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Home › Waters › Pennsylvania › Pymatuning Reservoir
Reservoir · Northwest Pennsylvania · Pennsylvania

Pymatuning Reservoir Fishing Guides

A big, shallow, fertile lake straddling the Ohio line, famous for walleye and muskellunge and for a horsepower rule that has kept it slow and quiet for decades.

A wooden dock on a calm tree-lined lake

Map of the Pymatuning Reservoir

28 numbered points: 16 access points, 5 campsites, 3 parks and conservation areas, 1 agency office, 2 hazards, 1 USGS gauge. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 22, 2026.

Printable version →
  • Access / boat ramp (16)
  • Campsite (5)
  • Park / conservation area (3)
  • Agency / conservation office (1)
  • Dam / hazard (2)
  • USGS gauge (1)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Points are curated from OpenStreetMap and state agency sources; confirm access and hours before you go.

Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.

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All 28 points on this map
#PointTypeLat, LonNotes
1Pymatuning Reservoir Dam
South end of the lake, Dam Road		Dam / hazard41.49895, -80.46091The earthen dam that impounds the reservoir and the head of the Shenango River below it. Boats must stay clear of the dam face and the spillway approach.
2State Parks Launch and Parking Area
Pymatuning State Park (PA) - DCNR		Access / boat ramp41.54513, -80.49444A DCNR launch and trailer lot on the mid-lake east shore, below Snodgrass Road. OSM spells its access road "St Parks Lauch & Parking Areas"; the spelling is corrected here.
3Meadow Lake Campground
Private campground, South Lake Road		Campsite41.56488, -80.49438A private campground set back about 700 m from the east shore. Listed because it is the only non-agency camping within a kilometre of this water.
4Mooring Area 19
PA DCNR mooring area		Access / boat ramp41.60170, -80.50348A DCNR mooring area on the PA shore south of Espyville. The OSM node is tagged "Monogahela Mooring Area 19 - PA-DCNR"; that river name does not belong to this water and is not repeated here.
5PA 285 launch at Espyville
Unnamed in OSM - named from its road		Access / boat ramp41.60632, -80.50131The launch on the east shore where PA 285 reaches the water at Espyville. DCNR names an Espyville Marina on this shore; OSM carries no name here, so the road and place are used instead.
6Manning
Slipway - Pymatuning State Park (PA)		Access / boat ramp41.62433, -80.50163A named slipway on the PA east shore between Espyville and Tuttle Point. The name is OSM’s; no agency page read this run corroborates it.
7Tuttle Point Campground
Pymatuning State Park (PA) - DCNR		Campsite41.64281, -80.49091The state park campground on the east shore off PA 285, a few hundred metres south of the Tuttle Point launch. OSM tags it access=private, which does not match DCNR operating it.
8Tuttle Point Boat Launch
Pymatuning State Park (PA) - DCNR		Access / boat ramp41.64483, -80.48912The east-shore launch reached from PA 285, with the Tuttle Point campground and beach immediately south.
9Linesville Spillway
Sanctuary causeway, north-east arm		Dam / hazard41.62990, -80.44140The spillway on the causeway at the Pymatuning sanctuary - the one where carp mass under the bridge. A structure with moving water; it is a viewpoint from the wall, not a place to put a boat.
10Linesville State Fish Hatchery
Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission		Agency / conservation office41.64473, -80.42686The PFBC hatchery and visitor centre east of the lake at Linesville. DCNR’s own park page names the hatchery and visitor centre as the Commission’s facility here.
11Linesville Marina
Pymatuning State Park (PA) - marina and boat rental		Access / boat ramp41.65687, -80.46253The north-shore marina reached from U.S. 6, with boat rental. An unnamed slipway sits seven metres away and is the marina’s own ramp, so it is not shipped as a second point.
12Linesville Campground
Pymatuning State Park (PA) - DCNR		Campsite41.66013, -80.46318The state park campground on the north shore off U.S. 6, with the Linesville beach, picnic areas and cabins around it.
13Alcatraz
Slipway - PA north arm		Access / boat ramp41.66809, -80.47779A named slipway on the north arm above Linesville. The name is OSM’s local one; no agency page read this run carries it.
14Clark Island Natural Area
Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks		Park / conservation area41.66519, -80.48833A designated natural area on the north arm of the lake. Its boundary reaches the shoreline at 0.27 km and its centre sits 0.78 km back.
15Wilson
Slipway and shore fishing - PA north end		Access / boat ramp41.67511, -80.48555The northernmost PA launch on the sheet, tagged in OSM as both a slipway and a fishing spot, with a viewpoint over the head of the lake.
16Padanaram Road launch
Ohio side - unnamed in OSM, named from its road		Access / boat ramp41.65355, -80.52228A ramp on the Ohio shore at Padanaram. ODNR names a Padanaram ramp on this side; OSM carries the slipway unnamed, so the road from the reverse geocode is used.
17Pymatuning State Park (Ohio)
Ohio Department of Natural Resources		Park / conservation area41.60125, -80.53341Ohio’s state park along the whole west shore. Its boundary meets the shoreline and its centre sits 0.41 km back, so it is placed on the park centroid rather than on any one facility.
18Pymatuning Lake Road launch
Ohio side - unnamed in OSM, named from its road		Access / boat ramp41.59721, -80.53779A ramp on the Ohio west shore. OSM carries a second unnamed ramp about 250 m north on the same road; the pair is condensed to one marker rather than printed as two dots.
19Birches Boating Area
Pymatuning State Park (Ohio) - ODNR		Access / boat ramp41.57096, -80.52847The Ohio boating area on the west shore. The name is carried by the marina polygon here; the ramp itself is an unnamed slipway 90 m away, and the two are shipped as one point.
20Poplar Grove Picnic Site
Pymatuning State Park (Ohio) - ODNR		Park / conservation area41.56460, -80.52913A shoreline picnic area on the Ohio west shore, 70 m from a ramp on Pymatuning Lake Road.
21Pymatuning State Park Campground Boat Launch
Pymatuning State Park (Ohio) - ODNR		Access / boat ramp41.55491, -80.52434The launch serving the Ohio campground, on the west shore south of Birches.
22Pymatuning State Park Campground (Ohio)
Ohio Department of Natural Resources		Campsite41.54752, -80.52794The Ohio campground on the west shore, with its own boat launch about 800 m north. ODNR names one campground on this side of the lake.
23Pymatuning Lake Road launch at Poplar Grove
Ohio side - unnamed in OSM		Access / boat ramp41.54602, -80.52646A ramp on the Ohio west shore beside the Poplar Grove picnic site, identified by the facility it serves rather than by a name OSM does not carry.
24Williamsfield Road launch
Unnamed in OSM - named from its road		Access / boat ramp41.53195, -80.51672A ramp on the PA shore at Turner, close to the state line. OSM carries the slipway unnamed; the road name is from a zoom-17 reverse geocode.
25Jamestown Campground
Pymatuning State Park (PA) - DCNR		Campsite41.52044, -80.50534The state park campground on the south shore, off U.S. 322, with the Jamestown beach, cabins and picnic areas around it.
26Jamestown Boat Launch
Pymatuning State Park (PA) - DCNR		Access / boat ramp41.52167, -80.50126The south-shore launch reached from U.S. 322; the campground, beach and cabins sit immediately west of it.
27West State Road launch
Unnamed in OSM - named from its road		Access / boat ramp41.51104, -80.47215A shoreline ramp on the PA south-east shore at Turner. OSM carries the slipway with no name, so it is identified here by the road a zoom-17 reverse geocode returned.
28USGS 03101500 - Shenango River at Pymatuning Dam
United States Geological Survey		USGS gauge41.49839, -80.46285The gauge on the roster for this water. It reads the Shenango River immediately below the dam, so it reports what the reservoir is releasing rather than lake level.

Guides on the Pymatuning Reservoir

Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.

About the Pymatuning Reservoir

Pymatuning straddles the Pennsylvania and Ohio border in the northwest corner of the state, a large, shallow, extremely fertile lake built in the 1930s across what had been a swamp. That history is the key to it: the lake is broad and flat with soft bottom, abundant weed growth and a forage base that grows fish quickly.

Walleye are the headline. Pymatuning supports one of the strongest walleye populations in Pennsylvania, and the fishing is a drifting and trolling game over flats and weed edges rather than a structure hunt. Muskellunge are the other signature species, and the lake has a long-standing reputation for producing them. Crappie, perch, bluegill and channel catfish are all abundant, and the panfishing is good enough to keep families busy for a whole holiday.

The lake is shared between two states, with the boundary running down the middle and separate regulations on each side. That is worth reading up on before you launch, particularly if you intend to fish across the line.

A long-standing horsepower restriction keeps big fast boats off Pymatuning, which is why it still feels like a lake from another era. Small boats, tiller outboards and drifting are the norm, and the water stays calm enough that a canoe is a reasonable choice on much of it.

The gauge below gives pool elevation. On a lake this shallow, a small change in level moves a great deal of weed edge in or out of reach, and the weed edge is where most of the fishing happens.

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We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

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Posting to Pymatuning Reservoir.

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Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Access

Pymatuning State Park: multiple ramps, camping and extensive bank access.
Jamestown and Espyville: marinas and public ramps on the Pennsylvania side.
Linesville spillway: the famous causeway area and bank fishing.
Ohio side ramps: separate access with separate regulations.
Dam area: bank fishing and the deepest water in the lake.
Bank and pier access is unusually good throughout the park.
Note: horsepower restrictions apply and differ by state. Check before launching.

Seasons

Winter: ice fishing for walleye, perch and crappie when conditions allow.
Spring: the walleye spawn and the best fishing of the year.
Summer: drifting weed edges for walleye, muskie in the vegetation, panfish everywhere.
Fall: cooling water, feeding muskellunge and a second walleye push.

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Questions

What species can you catch on the Pymatuning Reservoir?

Anglers target Black Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, Walleye, White Crappie, Yellow Perch on the Pymatuning Reservoir in Pennsylvania.

Are there fishing guides on the Pymatuning Reservoir?

GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the Pymatuning Reservoir. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.

Where can you access the Pymatuning Reservoir?

Pymatuning State Park: multiple ramps, camping and extensive bank access. Jamestown and Espyville: marinas and public ramps on the Pennsylvania side. Linesville spillway: the famous causeway area and bank fishing. Ohio side ramps: separate access with separate regulations. Dam area: bank fishing and the deepest water in the lake. Bank and pier access is unusually good throughout the park. Note: horsepower restrictions apply and differ by state. Check before launching.

When is the best time to fish the Pymatuning Reservoir?

Winter: ice fishing for walleye, perch and crappie when conditions allow. Spring: the walleye spawn and the best fishing of the year. Summer: drifting weed edges for walleye, muskie in the vegetation, panfish everywhere. Fall: cooling water, feeding muskellunge and a second walleye push.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Pymatuning Reservoir?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Pennsylvania agency site: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/fishandboat/fishing/regulations