Small Stream Warmwater fishing

[dc410]

I stopped by one of my favorite little warmwater streams the other day and the smallies were there in abundance and they had tied on the feed bag. Only fished for about an hour but caught many Smallmouth, Rock Bass and even a Bluegill (no Redbreasts or Greenies on this outing - even though I know they are there as well). The cool thing is that this stream has seemed to improve greatly in water quality over the decades. Many years ago I considered it a silted in, cow pasture creek, but now it has some very nice structure and nice gravelly substrate on the bottom. There have been many conservation efforts on this stream in the form of fencing, cow crossings and vegetative enhancement in the riparian areas and it surely made a big difference. I noticed a variety of species of midges and mayflies popping off of the surface as well. There were a large number of 8-9" smallies indicating a very successful spawning season a few years back. These small warmwater streams have an awful lot to offer and as June fast approaches its time to get out there and give them a shot.

 

[raftman]

Nice man.

 

[Dave_W]

Yep - good stuff and a motivating start to the "crick" season.

I usually wait till June to target WW species in local creeks but, as this report reveals, they're hungry and ready to play.

 

[springer1]

Nice going, love those pics !

 

[jifigz]

I don't have hardly any smaller stream warm water type fishing available to me close by. Everything smaller than the Juniata here is trout water. The aughwick and tuscarora aren't too far but I rarely make the drive to fish them when I love right on the J. Rock bass all but seemed to have vanished in the J, though. I remember years ago they were everywhere and such a blast. Not so anymore. Is this happening around the state or is this specific to the Juniata watershed.

 

[Dave_W]

jifigz wrote:
Rock bass all but seemed to have vanished in the J, though. I remember years ago they were everywhere and such a blast. Not so anymore. Is this happening around the state or is this specific to the Juniata watershed.

We've discussed the situation with rock bass off and on and there seems to be agreement that rockies are down pretty much statewide. This has certainly been my experience. Nobody seems to know what's going on.

I can attest a small bit of good news from my own experience: I saw quite a few rockies spawning a couple years ago on the lower J near Amity Hall. Last summer I caught one and saw a few others (as well as red breast sunnies) on the Susquehanna at Harrisburg where many folks say they don't exist at all.

However, the consensus is that rockies have really declined. I agree they are less numerous than a decade ago, even though they're still locally abundant in some of the creeks I fish. This is true across the small streams I target for WW species, including many that are in the Potomac watershed as well as the Susky.

 

[afishinado]

jifigz wrote:
I don't have hardly any smaller stream warm water type fishing available to me close by. Everything smaller than the Juniata here is trout water....

I feel your pain...:roll:

 

[troutbert]

jifigz wrote:

I don't have hardly any smaller stream warm water type fishing available to me close by. Everything smaller than the Juniata here is trout water.

First world problems.

 

[dc410]

I got into some pretty little natives last evening on the local WW stream. Picking apart some of the woody debris in the slower back eddy water and along the banks turned up some aggressive Redbreast Sunnies. Really neat fish and a whole lot of fun on the fly rod.

 

[foxtrapper1972]

Cool. Looks like a lot more fun than getting into a screaming match or fist fight at Penns Creek!

 

[Dave_W]

Wow, those are beauties!

RBS are among my favorite fish.

 

[Swattie87]

Very nice...It's been a couple of years since I caught any like that pair of 'Breasts.

They're the Gemmies of PA's WW streams IMO.

 

[Dave_W]

Swattie87 wrote:
They're the Gemmies of PA's WW streams IMO.

Yep. However, these big bad sunnies don't fly over your shoulder when you set the hook... like those other gemmies.

 

[McSneek]

Dave_W wrote:

Swattie87 wrote:
They're the Gemmies of PA's WW streams IMO.

Yep. However, these big bad sunnies don't fly over your shoulder when you set the hook... like those other gemmies.

The little bluegill I hooked on the Tully last Thursday night begs to differ.... :-o

 

[Swattie87]

McSneek wrote:

Dave_W wrote:

Swattie87 wrote:
They're the Gemmies of PA's WW streams IMO.

Yep. However, these big bad sunnies don't fly over your shoulder when you set the hook... like those other gemmies.

The little bluegill I hooked on the Tully last Thursday night begs to differ.... :-o

Haha...They both sizzle when you drop them in peanut oil. :-o

 

[Mwheaps32]

I hooked what I thought was a decent trout tonight only to find a 15" smb on the end. Compared to other years it seems their running up the creek a little earlier. Either way you can't beat smb on the fly

 

[Clams]

I plan on fly fishing some local SEPA streams for smallies this month and thru the summer. I'll be targeting some weed beds - but the prospect of getting tangled in the weeds and losing flies/streamers etc is giving me nightmares in advance.

Can anyone recommend some strategies to avoid this? Are there any flies or streamers that will work better in weedy areas (like a fly fishing version of a weedless scum frog)?? Thanks...

 

[afishinado]

Clams wrote:
I plan on fly fishing some local SEPA streams for smallies this month and thru the summer. I'll be targeting some weed beds - but the prospect of getting tangled in the weeds and losing flies/streamers etc is giving me nightmares in advance.

Can anyone recommend some strategies to avoid this? Are there any flies or streamers that will work better in weedy areas (like a fly fishing version of a weedless scum frog)?? Thanks...

Lotsa fun starting in the next couple of weeks fishing for the fat bronze and green ones.

In the local small streams focus on deeper runs and pools with some current and rocks. Smallies relate to rocks and and current breaks they provide.

Also work the wood if you can find logs, blowdowns and branches in the stream.

Weeds are also a good place to find smallies hanging out and some SEPA streams hold largemouths. Fish all the above type water including the slower current areas where you may find the LMs.

Poppers are great bass catchers. Try size 2 - 6 in colors from light to dark. Below is a pic of a weedless popper that can be used in and around weeds and wood.

Wooly buggers are deadly along with any streamer pattern. Ditto to the above in the sizes and colors listed above.

If the fish aren't active, give big nymphs a try. A stonefly or big mayfly patterns work well and bass especially like flies with the movement rubber legs provide. Fish them dead-drift as well as trying swinging and stripping.

Good luck.

 

[nomad_archer]

Nice fish dc. I'm still on the trout kick at this time. But this is making me think twice about chasing the trout.