Fall Fish, one of PA’s original native predators: Thread for techniques, reports, and Fisheries.

[discomidge]

Loogit this big lug. I think their scales are pretty cool too.

 

[Fish Sticks]

People tossing fallfish, suckers, etc on the bank is a far too common occurrence.

Yea it sucks its because of all
This “rough fish” and “trash fish” phrases people throw around, I hate it. As big jihn mentioned alot of other species depend on their enormous nests made by licking up stones with their mouth. Can get up to 6 feet long and weigh tons and provide huge amount of communal spawning habitat for co-volved fish

 

[Fish Sticks]

Glad someone mentioned redbreast sunnies. Another native that is not appreciated. Over in NJ they stock the non-native bluegill and it gets all the good press. But I feel the native redbreast are better in every way and have never gotten a straight answer to why bluegills are the only sunnies stocked. The only possibility is that maybe bluegills do better in ponds while redbreast are more of a river fish. BTW, the NJ fisheries chief is interested in native and rare minnow and sunfish species (especially the ones from the Pine Barrens that end up in the aquarium trade) and I didn't get a straight answer from him. He has tried to get stream protection similar to that offered for wild trout streams for rare minnows and sunfish, but that gets no love and even some mockery.

Yea sucks those mud sunfish are beautiful but have been replaced and hybridized out of lakes

 

[rustbeltwilds]

Nice!!!! What they take?

Jig

 

[DomR]

So, "pretty average" and "beautiful white meat... for catfish." I'll continue to enjoy catching them and tossing them back.

There's a faction of anglers that target them and live line them or chunk them up for the purposes of targeting apex predators in the big D.

 

[Fish Sticks]

There's a faction of anglers that target them and live line them or chunk them up for the purposes of targeting apex predators in the big D.

Same in the conny

 

[jifigz]

Same in the conny

That's because fallfish make excellent bait for whisker-fish. If yinz' fellers have never built a fire, guzzled some beer, and waited for the whisker-fish to bite in the darkness of night you're missing out. Maybe you'll even have a few Dobsonflies dive bomb ya.

 

[Fish Sticks]

That's because fallfish make excellent bait for whisker-fish. If yinz' fellers have never built a fire, guzzled some beer, and waited for the whisker-fish to bite in the darkness of night you're missing out. Maybe you'll even have a few Dobsonflies dive bomb ya.

In the conny the guys I see doing it say they are for musky but I bet the entire gambit of non native mega predators love to eat them(snakeheads, blues, flatheads, musky). I have done a lot of that for brown bulls in jersey but stink bait was used.

Fall fish basically went from top predator to prey

 

[troutbert]

The Conny? What is that?

 

[jifigz]

In the conny the guys I see doing it say they are for musky but I bet the entire gambit of non native mega predators love to eat them(snakeheads, blues, flatheads, musky). I have done a lot of that for brown bulls in jersey but stink bait was used.

Fall fish basically went from top predator to prey

Brown bulls? You mean bullhead? They're cool little native catfish, also near the bottom of the food chain.

Now that flatheads are in the Susky and the Juniata literally everything is a prey item for them at some point. They are top predator for sure.

Fallfish still remain cool in my eyes, though.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Brown bulls? You mean bullhead? They're cool little native catfish, also near the bottom of the food chain.

Now that flatheads are in the Susky and the Juniata literally everything is a prey item for them at some point. They are top predator for sure.

Fallfish still remain cool in my eyes, though.

They are top predator before blues get in there

I think wells catfish will eventually start eating blues

 

[Fish Sticks]

The Conny? What is that?

Conny is the connodoguinett (prob spelled wrong) tons of fallfish

 

[troutbert]

Conny is the connodoguinett (prob spelled wrong) tons of fallfish

I think it's pronounced "Cannot go in it."

There's a Connemaugh River in western PA. I don't think I've ever read a fishing report from there on Paflyfish.com.

 

[Fish Sticks]

I think it's pronounced "Cannot go in it."

There's a Connemaugh River in western PA. I don't think I've ever read a fishing report from there on Paflyfish.com.

There are some places to squeak into it in places and the fall fish are not bad in my experience

 

[jifigz]

They are top predator before blues get in there

I think wells catfish will eventually start eating blues

Brown bullhead a top predator? Dang man......I mean, I guess. Bullheads are neat though. The records for bullhead usually top out around 4 lbs. That ain't very big. I can imagine the Juniata back in the day. Shad, redbreasts, eels, bullhead, fallfish, and that's about it other than fish that are so small they'd be basically just baitfish.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Brown bullhead a top predator? Dang man......I mean, I guess. Bullheads are neat though. The records for bullhead usually top out around 4 lbs. That ain't very big. I can imagine the Juniata back in the day. Shad, redbreasts, eels, bullhead, fallfish, and that's about it other than fish that are so small they'd be basically just baitfish.

Oh sorry no i meant fall fish. Theres not much research but scientists believe their abundance and size structure was much different before introductions of non native fish

 

[rancid waders]

Could anyone share their confidence patterns for fallfish?

 

[jifigz]

Could anyone share their confidence patterns for fallfish?

Basically anything you wanna throw sized appropriately. Woolly Buggers, Gurglers, poppers, Elk Hair Caddis, Big parachute adams, Chernobyl ants, smaller clouser minnows, crayfish, large wet flies/soft hackles.

They aren't picky fish.

 

[mdamm318]

I catch quite a few on black streamers.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Could anyone share their confidence patterns for fallfish?

I have found that buggers are my best producer. If its middle of the day and sunny and water is low in summer nymphing a bugger through deeper runs has been money for me