Plan for cold water and a narrow window
At Pennsylvania's Presque Isle, the entrance channel connects the bay to Lake Erie. North Pier is an official public fishing location, and the channel offers a way to put a bait near deeper water without launching a boat. The winter opportunity is built around burbot moving shallower as spawning season approaches. Do not assume that a fish seen on a summer deep-water survey is within casting distance, or that a December date is enough to bring fish to the pier. The winter pier fishery is episodic.
Start by deciding where you can land a fish from the authorized deck. Walk the pier during daylight to check railings, footing and access signs. The channel is a navigation route and its current can be strong. Look for a lane within safe reach that allows a sinker to stay put. Passing ice, heavy flow and ship traffic can make a theoretically good lane unfishable. A shorter drop beside a reachable boundary is usually more manageable than a long cast down the middle.
What a burbot is looking for
Burbot, Lota lota, is a freshwater cod relative native to cold northern waters across North America and Eurasia. Look for an elongated mottled body, the single barbel under its chin and long rear dorsal and anal fins. The chin barbel may suggest a catfish at first, but a catfish has several barbels around its mouth and a different fin arrangement. Take a quick look at these traits together rather than leaving a fish on the deck to inspect its colour.
Lake Erie burbot live near the bottom and tend to occupy deeper cold water outside the spawning period. The lake's interagency cold-water survey found rainbow smelt and round goby frequently in eastern-basin burbot stomachs sampled in 2024. The contribution of each prey varies between years. Smaller fish also eat invertebrates. That evidence supports a modest fish bait near the bed, but the survey did not sample your next fishing lane or tell you which bait will work tonight.
Cold-season shallowing is the reason to start looking from the pier in late November through winter. Historical local accounts describe after-dark opportunity around the entrance channel, with occasional daylight fish. The park publishes day-use hours ending at dusk. Plan a low-light daylight visit and be off the pier within posted hours. Historical night fishing accounts do not establish night access today. If the current is carrying ice across your line, wait for a visit when you can present and recover a bait safely.
Set a running ledger on clean ground
A 7½ to 9 ft medium or medium-heavy rod rated for the sinker and bait, a 3000 to 4000 spinning reel, and 15 to 25 lb braid make a useful starting outfit. For a simple mono main line try 12 to 17 lb if the reel has room and casting distance is modest. The braid option makes it easier to see a line angle change, while mono gives some stretch when a fish turns below the deck.
Slide a ¾ to 2 oz flat or egg sinker onto the line or fit it to a sliding carrier, add a bead to protect the knot and tie on a swivel. Add 12 to 20 in of 12 to 20 lb abrasion-resistant leader and a size 1 to 2/0 single hook, with enough gap to leave the point exposed. These are starting sizes. Use the lightest sinker that reliably holds your chosen lane. Cast within the rod rating and move to more manageable water if the bait still washes through.
Use a small strip or chunk of legally sourced cut fish. A piece around 1 to 2 in long is easier to cast and hook cleanly than a thick slab. Pin it through a firm edge once, then check that the hook point and much of the bend show. A large wad can mask the point and spin in current. Obtain bait from a lawful source and check Pennsylvania baitfish restrictions before bringing or using it. The prey study gives a reason to use a fish profile, not permission to use any species you can catch at the site.
Let the weight settle on a short cast slightly up the manageable current. Take up the bow until the line stays in one lane without dragging the sinker. A steady nod that continues after a wave passes, a slow draw, or slack appearing unexpectedly can be a fish. Pick up and take tension promptly. With an ordinary single J hook, sweep firmly once the line is tight. If you choose a circle hook instead, wind steadily into the weight rather than striking. Recheck any bait that has been nipped repeatedly without a solid take.
Lift the bait when the sinker keeps finding rock
Tie a three-way swivel to the main line. Fit a 6 to 10 in drop of lighter mono to the lower eye and attach a ¾ to 1½ oz sinker. The third eye takes a short 8 to 14 in branch of 15 to 20 lb leader and the same size single bait hook. Under tension the hook rides a little above the weight. The lighter sinker branch can sometimes save the rest of the rig if the weight wedges, but a clear retrieval angle should be the first defence against losing tackle. Retrieve promptly with the rod high enough to lift the weight clear before it grinds against the edge.
A compact ¼ to ½ oz jig dressed with a narrow soft bait is an option where current is light and the drop is close to vertical. A pearl or muted smelt-coloured plastic gives you a starting profile. Let it find bottom once, raise it a few inches, and pause on a controlled line. Watch for slack or a thump on the fall and use a short lift to seat the hook. If you cannot distinguish the bottom from line drag, the fixed bait in a calmer lane gives you more information than a heavier jig bouncing away.
| Lane | Rig to try | What tells you to change |
|---|---|---|
| Clear bottom, bait holds its angle | Running sinker and short leader | Move if debris repeatedly drags the line |
| Rock contact at the end of the retrieve | Raised single hook on a three-way | Shorten the cast and lift the rig earlier |
| Quiet, nearly vertical water | Compact jig with a small plastic | Swap to bait if the lure sweeps out of reach |
A first afternoon on the channel
Arrive while you can still see the channel and choose a protected working lane. Start with a 1 oz ledger and a thumb-sized cut bait. Fish a short lane for several minutes, then check whether the bait has stayed clean and square on the hook. A steady pull in one direction means the current is moving the setup. Shift angle before increasing weight. Compare a second lane where the line can hang straighter. If both feel quiet, try a smaller bait first and let it hold close to the bed. Keep the position and rig constant long enough to tell whether the change made a difference.
Switch to the raised rig if the bait comes back scuffed from rock or the ledger sticks on two consecutive retrieves. Do not move to an exposed part of the pier just to gain a few feet of depth. Have a long-handled net ready at the legal landing point, and keep a steady bend until the fish is in it. A burbot's slippery body is hard to control on a hard deck.
Learn what your line looks like when nothing is biting
Choose a stationary reference behind the rod tip and watch how the same wave cycle moves the line. If every nod repeats with the wash, shift your attention to changes that persist after the wave has gone. A bait that rolls will gradually draw the tip toward the downstream side. Recover it and check for a corkscrewed leader. If you keep finding the rig in the same snag on retrieval, cast shorter or a few degrees away and wind up promptly. You can often keep the bait in a productive depth band without having the sinker travel across the same obstruction. When lines from other anglers occupy the only manageable lane, leave it to them or choose another position. Moving is a better way to sample fresh bottom than crowding the pier tip.
Local rules and handling
Pennsylvania's Lake Erie rule lists hook-and-line burbot as open year round, with no minimum length and a daily limit of five. Check current Fish and Boat Commission licence, Lake Erie permit and bait rules, plus park access. Avoid ice and wash on the pier. Keep a fish in wet mesh while removing the hook and return any fish you are releasing promptly.