Anybody fly fish for Smallmouth?

[bjkaledas]

I have to admit that one of my favorite ways to fly fish is for smallmouth. Has anybody read Bob Clouser's new "Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass" book?

Also, does anybody know any waterways in central PA that are ideal for this? Especially wadable because I don't have a boat.

I currently fish Penn's Creek and Mahantango where it meets the Susquehanna down by Dalmatia.

Let me know!

Thanks guys!


BJ

PS. I know that the Susquehanna should be a good spot, but I don't know where a good wadable spot would be and where it would be good for smallmouth fishing.

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear BJ,

Don't you live around Danville? When the river is in prime shape much of it is wadeable. Anywhere you can get to the river near the mouth of one of the tributary streams is a good place to start fishing, except for maybe the mouth of Shamokin Creek.

Other good areas are the Fabri-dam below Sunbury, and just about any of the boat ramps on the main river provide wade fishing opportunities. There are plenty of boat ramps and pull-offs on Rte 11 between Danville and Nanticoke too. On the West Branch you can wade around the State Park in Milton and along Rte 405 between Muncy and Northumberland there are a couple of boat ramps and pull-offs where you can wade as well. The mouth of the Loyalsock in Muncy has a big park you can fish out of and you can also scramble over the floodwall and fish at the Hepburn Street dam in Williamsport.

I'll check this post later on and give you some more ideas as well as information on the USGS gauges and what constitutes safe wadeable levels at each site that I am familar with.

Regards,
Tim Murphy

 

[tomgamber]

The schuylkill from Cabela's all the way down rt61 to Mohrsville usd to be really good. Great combo trip.

Oh yeah...the sinnemahining used to be pretty good until last summer...freakin' railroad... :-x

 

[LigonierA1]

Sinnemahoning is still a decent smallie river below the dam on the First Fork. NS didn't get it all.

And yes, there are more than a few smallie guys on here. Anymore, I like them more than those spotted fish.....though that sentiment changes daily. Ain't it great......

 

[Coughlin]

I'm over in the SE but always up to talk about smallies!
Coughlin

 

[Fredrick]

I love to fish for Bronzebacks. As far as Clousers book goes I haven't read it yet but plan to before spring , but if you want to buy it you can almost get it half off at Amazon. I do own Harry Murray's dvd and that has alot of good info on it. I fish for Smallies on the Brandywine, Perkiomen, and Chester Creek .

 

[Fishidiot]

I spend a lot of time chasing bass too. I've always thought of myself as first and formost a trout fisherman but looking over my fly fishing log for 2006 I caught more bass than trout. No doubt part of this is my greater catch rate on bass. Many evenings after work I could easily catch two dozen bass, a feat that I'd be hard pressed to do with trout during the summer. Anyway, don't write off small creeks. Many trout streams that get warm in the summer have smallies by June. They're usually under 12 inches but a blast on a small fly rod. Rock bass and red breast sunfish are often numerous in these creeks too and also a lot of fun.

 

[sandfly]

Big "D", Neshamminy, Tohickon, now Pine and Tioga/Chemung. :-D

 

[Coughlin]

Sandfly,
LOL, can't tell you how many times the Tohickon saved the day when the Delaware was dead or off color.
Coughlin

 

[troutbert]

Order the book from the man himself! He’s done a lot for flyfishing. Here’s the website:

http://www.clouserflyfishing.com/videos.html

And if you’re anywhere close to the Harrisburg/Middletown area, make a point of going to their shop.

 

[Padraic]

I'll second that advice. Bob Clouser is not just a giant in the sport... he's one of the nicest guys in the sport too.

It seems to me, so many writers are interested in showing how complex fishing can be, and so how clever they are. Bob is interested in simplifying everything and making it available to anyone... and that is more than clever... it's genius. I'm a huge fan. The only guy who might know more about flyfishing for bass and trout is his son.

 

[bjkaledas]

Thanks for the replies!

Tim,

I do live in the Danville area. I used to live in Danville, but I moved to Lewisburg now. So all of your suggestions are great!

In Danville, I would always hit up where Roaring Creek meets the Susquehanna, so you are right about those.

Definitely give me more information on when it is safe to wade and whatnot. I did notice that the West Branch has a USGS meter on the west branch in the area of Milton. In fact, I have seen somebody wading there when I was crossing the bridge there from Milton over to 15 last summer. That triggered that spot to me, but I am nervous about wading in the river. Do you wade with waders? I would figure a swimming suit might be safer.

BJ

 

[bjkaledas]

BTW, Tim are you the one that we were trying to plan an outing together at the Fabridam? We never found a good weekend for the both of us, but we need to plan that here in the late Spring/early Summer. I lost those PMs you sent before the site switched over to the new server and forgot who PM'd me.

BJ

 

[troutbert]

Pad is right, Bob Clouser is a heck of a nice guy, as well as expert angler. People should also know that the was the main force behind the conservation smallmouth regs on the Susquehanna. He organized people to support that and they worked on that for 9 years before the PFBC decided to do it. And later on, that led to the regs being extended further up the Susque and the Juniata River.

I suggest buying the book directly from him because that we he actually makes some money from it. Support those who support the sport!

If you buy it from another source he only gets the author royalty, and the way the publishing business works, the author typically gets a pittance. But if you buy it directly he gets more of a fair share, considering all the years he put into developing this knowledge.

Also, you should visit the shop because it's just a unique place. We read about buying flies from the Dette's in the Catskills and wish I had stopped in there, to soak up some of that flyfishing history. Some day people will read about and talk about Clousers shop in the same way.