Fishing Deer Lakes Park

About 30 minutes from Pittsburgh proper, Deer Lakes Park is an excellent place to escape for a relaxing fishing experience. All three lakes are regularly stocked with trout when in-season — look for “Lower Deer Lake”, “Middle Deer Lake” and “West Deer Lake” on the PFBC website (not sure why the last lake is named differently).

About the Lakes

In general, the lakes here are rather shallow affairs, and can get absolutely overgrown with weeds. What that means for fishing is that panfish are absolutely everywhere in these lakes. A piece of worm will easily net you a solid bluegill, while a minnow or small jig can entice a crappie or two. There are also a sprinkling of small bass and catfish, but I don’t see too many people fish for them.

For the stocked trout, I’ve found that picking a good spot is really important here — you can be standing right next to someone who catches their limit in half an hour, while you have nothing to show. In general, fishing the few deeper spots are key to landing trout. Good examples are the middle of Lower Deer Lake between the pavilions, next to the big tule stand on Middle Deer Lake, and the submerged creek channel on West Deer Lake. Classic baits like Powerbait, worms or minnows will do the job. Fish also sometimes school up by the aerators on Lower and Middle Deer Lakes; fishing a small minijig next to them can be extremely effective, as it doesn’t seem like the local trout have wisened up yet like their West Coast cousins.

I’ve never skunked at these lakes. Hope that doesn’t change…

Lower Deer Lake stringer caught on a minijig.

Notes

Lower and Middle Deer Lakes are very developed, encircled by paved trails, concrete platforms and many benches. Can be a good place to intro somebody to fishing. In contrast, West Deer Lake feels a lot more wild — the trail is basically mud, and there can be a lot of fallen branches and leaves in the water. So pick your lake wisely 😀

Recommended Gear

For the trout:

Powerbait Micetails

A piece of soft plastic infused with Powerbait flavoring. These days, I far prefer micetails over Powerbait, as I think they have a bit of extra attraction in moving water. Additionally, micetails are way less messy than the Powerbait, and you don't leave random floating pieces of plastic dough floating in the lake after you're done fishing. To make sure they float, use a size 8-10 mosquito hook.

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Mini jig, 1/16 or 1/32 oz

A small tube that can be twitched in the water to entice wary trout. Keep your rod tip high, and wiggle the lure in the middle of the water column. Can be very effective, especially if you can see the fish. Can be hard to cast far, unless you're using very light line (2 - 4 lb)

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Acme Kastmaster, 1/8 oz

One of my favorite lures for trout fishing, very useful for covering a lot of water and finding where the active fish are. It's a very aerodynamic lure that can be casted quite far on light line. I've had the most success on stop-and-go, erratic retrieves. Use gold Kastmasters on sunny days or in murky water. Use silver Kastmasters on cloudy days or clear water. Kastmasters can be somewhat expensive - South Bend also sells Kastaways which are somewhat cheaper but can't say I've personally used them.

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Panther Martin, 1/16 oz

A classic trout spinner. I like a retrieve with many erratic jerks with these spinners, to let the blade flutter as much as possible. Traditionally the gold blade with black body and yellow spots has been the most effective for me, but the other colors should also work.

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Powerbait

The classic trout bait. I typically use micetails in favor of Powerbait these days, but sometimes the original dough will work when nothing else will. Take a small bit of the dough, and mold it around a size 16-18 treble hook on a sliding sinker rig. Cast the bait out and just let it sit. It can smell kinda bad, so be ready to vigorously clean your hands afterward. I've linked the garlic flavor, but the corn and original scents work just as well. I personally don't think the color matters a whole lot, but some people swear by chartreuse.

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Thomas Buoyant, 1/4 or 1/6 oz

A Kastmaster alternative. It casts a somewhat smaller distance, but the spoon has a slightly different fluttering action that seems to sometimes entice more hits.

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For the bluegill:

Nymph collection

My favorite way of targeting panfish. Gently lob them out and retrieve it in with pauses. If you don't have a fly rod, a spinning rod with a small split shot or casting bubble works as well.

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Trout Magnet

A small jig type lure. Get the smaller models for the bluegill, and gently work them in. Alternatively, a stop-and-go retrieve under a bobber works just as well.

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