Despite heavy angling pressure, Lake Arthur is yielding some of its most impressive numbers of fish in decades.

In a recent survey, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission captured a whopping 86 muskies, 330 black bass, nearly 400 channel catfish, and a couple of 30-pound carp.

Bass -- overwhelmingly largemouths -- have kept pace with the 21-year survey average, although 15-inch fish (the creel minimum at Arthur) are a "hair below" the long-term average, according to commission biologist Freeman Johns. Muskies were recorded at the second-highest number ever netted at the lake, and catfish are so abundant Johns is urging anglers to give the whiskery species a second look.

"We'd like to promote the cat fishing," said Johns. "They're fun to catch and we wouldn't mind if people took a few home."

Northern pike are another under-utilized species that appear to be coming on strong. All were caught in the eastern bays and upstream of the Rt. 528 bridge.

"That's also a good spot for some of the bigger catfish," said Ron Anderson of Appalachian Trails, a lakeside tackle shop. "I've weighed some 10- and 12-pounders caught by novice anglers this year."

But not all species are faring as well this year.

"We were disappointed in the panfish, although we know crappies are cyclic -- they're boom or bust," said Johns, who collected just 39 black crappies and 40 white crappies in trapnets placed around the lake in late May. "Some of them were a nice size, but we definitely would have liked to have seen more."

Hybrid striped bass also were down, although, in their eagerness to boost numbers, commission personnel traveled to Arkansas to obtain additional stock this year. "Wipers" are seen as a good way to control Arthur's exploding population of alewife, which compete for the same plankton that other species, such as walleye, need as fry to survive, Johns said. Just 19 hybrids were captured and the largest was 25 inches.

The walleye fishery also appears to be more quality than quantity, with 33 fish up to 28 inches netted. "You'll rarely limit out," agreed Anderson, "but it's also rare you'll catch one under 20 inches."

Anderson said the north shore area and roadbeds are good places too look for both walleyes and hybrid stripers. Blue and silver Bomber Long-As, Rapalas and Zara Spooks are the keys to catching Arthur wipers, while Hot n Tots, worm harnesses and floating jigheads work on walleyes.

Muskies were the superstars of the survey and represent the best catch-rate per trapnet hour at Arthur since 1989, when the commission caught just three. While they ranged from 29 to 491 /2 inches -- all smaller than the muskies of 50-plus inches reported by anglers in recent months -- a large number were in the mid-30-inch range, said Johns, "and they looked nice and healthy."

Johns also was pleased with the number of largemouth bass he raised in three May nights of electro-fishing, although just 7 percent were 15 inches or better on this Big Bass Program water.

"That's just a hair off the long-term average of 4.6 keepers an hour, but an increase over last year," said Johns. "We're not unhappy with the sizes."

Tournament data, which the commission tracks, shows that angler catches increased slightly last year, when a total of 800 15-inch bass were weighed in more than 25 days of competition fishing. The commission does not keep consistent statistics on tournament lunkers, but Ernie Pate, who fishes Arthur with the Butler Bass Casters on Wednesdays, said big fish have been averaging just 3 or 4 pounds, which is smaller than in other years, although a 5 3/4-pound largemouth was the lunker in last week's contest.

"We've caught more keepers this year than last, but in nine weeks of tournaments with 50 to 80 teams, we've weighed just five fish over five pounds," he said.

Although biologists have an advantage in that electro-fishing raises fish regardless of cover or conditions, constant angling pressure can make hook-and-line catches harder to come by.

"The fishing pressure has definitely made fish more educated," said Pate. "You used to be able to dunk a worm and catch a nice fish. Now you have to throw Senkos and do drop-shots to get them. You have to vary your techniques big-time."

"Bass at Arthur are more cover-oriented than at other lakes, like Raystown and the Youghiogheny Reservoir, where they'll wander out and you can catch them in 100 feet of water. One thing Arthur has is a lot of brush piles and man made cover."

In recent years, alewife have replaced gizzard shad and shiners as the lake's main forage. "Alewife tend to be more out in the open water, so anglers can't always take advantage of them," said Johns, "but the nice thing is, they don't get too big for most fish to feed on. They stay forage-size, which is about 6 inches."

Other survey findings include a paltry showing of smallmouth bass. Just half a dozen up to 18 inches were captured.

"They're up and down, and seem to do much better in cooler conditions," said Johns. "They went from zero in the 1980s to blossoming in the 1990s, and now they've pretty much disappeared again."