Apr 23, 2006 By Rod Schoener 6 min read

After last summer’s unexpected drawdown at Duke Lake, which is located at Ryerson Station State Park, Greene County trout anglers who are not stream fishermen were left with a dilemma when it came to finding a place to fish. Duke Lake, which is listed by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission as hotspot for panfish, has always been a great all-around fishery, as many trophy bass and muskie catches were also taken there regularly.

Last summer concerns about the dam caused the DCNR to draw the lake down on July 28.

Since then all activities at the lake have been curtailed, and trout stockings had to be cancelled for last fall and winter at the 62-acre impoundment.

This year anglers got a shot in the arm, as the Duke Lake trout allotment was shifted to Lake Wilma just prior to the start of the current trout season.

Lake Wilma is located in Blacksville, W. Va., near the Pennsylvania line.

Wednesday, Greene/Southern Washington County Waterway’s Conservation Officer Tom Crist and Fish and Boat Commission personnel from the Reynoldsdale fish hatchery stocked 1,800 rainbow trout at the impoundment.

Trout stockings at Lake Wilma are a big shot in the arm for Greene County fishermen.

“It’s good to see this,” Crist said. “It’s a good lake to fish. It’s about 20 acres and about 30 feet deep.

“This lake stays clean all the time. Every other lake in the county gets muddy, and this lake stays clean.

“They should do well catching fish here. Fishermen should be able to catch trout throughout the summer for it’s a nice deep lake.”

When asked what species the Fish and Boat Commission stocked in the lake in the past, Crist said, “We’ve stocked this with channel catfish for 10-plus years, probably. Yes, we’ve stocked it with channel cats on a regular basis ever since I’ve been here.”

I said that I heard it mentioned that Wilma was a decent bass lake.

“It has a good healthy bass population, plus crappie, bluegills and cats,” Crist said. “A lot of guys come down just to fish for carp.”

The lake received a preseason shipment of about 2,000 trout on March 15, and will receive another inseason stocking on May 11.

“These fish are really frisky and healthy today,” Crist said. “These people should have no trouble catching them.

“We stocked all rainbows. They caught a couple trophy golden rainbows out of here on opening day. I saw one that was 15-inches long and another that was 20-inchs or so.”

Crist said the opening day crowd was “moderate. I think people will have to find out where the place is first. I think a lot of fishermen stayed away because they thought it was a new place, would be jam-packed, and they didn’t want to deal with the crowd.

To get to Lake Wilma anglers have to follow Route 218 South out of Waynesburg to Blacksville, W.Va. Once in Blacksville, follow Route 7 West to Washington St. (Twp. Road 313). The lake sits on the right side of Bowlby Hill Road.

In commenting on opening day at the lake, Crist said, “I’d say the pressure was moderate. Once people find out about it, pressure will increase.”

Parking at the site is a little bit of an issue, but so far it hasn’t been a problem.

Crist said he felt the pressure was moderate to light throughout his district for the opening weekend.

“The creeks by Ryerson got muddy, and everybody seemed to stay away from them. But there was a heavy crowd on Whiteley Creek, Enlow was fair and Templeton was pretty good, but overall I’d have to say the pressure is just moderate to light this year. It was a nice opening weekend.”

There was a good turnout for Wednesday’s stocking. Some sportsmen showed up just to help with the stocking, and others quit fishing to lend a hand.

Ryerson State Park Manager Sean Benson pitched in and helped carry buckets of trout from the truck to the lake.

Benson was happy to see Duke Lake’s allotment going to Lake Wilma, but he is confident that Duke Lake will be back.

“In my opinion, and from what I’ve heard it (Duke Lake) will be back. It will just be a matter of time.

“They are doing studies now to make sure the ground is OK to rebuild the dam. They are going to give it as much time as is necessary to do the studies and get the job done right.”

When asked about the leak, Benson said, “We don’t know what the real problem was, but the dam started leaking and it got worse very rapidly.

“We’re not exactly sure of the cause, and we may not know for some time. I feel that the lake will be restored in time, from what I’m hearing from the different agencies that are working on the problem.”

State Senator J. Barry Stout (D-Washington-Greene) and State Representative H. William DeWeese (D-Greene-Fayette-Washington), along with the DCNR, Greene County members of the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs and representatives from CONSOL Energy attended the stocking.

After local sportsmen suggested Lake Wilma as a possible alternative to Duke Lake, CONSOL, which owns the lake, was contacted and the Fish and Boat Commission did a study and approved the site for trout stockings.

Lake Wilma was constructed in the mid-1960s as a freshwater impoundment. The lake was named “Wilma” for the wife of Charles Nailor, former president of CONSOL’s Christopher Division and was stocked as part of a fishing club until Blacksville No. 1 Mine closed.

In June of 1997, the property surrounding the former mine was enrolled in the Pennsylvania Farm Game Program under the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the lake was opened for public recreational use.

DeWeese acknowledges that the lake is out of the way for some folk, “but, once you get there, you are struck by its natural beauty and solitude. I encourage anglers to take advantage of this new opportunity, so we can keep the Fish Commission coming back in future years. I think Lake Wilma is a real ‘good catch,’ and Senator Stout and I, as well, as DCNR, thank CONSOL for allowing greater activity at the site.”

Dennis Fredericks, CONSOL’s Manager for Conservation Properties and Activities, added, “The company is pleased to share a portion of its land resource base with the community. Our energy operations require significant land for interim periods, but it is our goal to be stewards of these resources; and, where applicable, return suitable portions to the community.

“Lake Wilma is a great example of our commitment to professionally identify, protect and return to local residents a valuable natural resource that was created to support past mining operations and which can now provide a retreat for fishing and family recreation.”

Rod Schoener is the Herald-Standard outdoors editor.