Regarding Conneaut Creek, wading and muskies. Probably the best muskie section of the PA mileage of the stream is actually in Erie County, not Crawford County. The section from the junction of the stream's East Br., a couple miles SW of Albion down to a dead end where there used to be a covered bridge over McKee Road, several miles downstream from Albion is all low-gradient water with a muck/silt bottom and lots of high banks (some of shale, others of clay or mud and drowned timber). This has always been the section of the stream that has had a viable muskie fishery. There are a number of access points in this section. One is at the US 6N bridge due west of Albion and another (may be) at the PA 215 bridge a few miles downstream from Albion. And it used to be that you could get on the stream at the dead end on McKee Road, though I don't know if this is still the case.
I don't think I'd wade these middle sections of the stream, although much of it is probably wadeable in low summer flows. The bottom is slippery, there's lots of sucky mud and also lots of hidden snags and what not to trip over. Its eminently canoeable or kayakable though, although perhaps a little tight here and there. This may be the best way to fish it in terms of access as well as avoiding taking a dunking. The changing nature of the banks and the riparian zone are also a problem for the wading angler. You could fish a half mile wading and then suddenly find yourself facing unwadeable deep water in front of you, a 40-foot sheer shale bank on one side and a sheer 10 foot mud bank crowned with a jungle of nettles, briars, downed logs and the occasional buried transmission from a 58 DeSoto on the other. The jungles that encase much of this middle portion of the stream are second only to Cussewago Creek in NW Pa. on the miserable walking/hiking index.
I'd really consider floating it if you have or can get the means. 6N to McKee would be a good all day float and you'd be covering some water that I bet doesn't see more than a handful of rods a year.
Hope this helps..
