Susky in York Co

[Balt Co Wanderer]

Does anyone have any insight on how the Susky is around Susquehannock state park for smallie fishing? I’ve seen some pics of some hogs coming out of the river in that area, and it seems wadeable/rock-hop-able in that area. I’m not allowed to take my kayak into other waters — as per my permit agreement with the owners of the local reservoir.

I was going to check it out this summer with a buddy when a buddy of his said we shouldn’t bother — “It’s like the garbage dump of southeast PA” — were his exact words. We ended up spending the day fishing a known quantity.

I’m definitely not looking for anyone’s honey holes — I like the challenge of finding my own — I’m just curious if fishing there is worth a 50 minute drive and what safe wading flows might look like on the gauge?

I love my smallie spots, but I’m making a concerted effort to learn to fish bigger water this summer.

 

[PlainClothesHippie]

I haven't fished there for a few years so I can't say if the bass have recovered well, but please allow a word of caution. The Susquehanna is unforgiving river with a lot of treacherous bottom features. She just looks quiet.
That is not the reason I've avoided fishing there though. Several years ago the smallie population took a hit and many fish suffered lesions on them. One hundred fish days faded away to getting skunked regularly. I have heard that things are much better again, but not like twenty years ago.

You may want to look into buying a second kayak to use on waters other than your reservoir. Just a thought.
Edit: Your buddy is right, the Susquehanna is a dirty river.

 

[afishinado]

Does anyone have any insight on how the Susky is around Susquehannock state park for smallie fishing? I’ve seen some pics of some hogs coming out of the river in that area, and it seems wadeable/rock-hop-able in that area. I’m not allowed to take my kayak into other waters — as per my permit agreement with the owners of the local reservoir.

I was going to check it out this summer with a buddy when a buddy of his said we shouldn’t bother — “It’s like the garbage dump of southeast PA” — were his exact words. We ended up spending the day fishing a known quantity.

I’m definitely not looking for anyone’s honey holes — I like the challenge of finding my own — I’m just curious if fishing there is worth a 50 minute drive and what safe wading flows might look like on the gauge?

I love my smallie spots, but I’m making a concerted effort to learn to fish bigger water this summer.

I haven't waded there to fish, but I have launched my kayak at the Muddy Creek access which is right across the river from the State Park. It's a great place to kayak but the fishing has been so-so the last few years, for me anyway. A word of caution, the Conowingo dam is a few miles downstream and the flow changes quickly when they crank up the turbines to generate power. As suggested above, you may want to consider buying or borrowing another kayak to fish the Susky since wading the river can be a risky proposition, especially in that area.

 

[Balt Co Wanderer]

A second Kayak is definitely on my to-do list. The reason why I keep it at the local reservoir is that I never got a real car rack for it. That would be necessary for me to take it up 83. I got my current kayak at the Dicks in Hanover, and it was the most white knuckle drive ever back up with the foam blocks, haha.

I grew up fishing the Potomac and rock hopping there, but the Conowingo Dam is certainly an unknown element to me. I might forgo the Susky this summer.

What exactly happened to the smallies in there? I always hear that it’s not what it used to be, but I’ve never been told why. The Potomac hasn’t been top notch either, but I attribute that to several flood years wiping out several classes of smallmouth fry.

 

[Rockfish]

Interesting. PB or LR? I’ve been thinking the reverse and getting one just so I can fish the reservoirs. The one I have I fish the bay and ocean as well as fresh so that takes it out of the running for the reservoirs. I’ve had same great days from the shore at Liberty which got me thinking.

After a lot of research, I managed to find a secret spot to launch on the lower ES last fall and managed to find reds up to 38” in skinny water but I was armed with spinning/bait casting gear. This spring I’m going to break out the 8 wt and see what happens. Got some nice rock and specks in there too so I should be able to get some kind of action

 

[Balt Co Wanderer]

LR for the last 2 seasons because my buddies have their yaks there. PB for a season before that. PB is closer to home and has smallies (which I greatly prefer), but the added thrill of pickerel and pike plus my buddies have their yaks there makes LR the most logical choice.

Do you fly fish from shore at liberty? I’ve lived up here since I was 17, but I’ve never fished liberty.