West branch Susguehanna

[chemsarge]

My daughter and her husband recently built a new home near Kylertown, just north of Interstate 80. The West Branch of the Susky is a few miles north of them and I was wondering how the smallmouth fishing is there. I know it is/was a coal mining area and am curious about the impact on the stream. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Fishidiot]

The WBS is a recovering river and a great success story unfolding. I'm not sure where on the river you're at (I'm not a WBS regular) but the fishing generally improves as you head downstream. The best fishing would be from Williamsport downriver. However, as acid mine clean up work continues the good fishing continues to slowly move upriver.
Here's a report form a couple years ago on the SMB population in the lower WBS:

http://www.fish.state.pa.us/images/fisheries/afm/2008/3x11_24susq.htm

 

[troutbert]

Go to the sporting goods stores in Clearfield and ask them. Some sections are polluted by acid mine drainage. Other sections are much better. From what I've heard, it's pretty good from Clearfield on upstream for quite a few miles. But a long stretch down from Clearfield, around Karthaus etc. is still pretty bad.

 

[PACOFRANSICO]

I fished the section near Curwensville this afternoon. I caught 4 smallmouth on zonkers. And also picked up 2 natives on a feeder stream a bonus for the day. There's a tip look for the rootin' carp an the smallies are not to far from them pickin through the silt n mud thats stired up.

Waters low n warm , the "Bikinni hatches" are comming off so bring some sunglasses

 

[wgmiller]

The WB around Karthaus is looking better all the time. In my years of traveling to Sinnemahoning, the water has started to get 'greener' and a lot of the AMD coloring is disappearing. I've seen a lot of surface reclamation through that area which could be helping out.

There is still a lot of work to be done on the WB, but things are heading in the right direction...

 

[tomgamber]

Saw carp and sm bass and channel cats in the WB Susky where the Sinnemahoning dumps in this weekend. BTW everything is WAYYYYYY low and warming fast.

 

[wgmiller]

tomgamber wrote:
BTW everything is WAYYYYYY low and warming fast.

You got that right! No sign of rain until the weekend and even then it's going to be 'spotty'.