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shirkey4750
07-29-2005, 06:10 PM
this article was in a boating magizine.
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Raystown Lake, PA
By Chris Tauber (more by this author)
This river valley in south-central Pennsylvania would be a magnet for boaters, with or without the fish stories.
The striper in the anecdote was the size of a third-grader. When fishing guide Sparky Price hauled it out of Raystown Lake, it stretched from his head to his knees, weighing a state record 53 pounds, 12 ounces. That was 11 years ago, and stories just like Price's are rampant enough to draw bait and tackle-laden boats with anglers hoping to catch their own version of "the big one."
It would be easy to measure such huge stripers against actual third-graders now that there are so many 10-year-olds on the water. Raystown Lake, the biggest manmade reservoir in the state, has become an epicenter of family boating, with playgrounds, swimming beaches, mini-golf, an amphitheater and two 380-foot water slides amid the trees that line the 30-mile-long lake. On the water itself, boaters stymied by horsepower restrictions elsewhere in Pennsylvania break out the tubes, skis and wakeboards as if they're toasting the end of Prohibition.
"Come summer, everybody with a boat is out here on the lake," says Joe Frazier, a fishing guide out of Lake Raystown Resort. "But fish don't like getting beat on the head with a propeller any more than you would, so they have a way of going deep, and this lake goes to 200 feet. Sometimes you have to go fishing at night, when they simmer down and come back up to the surface."
Fishermen and families coexist at Raystown — often they're one and the same. It isn't hard to find premium smallmouth spots — simply troll the tops of submerged trees still rooted in the lake bottom. No-wake areas in certain bays and forks ensure quiet escapes for angling, as well as picnicking on pontoons and overnighting on cuddies and cruisers.
"So many people are going for the state record, and you're likely not going to catch that trophy," says Frazier, who welcomes kids aboard his 23-foot center-console. "Make it fun for the family, that's my biggest thing. My daughter turns 2 this summer, and I'm champing at the bit to get her on the water."
Quick Pass
First Impression: The area known as Happy Valley is on the other side of the Tussey Mountain range, but this lake amid romping foothills fosters its share of joy, too.
Something You Have to Do: Treat the lake like a giant, twisting runway and buzz in on a seaplane.
Trivial: Scenes from the 1992 movie Hoffa were filmed at the lake.
Trailering Here: The Pennsylvania Turnpike offers a scenic drive before you turn onto Highway 26, which runs the length of the lake.
Launch Advice: The Seven Points area boasts the state's largest marina plus a three-lane launch ramp.
Local Flavor: Get aboard the Princess for a two-hour picnic cruise, featuring honey-glazed chicken, and let someone else clean up the boat afterward.
Bedding Down: Get an eagle's-eye view of Raystown from the Appalachian Log Cabins at Lake Raystown Resort ($119-$149 a night).
Distance From Pittsburgh: 130 miles
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