Upper Susquehana watershed? Float and fish?

[thmyorke1]

Any advice for fishing some of the upper susquehana tributaries? Such as the Chenago and Unadilla Rivers?
I recall some users here are familiar with the susquehana river.
I drive past Binghamton, NY many times a year and love the looks
of some of the tributaries to the susquehana in the area. I have done some wade fishing with
nice success here, including Tunkhannock creek in PA. Usually for smallmouth bass.

While the Delaware River may be "better", I'd just love to explore and dip into the other rivers this region has to offer.

Ideally, I also take my own canoe and do some personal float trips myself in the future.

Are there any suggested guides that take drift boats through these areas?
Or general ideas where to put in/pull out my own canoe?

Thanks NJF crew

[bulletbob]

here's how to work this.. type in your browser-
Susquehanna River NY DEC
Chenango River NY DEC
Unadilla River NY DEC

You will get the NYS DEC fishing evaluation and access points for any river, lake,creek,pond in the state...

Susquehanna and Chenango are very shallow for the most part, with a few 10-20 holes here and there.. Mostly SMB, but there are Muskie, Pike, Walleyes, big Carp and Channel Cats as well... Guys catch Muskies, but you can fish for a year and never raise one.. Then you'll be fishing for 10 inch SMB, and a 4 footer will grab your 1/16 oz jig, and spool you.. Happened to me a few times.. used tp be a LOT of walleyes here , but they have been decimated in this system, and have become a pretty rare catch.. We fished hard this past year and caught 3 between 2 of us, my grandson and myself.. In the 90's I would regularly catch a dozen in a few hours between 6 and 8 PM on a fall evening... SMB can get very plentiful in Oct and Nov, and catching 25 in 2 hours is no big deal, but a LOT of them are sub 10 inches, and anything above a foot long is a pretty good one.. Spring can be ok as well, but after about early June, the river gets a greenish brown color, and fishing gets real slow unless you want Carp and cats..I live by the river, and to be honest, its not the same as it was .. Something has changed for the worse...Still fish there, still some nice ones, but for me, I fish elsewhere until October when the river clears, and the SMB become active.. There are now Flatheads in this section of the river, and we'll see what effect that has.. Probably not a positive one in a system thats already stressed.. I can turn you onto a hotspot that is loaded with SMB in the fall if you care to PM me.. About 1/2 hour from Binghamton, but a lot nicer area, lots of action as well. The one thing you may notice is that there are very few fishermen along the river these days. There are some decent fish, and decent fishing spots, but those of us that have fished here for many decades know that something has happened to this system that has had a very profound negative impact. bob

[thmyorke1]

Thanks Bob, yes NY DEC's websites per river are always satisfactory! I see the access spots from them there.
I was curious from a canoe-float perspective what are some fun stretches.

Even 10 inch SMB with a chance at a big one is interesting enough for me

Ill keep in mind to target them before that green-ification you mention. I think i recall seeing similar passing by in the summer.
Maybe floating the upper stretches with better water flow improves it too? How far would you consider putting a canoe in? I'll check usgs river gages prior to any adventure