Steelhead are returning to Erie County creeks, and public access is back at a famed stretch
With steelhead starting to fin into the Lake Erie tributaries, anglers are celebrating restored access to a pivotal stretch of holding water on an Erie County creek that’s described as one of the best in the region.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission in January purchased nearly 9,000 feet of public fishing access along Twentymile Creek in North East Township.
It is the agency’s largest public fishing easement acquisition to date and includes three contiguous parcels that were formerly leased to a private fishing club and had been closed to public access for more than 10 years.
The permanent public fishing easement extends 35 feet back from the top of the creek bank, except for areas immediately adjacent to private residences that remain closed to public access. There is convenient parking and access to the easement area south of Route 5 at nearby North East Township Community Conservation Park.
“I think it’s awesome that the general angling public now has access to what I consider to be the second-highest concentration of steelhead in Erie County,” said Karl Weixlmann, a fly fishing guide for more than 25 years and member and former officer of the Pennsylvania Steelhead Association. He believes it’s second only to the Walnut Creek area where a section of waterfalls, as on Twentymile, help create a migration barrier for the fish.
Weixlmann remembers years ago when the area was first open to the public ― and then posted in part because of the litter anglers left on the grounds. It was then leased by a private club for a few years and Weixlmann was one of the guides for a short time.
He said having public access to the creek makes sense because the fish come from a public fishery and management program. “There’s a large pool down below from the fall that can at times hold hundreds of fish,” Weixlmann said. “These areas below these migration barriers tend to be high harvest areas.”
The Fish and Boat Commission clearly agrees about the quality of the fishery.
“I think, for a number of years, Twentymile has had some very good steelhead returns,” said Scott Bollinger, statewide public access program manager. “It’s been a popular place to fish, but there wasn’t a whole lot of it open to the public. There’s some, but there’s room for more."
The new access area is along property owned by Mary Dohler and her son, George Dohler.
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“With the addition of the Dohler property, it opened up a significant portion and expanded upon the area there that the township owns by the mouth (of the creek) where there’s a parking lot," Bollinger said. "It’s a natural connection to extend that corridor where people can fish."
The purchase of 8,960 linear feet of public access near the New York border opens most of Twentymile Creek from Lake Erie to Route 20. The easement is on the west side of the creek near the Route 5 bridge. The access area is on the opposite side of the stream from where the Dohler homes were located. Beyond the property is a bridge abutment where public access is available on both sides of the creek. Signs help anglers to see the boundary areas.
“It’s a very popular area for anglers and we’re thankful to be able to work with the Dohlers to get it,” Bollinger said.
The area is known for its atmosphere.
“Twentymile is so scenic. It’s just fantastic. Folks can be fishing this west side of the bank with this new easement property and there’s big, huge trees all around them. You’re in North East, so there are vineyards when you’re driving around. It’s a beautiful region for expanded public access,” said Ari Capotis. She is the Keystone Fly Girl fishing guide, northwest regional vice president of the PA Council of Trout Unlimited and member of Trout Unlimited’s Women’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
"Now through October we’re going to be seeing brown trout especially. Once we get some good pushes of rain, we’re going to be angling for steelhead from fall well into May,” she said. In the spring there are smallmouth bass and suckers for anglers to target.
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Easements for fishing
The Dohler easement was purchased for $200,000 from funds generated by anglers through their purchase of special Lake Erie fishing permits and combination trout/Lake Erie fishing permits.
The agency has secured more than 60 public access areas on Lake Erie tributaries with funds generated by anglers since the special permits started in 2004. “There’s a lot more to do,” Bollinger said.
The fishery is becoming popular. “We keep trying to expand on the easement areas so we can spread (the anglers) out. They’re not all in one spot,” he said. “The more easements we get and the more parking lots we can get, the more we can spread them out.”
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“It’s great to see our public dollars are working as intended,” Capotis said about the access areas and fish cleaning stations including at the North East Marina and Walnut Creek Marina.
Bollinger has been involved in all the easements for the area and feels the Dohler property is one of the biggest achievements of the area. “That was an exciting one,” he said about the quality of the fishery.
The Gilmore farm on Elk Creek is another good location for anglers.
The next easement that has just been secured is the Camp Fitch YMCA property along Crooked Creek. Signs will soon be placed on the one side of the water where all anglers can now fish 4,990 linear feet of waterway. “It’s typically been open to the public, but this guarantees that will stay open to the public forever,” Bollinger said.
Keeping public access public
Weixlmann remembers volunteering with the Pennsylvania Steelhead Association, writing to the Fish and Boat Commission about using the Lake Erie permit to purchase access easements. “The re-issuance of the Lake Erie permit basically saved Pennsylvania’s steelhead fishing,” Weixlmann said about keeping the creeks open to all anglers, not just private landowners. “The Pa. Steelhead Association was a catalyst for getting the Lake Erie permit reissued."
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When it comes to fishing at one of the easement areas, Bollinger said, “Respect the landowners because they were nice enough to give us this access. Let’s work with them and keep them happy,”
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“It’s a privilege for us to fish in Pennsylvania and it’s an even more special privilege we have the ability to chase steelhead trout, let alone the lake-run brown trout fishery," Capotis said.
Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website’s homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors, X @whipkeyoutdoors and Instagram at whipkeyoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Steelhead fishing public access gets better near Erie PA
