but the smaller lakes and many farm ponds are holding their ice caps. With frigid weather moving in this weekend, we expect to be ice fishing sometime next week. We will be posting initial ice reports on Facebook, Ice Shanty, and here on Friday. We will update again next week too. Things are shaping up nicely to almost definitely have fishable conidtions late next week. Tioga, Hammond, and Cowanesque Lakes could take some time yet. Snowmelt and rain has raised the lakes considerably. We will update again as they come down.

1/7/2024 A heavy snow moved through the region last night and blanketted the county with about 3-5 inches. Most of the smaller lakes have capped over and this snow should turn to slush and refreeze into a layer of white ice on top. We will be ice fishing very soon! Some rain is expected mid-week, but temps look excellent past that.

1/1/2024 - We are off to a slow start for winter and it will likely be another couple weeks until we see fishable ice. However, anglers are doing well catching trout in many of the small wild trout streams as well as in the stocked waters. Hamilton, Lyman Run, and Beechwood Lakes were all restocked this fall, as was the Keystone Select stretch of Pine Creek. Small streamers and nymphs have been most popular.

Tioga and Cowanesque rivers are fishing well with anglers catching good numbers of walleyes, smallmouth, perch, and crappies at both spillways. Fatheads, Medium Shiners, and small swimbaits have been the best baits.

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Tioga County Lakes, Pine Creek, & Surrounding Waterways Report - -Updated weekly

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