Observations on the Susquehanna today

[henrydavid]

I'm a little surprised by the lack of top water rises being reported here. Since making the transition to warm water 2 weeks ago and seeing few risers during the middle of the day I have been mainly fishing in the evenings and have yet to be disappointed. Lots of hatches and risers late evening and past dark.

I've found some larger smallies by searching for new locations. Mainly where the faster water "pools out" to calmer water with a good deal of large rocks. Easier to see the risers and the big boys have been coming out after the sun goes down.

 

[KGStine]

McSneek,
I fished at the Rt 30 bridge Sunday morning from 6:30 to 11:00. I agree about the wading and also saw no risers, but all the fish I caught were on poppers. I caught 8, most were 9-11 inches, largest was pushing 14. The wind came up for a while and I switched to a streamer and crayfish with no luck. As soon as I went back to the popper I got action again. I did see a lot of crayfish in the shallows as I was leaving.

 

[Shaner]

I Been fishing the Wrightsville area(downriver of 462 bridge) wading and dry fly's only in the evening and been doing very well. 3 channel cats on dry's and a bunch of bass. No big bass maybe 16-17" max one cat was ~20"

 

[Beefheart]

I had some luck above Harrisburg during my first outing on the Susquehanna. I just moved to the area and was really excited to get out into that enormous river. The structure is incredible, all those jagged rocks poking out everywhere made wading quite the adventure.

I definitely had to work for it, but I managed a few smallies on crayfish patterns, including one about 16". My buddies who are familiar with the river had me thinking I could do no wrong once I got out there, but I learned that in the gin clear water I've got to be on my game with longer casts and stealthy wading. Pretty sure I spooked a lot of fish clambering up and down those rock formations. Some botched distance casts didn't help either. But I did get it done eventually. Looking forward to a 20+ fish day, though! But that'll come with time and learning the river better, I hope.

Cannot wait to get back out there! What an amazing river to have less than 45 mins away. Not to mention the other warm water options nearby I'm looking forward to exploring.

 

[krayfish2]

Floated again today. Water still clear even with heavy storms yesterday afternoon. That'll be my last float until the mercury drops. It sucked the life out of me to bake in the heat for 8 hours.

Observations;
Water is low...very low
Green algae is a serious issue in many areas making them unfishable
Many, many areas completely void of fish
Saw two dozen dead channel cats in 8-12 pound range

 

[lycoflyfisher]

What areavwas that algal bloom in kray?

 

[HopBack]

Did well below the Norman Wood Bridge with a good mix of fish. 12 smallmouth, 5 rock bass, and for the first time on a fly rod 2 channel cats. I also broke off a huge carp. I was severely under gunned with my six weight. The catfish looked to be spawed out and were incidental hookups. I wish I would have got into warm water fishing a lot sooner. So much fun!

 

[Beefheart]

HopBack wrote:
Did well below the Norman Wood Bridge with a good mix of fish. 12 smallmouth, 5 rock bass, and for the first time on a fly rod 2 channel cats. I also broke off a huge carp. I was severely under gunned with my six weight. The catfish looked to be spawed out and were incidental hookups. I wish I would have got into warm water fishing a lot sooner. So much fun!

Nicely done! I just moved to Lancaster County and am looking to really explore the Susquehanna. Down as low as you were wasn't on my radar. Glad to hear it's so productive down there. I had heard that area hadn't bounced back to the same extent as above Harrisburg.

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

Fished the river below York Haven today. Saw lots of young bass, quit a few decent bass and a few big ones too.

Water is almost as low as I've ever seen it. The area I fish is basically dozens of islands with channels, grassbeds, ledges, pools and riffles. Some of the smaller channels were dry and some other were only inches deep. However I did see an abundance of crayfish and minnows in the shallows. I was able to wade out across the main river channel and fish mid river areas wearing swim trunks. This is almost never possible. Caught a few missed a few. Fiberglass is slow, gotta speed up my hooksets. River is low.

 

[Dave_W]

Finally got out on the big river this afternoon for a couple hours.

Was below YH dam on east side. Air was a scorching 95 degrees and the water temp came in at 86 (took it in two places with shade and current). Water was low and clear with rocks covered with algea (I was not in an area with much current). Saw no dead catties. Lots of YOY bass everywhere in the shallows; saw one YOY with lesions. Lots of birds, yakkers, kids swimming.

Fishing was slow so I poked around in the shallows: saw the usual thick numbers of baitfish and crayfish. Shiners and darters were esp common. Rocks and pilings had great numbers of dragon fly cases. I was looking for stonefly shucks and found a few but the dragonfly nymphs were much more prevalent. Should have brought my seine.

Was hoping for the fishing to pick up at sunset, as it often the case on days like today, but wound up leaving around 7:30.
(Memo to self: "Hey Dave, don't be a knucklehead- it's blazing hot and you know you need more than a single bottle of water if you're going to be out on the river in the sun!)

 

[AFISHN]

Fished my favorite place yesterday sort of around around Duncannon at first light..out late morning.Hot as hell !!.Water very low,warm and clear.
Caught about 20 mostly 12 inches or so,two about 2lbs+

Small white popper with a #14 white bead head nymph did all the catching.20% top;80% nymph

 

[Beefheart]

Does anyone have experience wading the river where Chiques Creek pours in, between Columbia and Marietta? I just moved to Lancaster County from Pittsburgh and have been going up to Fort Hunter to fish. I love it up there, but Marietta is 15 mins from my house instead of 40 to Ft. Hunter. I'll check it out no matter what, but just curious if anyone has experience with that area, access spots, or recommendations to just pass it by. Judging from Google Maps, it looks to have some good structure.

Also, I fished Fort Hunter on Wednesday for a couple hours. I managed two smaller fish and hooked and lost a big one, at least 17". I saw that big one about a yard in front of me as I approached a ledge. One cast of a grey/white clouser in front of him and without hesitation he swam up and sucked it in. He got off after a pretty good fight as I tried to keep him from going over the ledge. Bummer...but there will be others! I love living so close to the Susquehanna!

 

[krayfish2]

Just now saw the post asking about algae blooming. I've fished a good bit between where the Juniata dumps in and Rt 81 bridge. The water is so clear the sun really has the green slime going strong. I've seen it mostly in the sections that are mid thigh deep or less and those areas have some current as well. I haven't been out in a week or so but the flows are quite low so I'll imagine the issue has gotten worse.

 

[Acristickid]

From today's Pittsburgh Post Gazette

More bad news for the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay. Pennsylvania’s newly adopted state budget falls short of providing the funding needed to reach self-imposed pollution-reduction goals.

But that point might be moot. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a closely watched Interior and Environmental Appropriations bill that includes an amendment barring the Environmental Protection Agency from spending money that in any way penalizes or fines states that have failed to meet self-imposed pollution-reduction targets.

Because the states set their own pollution standards, legislators felt it was unfair and out of the federal government’s jurisdiction to enforce the state’s goals.

That means Pennsylvania is not likely to be coerced by Washington to reduce the Total Maximum Daily Load of pollutants that have nearly destroyed a prime smallmouth bass fishery, and which empty into Chesapeake Bay.

Recent studies appear to show a connection between tens of thousands of diseased smallmouth bass and agricultural runoff and municipal sewage legally discharged into the river. Oddly, the smallmouths are most vulnerable to the pollutants. It is believed by some researchers that natural parasites that target smallmouth bass exacerbate the impact of the chemical releases.

The state Department of Environmental Protection was charged with deciding whether the Susquehanna suffered from “impairment,” a legal designation that would spark federal and state actions and funding. The DEP’s statement fell short of that declaration.

As part of the 2010 settlement of a Clean Water Act lawsuit, the states and EPA established what were referred to as “science-based limits” on the level of pollution release that would negatively impact Chesapeake Bay. The states developed their own plans to achieve those goals and agreed to file bi-yearly status reports with consequences imposed by EPA for failure to implement their plans.

Pennsylvania’s Blueprint goal was to have 60 percent of the pollution-reduction practices necessary to restore water quality in place by 2017, and 100 percent in place by 2025.

Opponents of what came to be called the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint, led by the American Farm Bureau Federation, filed suit in federal court to prevent implementation of the self-imposed Blueprint rules. They lost the case and its appeal, and the Supreme Court decided not to hear the case, leaving the Appeals Court ruling that the Blueprint is legal and should be implemented.

The House bill would protect farmers and other landowners from EPA actions believed by some to be “overzealous.” It also would eliminate enforcement of pollution-control agreements that Pennsylvania and other states had agreed to follow.

“We at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation have been doing this work to Save the Bay for almost 50 years,” said William C. Baker, president of the nonprofit group, in a statement. “The frustrations of a bay getting worse have been huge. But now, with the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint, we are seeing real, system-wide improvements.”

 

[3wt7X]

I started fishing the Susquehanna as a new water to explore and mostly in response to all the positive things that I have been hearing about the river lately. Here are a couple observations based on the four wade trips that I have taken so far.

1. By far the best Smallmouth River that I have had the fortune to fish, which is not saying much, considering I am more of a trout guy, and only really fish bass a few times during the summer, when I get tired of sweating on the Limestone Spring Creeks. Each trip has yeilded a good number of fish, and the breakdown of fish caught covers many different year classes.

2. As many have pointed out, the fish move around a good bit. One trip, I caught all my fish casting to the bank, the next, most of the fish came off of rock ledges, and on another trip they were ambushing minnows in the submerged grass in the main channel.

3. Sunrises on the Susquehanna in Harrisburg are pretty amazing. Sorry, going a little soft there, but I find myself pausing and enjoying that view, when the sun crests the hill north of the capital.

4.Bigger fish almost always strike during the initial fall or the initial couple of strips. I would be interested to see what others have experienced with this, but all of my 15+ inch fish have hit that way, and all the fish that hit at the end of the retrieve are younger year classes. I believe it is a result of the big guys wanting to ambush rather than follow, but it might be that they are more educated, and simply do not strike as often after a long follow.

5. Sun is a huge factor, which really is not rocket science, but things have really slowed down for me past 9am on the sunny days. I'm sure a boat would help with that in being able to access the deeper channels.

Regardless, I have really enjoyed getting to know the big river a bit. I got my first smallie over 18 inches out of that river this morning on a Murdich Minnow, along with an obese 15 incher. I am interested to see how it fishes in the fall in between Steelhead trips.

 

[Dave_W]

Some good observations 3WT. ^ Congrats on the trophy fish.

I think you'll find it fishes well in the fall. Generally speaking, folks tend to expect fewer but bigger fish in the autumn months. Summer patterns usually hold through Sept, but by October the fish tend to transition out of the shallows and I usually expect to have more luck in pools. By November, the fish often migrate downriver to deeper areas. I've had some good river bass fishing as late as mid December, however, I usually taper off my river bassing by mid/late November (although this is a great time for walleyes and muskies).

 

[Dave_W]

The Susky was hot tonight!

Was fishing Dauphin Co side vicinity of HIA. Water was extremely clear, perhaps due to the large river grass beds in the region where I was wading. Water temp was 84 degrees at 6:30pm. Although there were swarms of swallows out, no hatch materialized. There were some sporadic rises, which usually resulted in a hooked fish if they were within my range. Started with a red and yellow pencil popper and didn't need to try anything else. Fishing picked up just before sunset and action was heavy until I was off the water at dusk. All smaller fish tonight, but all fat and healthy.

 

[Fredrick]

Dave_W wrote:
The Susky was hot tonight!

Was fishing Dauphin Co side vicinity of HIA. Water was extremely clear, perhaps due to the large river grass beds in the region where I was wading. Water temp was 84 degrees at 6:30pm. Although there were swarms of swallows out, no hatch materialized. There were some sporadic rises, which usually resulted in a hooked fish if they were within my range. Started with a red and yellow pencil popper and didn't need to try anything else. Fishing picked up just before sunset and action was heavy until I was off the water at dusk. All smaller fish tonight, but all fat and healthy.

Nice . I need to get out to the Susky before winter comes

 

[Beefheart]

Dave_W wrote:
The Susky was hot tonight!

Was fishing Dauphin Co side vicinity of HIA. Water was extremely clear, perhaps due to the large river grass beds in the region where I was wading. Water temp was 84 degrees at 6:30pm. Although there were swarms of swallows out, no hatch materialized. There were some sporadic rises, which usually resulted in a hooked fish if they were within my range. Started with a red and yellow pencil popper and didn't need to try anything else. Fishing picked up just before sunset and action was heavy until I was off the water at dusk. All smaller fish tonight, but all fat and healthy.

I'm planning on heading out in that same general vicinity tonight. Hoping I have as much luck with some big ones thrown in! I'll definitely focus on the topwater bite. I'm planning on hitting the water around 4:00 or so. Might require me to fish subsurface and to find some faster water until it gets closer to evening. The cooler temps and the rain over the past couple days might help, though. I'm surprised the water temp was so warm the other night. Hopefully that goes down a bit and with a rising barometer, it'll be on!