Raystown Lake

Since the Pa Fish and Boat Commission drained our local Meadow Grounds Lake in the spring of 2013 I have been forced to travel elsewhere for boating/photography and fishing.  The Meadow Grounds offered good fishing, excellent wildlife photography, and convenience as was a short 15 miles from home.  With it gone I began to travel to the next nearest lake, Raystown Lake, in neighboring Huntingdon County.  No more can I hook up the boat and take a quick run to the lake for Raystown is fifty miles one way.  The fishing at Raystown is different then the Meadow Grounds with more species to target however it falls short with the wildlife photography.

Raystown is a much busier lake and where the MGL was electric motor only, Raystown is unlimited horsepower and heavily used by pleasure boaters.  The waterfowl that I have encountered there is typically much more wary of boats, seldom allowing a close approach.  Large waves from the wakes of speeding boats can be unsettling if not down right dangerous while trying to photograph wildlife.

With that said, there are still occasions where keeping the camera handy on Raystown pays off.

The following are a few images captured while fishing Raystown Lake.

I was surprised to encounter this swimming squirrel a long way from shore one recent morning.  If memory serves me well this was the only time I have ever observed a squirrel swimming. 

A Great Blue Heron stalks the shallows

And lastly, a pied-billed grebe swims away through the fog.  This is the first p-b grebe I have spotted since the spring migration.