Glade Dam Lake
I've posted several times about my exploits on Glade Run Lake so don't confuse THIS post as pertaining to THAT lake. Glade Dam Lake is a different body of water all together that does happen to be located in Butler County not far from Harbar Acres Lake which I have also written about in a prior posting. That being said this isn't an easy lake to find so I've included directions below.
Directions on getting to Glade Dam Lake from Pittsburgh
Take Rt 8 North to Butler
Just past the Clearview Mall - bear RIGHT onto Rt 308 West Sunbury Road
After passing through West Sunbury bear LEFT to stay on Rt 308.
You will then pass the Waste Management dump on your RIGHT
Next you will pass the North Trails Public Library on your LEFT
Then the Moniteau High School on your Right
At the next 4-way intersection turn RIGHT onto Branchton Road
Next turn RIGHT onto Stewart Road
Then turn RIGHT onto Christie Road and follow it down to the lake
There's an access point for kayaks, canoes, and small boats but no formal boat dock. The lake has motor restrictions allowing electric motors only.
The rather primitive boat launch
Okay, so now you know how to reach the lake but why should you? Well in a 1 1/2 days of fly fishing the lake I netted 55 fish. While the vast majority were Specks (aka Crappies for you northerners) the count also included largemouth bass, perch, blue gills, and even a nice channel cat. On day 2 I caught at least one of all 5 species on the fly.
Channel Cat on a purple Wooly Bugger
I've included a PA Fish and Boat report on Glade Dam Lake which you can read here. In summary the lake has a healthy population of nice sized crappies and is apparently a fantastic catfish location (spoke to another angler who said he caught 20 on chicken livers all 18" - 26" in size).
I can attest to the lack of bass which was a tad disappointing. I'd hope to slay them on poppers but saw zero action top water. I did land a nice one in the morning on a red/white Clousser minnow which was part of a combo where I was trailing it with a neon-green streamer.
Nice bass that couldn't resist the Clousser
Despite fishing full time targeting bass I caught a slew of Specks on that same rig with about 1/2 attacking the Clousser and the other 1/2 hitting that neon-green streamer or a purple Wooly Bugger.
Specks are numerous in the lake
The lake is massive and while the section nearer the dam may be off limits there is still plenty of water available. During my 2 days there I pretty much had it to myself. Note however that this is a state gamelands lake and therefore special regulations apply.
Special regulations you need to be aware of
In conclusion this beautiful lake seems to be under fished and is close to home making it a winner for me! Hopefully via the actions of the PA Fish & Boat commission the bass fishing will continue to improve. In the meantime the crappies and channel cats afford enough action to make this a place I plan to visit again soon.
Moon rising over Glade Dam Lake
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