FLATHEAD TAKEOVER OF SUSQUEHANNA RIVER

[lycoflyfisher]

Do not take the potential issue of sediment released by removing lowhead dams lightly. There are currently groups voicing concern with this sediment causing greater harm to the Chesapeake Bay than other land practices. Ultimately this could lead to a decrease in funding for dam removals if greater value is placed on sediment storage that has already entered the waterway than the ecological benefits of free flowing river systems.

 

[SurfCowboyXX]

Not for nothing, but I grew up fishing the New River and the James River, possibly the two best smallmouth rivers on the planet. They are also possibly the two best flathead rivers on the planet and have been since my dad was a boy in the 1930s. So I'm not exactly sure the impact that flatheads are going to have on the Susky, but it may be to eat the smaller fish and create more room for those who don't get eaten to get large.

 

[jifigz]

SurfCowboyXX wrote:
Not for nothing, but I grew up fishing the New River and the James River, possibly the two best smallmouth rivers on the planet. They are also possibly the two best flathead rivers on the planet and have been since my dad was a boy in the 1930s. So I'm not exactly sure the impact that flatheads are going to have on the Susky, but it may be to eat the smaller fish and create more room for those who don't get eaten to get large.

The New River is THE smallmouth river. It gets my vote for the best in the world. It still can't produce size and numbers like Lake Erie but as far as rivers go it's hard to beat. The James and Rappahannock are also good as is the Susky and the J, but the New is just awesome .

 

[jifigz]

One river that never thrilled me too much for smallies was the Shenandoah. It was very.......meh....

 

[larkmark]

Wondering if the New or James River are also impacted by pollution like the Susquehanna? I wonder how Susquehanna Smallmouth will fare in the face of a thriving Flathead population with two years of very high water during spawn, continual pollution from a variety of sources and the fact that they are just now showing signs of recovering from the crash of a few yrs back. Went out again this week and caught a few here and there. Nothing to write home about.

 

[RLeep2]

If the New is a better bass river than the Penobscot, I need to get down there and sample it before I get inducted into the applesauce brigade and while I can still motor under my own power.

I have a hard time imagining it could be. I've never seen anything like the Penobscot. But, I've been wrong before and pretty frequently at that.

So far as Lake Erie smallmouth go, yes it is hard to beat for size and numbers. All the same, I've always found it kinda boring to fish. When the bass are shallow in the bay early in the year can be a lot of fun, but it's gotten really, really busy over the last 10-15 years. I'd rather catch smaller fish somewhere else then be crowded. I'm kinda phobic that way..

 

[SurfCowboyXX]

The New is as good as Erie, at least statistically. I don't know about the Penobscot, but it seems the fish there are a bit smaller. The New River record is 8lb 1 oz, caught last year, and the Erie record is 8lb 4oz, caught in 2016. All those big smallies you see Blane Chocklett feeding game-changer flies to are coming out of either the New or James, depending on where he's guiding at the time. Number-wise, I always felt like the numbers were a little shorter on the New, but the size was generally bigger, especially at the big end of the spectrum. One thing to remember is that the New is a serious mountain river, which is to say that it is heavy water with strong flows, even in places where it doesn't seem that swift. Lots of folks die in that river every year and always have. I agree that the Shenandoah is wildly overrated as a smallmouth fishery. No size to those fish at all. I think it became popular simply because of its proximity to DC and the videos and writings of Harry Murray.