Juniata...best Tribs for Winter Smallies?

BruceC2C

BruceC2C

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Any GravelBar, will do just fine. 365. Fresh&Salt
Will spend 2 weeks in January scouting & WADE Fishing The Juniata and related Tribs.

My initial research shows about a dozen Tribs that are listed...( Tea Creek- Blacklog-Cocolamus & The Kish...to name a few.
I am sure the r many more.

I plan to return frequently
to the J for next 12 months,
but would like to scout as much productive water as possible and eliminate " No prospects" efficiently.

Requesting input on best Tribs to fish
and Tribs to skip
Wade Fishing this winter.

ThankU🍻
 
BruceC2C said:
Will spend 2 weeks in January scouting & WADE Fishing The Juniata and related Tribs.

My initial research shows about a dozen Tribs that are listed...( Tea Creek- Blacklog-Cocolamus & The Kish...to name a few.
I am sure the r many more.

I plan to return frequently
to the J for next 12 months,
but would like to scout as much productive water as possible and eliminate " No prospects" efficiently.

Requesting input on best Tribs to fish
and Tribs to skip
Wade Fishing this winter.

ThankU🍻
Click to expand...
Well blacklog and tea are not direct tribs of the J but rather smaller streams within the Juniata watershed so you can cross those off. I wouldn’t bother with Kish except at the mouth. You are better off targeting deeper water in the J. There are some but most tribs are more suitable for trout than smallmouth bass.
 
Tuscarora Creek is a Juniata River trib that holds smallmouth bass.

I don't know how many are there in the winter, though.

I'm not sure about this, but I suspect that many of the smallmouth in streams like Tuscarora Creek, Loyalsock Creek, and Pine Creek are in those streams in the summer, but in the winter they drop down into the "big water" in the rivers.

What do you all think?
 
My initial gut response was also to say stick to the J mainstem. But Tuscarora was the first trib that came to mind for me too. The entire Kish watershed is at least somewhat limestone influenced (some parts of it are pure limestone), and is a Trout system. It never gets warm enough to support the temperature range SMB need to grow properly.

This is Dave Weaver terrain. Wait for his response, and listen to what he has to say.
 
Swattie87 said:
This is Dave Weaver terrain. Wait for his response, and listen to what he has to say.
Click to expand...

Well, unfortunately, I don't have much to add on this one. Troutbert is right that bass in small creeks migrate down to rivers in winter.

The lower J has a lot of tribs but they're mostly small and I doubt very much that they're viable bass fisheries in winter. They might be worth exploring in their lower reaches in summer(?).

Some of these creeks I frequent have a fairly deep pool at the mouth (deep is relative, on the Juniata we're talking 2-5 feet) and I have taken some big bass out of these in winter, usually when targeting muskies. Oftentimes, there's an eddy in the river below these creek mouths that can hold winter bass. However further up these creeks for bass in winter? I wouldn't bother.

The Susky has bigger tribs and some of them have a reputation for holding large bass in the springtime. This might be a better bet for some exploring.

I'll close with my usual suggestion to folks looking for small streams to fish: go exploring and put in your time. It's fun and although many such trips will prove to be dry holes, you'll find some good fisheries that will keep you coming back. Enjoy.

(This thread will be moved to Warm Water soon)
 
Last edited:
Dave_W said:
Well, unfortunately, I don't have much to add on this one. Troutbert is right that bass in small creeks migrate down to rivers in winter.

The lower J has a lot of tribs but they're mostly small and I doubt very much that they're viable bass fisheries in winter. They might be worth exploring in their lower reaches in summer(?).

Some of these creeks I frequent have a fairly deep pool at the mouth (deep is relative, on the Juniata we're talking 2-5 feet) and I have taken some big bass out of these in winter, usually when targeting muskies. Oftentimes, there's an eddy in the river below these creek mouths that can hold winter bass. However further up these creeks for bass in winter? I wouldn't bother.

The Susky has bigger tribs and some of them have a reputation for holding large bass in the springtime. This might be a better bet for some exploring.

I'll close with my usual suggestion to folks looking for small streams to fish: go exploring and put in your time. It's fun and although many such trips will prove to be dry holes, you'll find some good fisheries that will keep you coming back. Enjoy.

(This thread will be moved to Warm Water soon)
Click to expand...
Winter Bassin in the Juniata. I have always heard the sayers lake regulars I see at the tackle shop in howard near me talk about bass keying on darters.
 
troutbert said:
Tuscarora Creek is a Juniata River trib that holds smallmouth bass.

I don't know how many are there in the winter, though.

I'm not sure about this, but I suspect that many of the smallmouth in streams like Tuscarora Creek, Loyalsock Creek, and Pine Creek are in those streams in the summer, but in the winter they drop down into the "big water" in the rivers.

What do you all think?
Click to expand...
Totally agree. Not only do they drop down, but they probably start bunching up in certain spots. Hard to target wade fishing for sure unless you know historical spots where they school up.
 
SwissFamilyRobinson said:
Winter Bassin in the Juniata. I have always heard the sayers lake regulars I see at the tackle shop in howard near me talk about bass keying on darters.
Click to expand...
IMG_7490.jpeg
 
SwissFamilyRobinson said:
What species is that? I know green side is a common one that I have googled before tying my stonecat/darter flies but that looks different. Where was that photo taken?
Click to expand...
It was from muncy creek, a Susquehanna trib. I’m not sure what species. I hope one of the ID experts can chime in. I just thought it was really interesting looking and wanted to remember the coloration to try some presentations with a little more green in it.
 
BruceC2C said:
Will spend 2 weeks in January scouting & WADE Fishing The Juniata and related Tribs.

My initial research shows about a dozen Tribs that are listed...( Tea Creek- Blacklog-Cocolamus & The Kish...to name a few.
I am sure the r many more.

I plan to return frequently
to the J for next 12 months,
but would like to scout as much productive water as possible and eliminate " No prospects" efficiently.

Requesting input on best Tribs to fish
and Tribs to skip
Wade Fishing this winter.

ThankU🍻
Click to expand...
You should consider targeting trout in those creeks you mentioned. The Juniata system is good for bigger trout if you put in your work to find them and winter is a great time to target and catch them. All you need is a period of mild weather to bump stream temps a bit.
 
I believe that's a greenside darter.

You might send a PM to Mike and ask him to check this thread and chime in as he would know. Or start a separate thread with "fish ID" in the subject line as this thread is about Juniata tribs.
 
I've done A LOT of winter smallmouth fishing in the Juniata. My advice is to stick to the Juniata proper for reliable smallmouth fishing. Fish congregate around current breaks in case water levels rise. These areas don't have to be deep, but often they have at least a few feet of depth. Small cutbacks in the shore are enough to hold many fish.

Once you find them, catching them is rather easy.
 
Dave_W said:
Well, unfortunately, I don't have much to add on this one. Troutbert is right that bass in small creeks migrate down to rivers in winter.

The lower J has a lot of tribs but they're mostly small and I doubt very much that they're viable bass fisheries in winter. They might be worth exploring in their lower reaches in summer(?).

Some of these creeks I frequent have a fairly deep pool at the mouth (deep is relative, on the Juniata we're talking 2-5 feet) and I have taken some big bass out of these in winter, usually when targeting muskies. Oftentimes, there's an eddy in the river below these creek mouths that can hold winter bass. However further up these creeks for bass in winter? I wouldn't bother.

The Susky has bigger tribs and some of them have a reputation for holding large bass in the springtime. This might be a better bet for some exploring.

I'll close with my usual suggestion to folks looking for small streams to fish: go exploring and put in your time. It's fun and although many such trips will prove to be dry holes, you'll find some good fisheries that will keep you coming back. Enjoy.

(This thread will be moved to Warm Water soon)
Click to expand...

Still a lot of good info in there Dave.
 
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