The fertile waters of Washington County’s Cross Creek Lake provide an aquatic haven for a variety of fish species, crappies especially.

Listed as a bit under 250 acres, Cross Creek seems much bigger. Maybe this is due to the network of bays and coves that form the lake. Though somewhat small in stature, like a low-to-the-ground gridiron running back, it backs a lot of punch, with an abundance of structure and cover. The stained fertile waters support a level of submerged weedgrowth out to around eight feet.

Cross Creek has a history of producing crappies in both size and numbers. When Pennsylvania Fish and Boat biologists from Area Fisheries Management 8 surveyed the lake last spring, they confirmed that the population is still strong.

“Cross Creek has been a crappie factory in the past,” noted Mike Depew, fisheries biologist. “It’s produced good numbers of fish, lots of legal sized fish, and has shown pretty good catch rates. There’s a reason there’s always 10 to 15 boats out there targeting crappies during the springtime.”

The lake has been under panfish enhancement regulations for at least 20 years, calling for a nine-inch minimum size. The regulation change allowed the fishery to rebound from the hit it took prior to the added level of protection.

When personnel from AFM 8 surveyed the lake in April, trap nets collected approximately 700 total crappies, the majority of which were black crappies. The fish ranged in size from three to over 15 inches. 82%of the black crappies were over the nine-inch minimum. It was the second highest number of legal sized crappies from any of the lake surveys.

Though white crappies made up a small percentage of the total population, the fish were of good size, mostly 11 to 13 inches in length. Depew was also impressed with the weight of the fish, noting that they appear well fed.

Cross Creek Lake Details

10 hp limit

Launch permit from Washington County Parks required -- $10 for one year; $18 for two years. Call 724-228-6867 to order a permit via phone.

Cross Creek County Park Access via Route 50; Thompson Hill Park Access via Route 844.

Panfish Enhancement Regulations apply. 9 inch minimum length limit for crappies. 7 inch for sunfish.

For the location of submerged cribs visit www.fishandboat.com. Search “Lake Improvement Maps,” and scroll down to Washington County.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle