Little Shenango River
Fishing, stocking, and current conditions
Stocked monthly March through May in 2026, heaviest in March: brown trout, rainbow trout, and golden rainbow trout, 12 plants in all. One of 11 stocked waters on the Mercer County record. A USGS gauge reports from this water, so the conditions card on this page is live.
Mercer County · Pennsylvania · see it on the national map
Water temp 56 °F at Shenango River near Transfer, PA, 6 km away USGS site 03102850 · read 8:45 pm this evening
The year here
stocked last 7 days announced ahead · tap a tick for details
What swims here
Brown trout
Rainbow trout
Golden rainbow trout
Stocking record 2026
Agency feed checked today.
| Date | Species | Size | Fish | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 9 | Brown trout x 2 sections | adult | stocked | |
| Mar 9 | Rainbow trout x 2 sections | adult | stocked | |
| Mar 9 | Golden rainbow trout x 2 sections | adult | stocked | |
| Apr 20 | Brown trout | adult | stocked | |
| Apr 20 | Rainbow trout | adult | stocked | |
| May 4 | Brown trout x 2 sections | adult | stocked | |
| May 4 | Rainbow trout x 2 sections | adult | stocked |
When to fish Little Shenango River
| Major periods (~2 h) | Minor periods (~1 h) | |
|---|---|---|
| Today | 9:59-11:59 am and 10:22 pm-12:22 am | 4:15-5:15 am and 4:31-5:31 pm |
| Tomorrow | 10:45 am-12:45 pm | 5:25-6:25 am and 4:54-5:54 pm |
Moon: waxing gibbous, 92% lit. These are solunar periods, the traditional feeding-time theory: majors around the moon's transit overhead and underfoot, minors around moonrise and moonset. Theory, not a measurement. Times are Eastern Time (EDT).
What the record actually says
- Last stocked May 4
- Water 56 °F at a gauge 6 km away, prime coldwater range
- Flow 65% of the seasonal median
Computed this evening, Oct 23 · Pennsylvania fishing forecast
Gear for this water
It has been a while since the trucks came. The holdovers have spread out and wised up; downsize and fish natural.
For the trout (brown trout stocked 5 times here in 2026, moving water)
| Drifted bait | single salmon egg or half a crawler under light split shot, rolled along the bottom |
| Small jerkbaits | floating minnows in the 2 to 3 inch class for the deeper bends |
| Waders or wet-wading boots | stocked stream fish stack in the obvious pools; getting to the next one is the edge |
Suggestions follow from what the state actually stocks here and what kind of water it is, nothing else. No sponsored placements.
Nearby stocked waters
The closest waters with stocking pages of their own, straight-line miles from this one.
| Water | Distance | Most recent |
|---|---|---|
| Shenango River Lake | 8.0 mi | 2026 season |
| Buhl Lake | 12 mi | 2026 season |
| Lake Wilhelm | 14 mi | 2026 season |
| Pymatuning Reservoir | 15 mi | 2026 season |
| Cool Spring Creek | 15 mi | Apr 9 |
Follow Mercer County stocking: RSS / Calendar (iCal) / Print the schedule