susquehanna SMB

[bulletbob]

had a few hours this afternoon to wet a line.. weather has been very mild this winter so far, even here in central NY state... I hit the river not expecting much, as in 30 years here I have personally never caught a single fish there this late in the year...After dealing with me, my wife, my son and his wife and my 2 grandkids [8 and 5] all getting sick with covid this month, it was good to get out of the house....
the SMB fishing was spectacular..
Caught about 20 in 2 hours, many of them pretty big and fat. Twister tails/jigheads were all I needed,,
Fish were quite active, even had a jumper which is very rare in cold water.. Never moved an inch from the steep muddy slippery bank I was teetering on by the tips of my toes. Had to lower myself down a steep slick unclimbable bank on a rope and was still 6 feet from the river.

Thats where the fish are at times, places no one can get to... this river is not all rock bottom like the Delaware.. Most of it flows through farmland and then urban areas, and a lot of it is soft ooze bottom with nothing but carp and channel cats...

Used to catch a ton of walleyes for many years but they have totally disappeared from this section of the river... I have caught 1 in the past 2 years.. used to catch up to 10 or 12 on a good early evening, once caught 26 standing on the same rock at 3 in the afternoon on a sunny september day... The bottom was covered with 9-10 inch young walleyes I called "spikes".. We used to catch them by the hundreds... Used to get disgusted and leave they were so thick and aggressive.. they started disappearing maybe 12 years ago, and once the spikes were gone, each year there were fewer and fewer adults, until today when the river seems totally devoid of them... It is what it is......

anyway, the SMB don't seem to mind the absence of the walleyes.. More for them to eat I guess... bob

[thmyorke1]

susq interests me a lot. I figure you're way 'upstream' , i would love to float it one day.

[bulletbob]

There are a few guys from NJF that fish the pennsy section of the susquehanna, and do well.. Up here, the river runs a nasty brown green color most of the year, and only clears up a little when the water gets cold starting late october..You can drive 10 miles along the river in summer , even near the cities and towns and not see a single boat fishing it... there are fish, usually smb, muskies, catfish, but its not like the much clearer, more rocky sections of the river in central pa... i have been fishing it over 30 years... Very productive on occasion, but for every good trip i have I get 5 skunkers.. Always been that way, and thats why the lack of pressure as well... This river does not give up her fish easily... bob

[acabtp]

Originally Posted by bulletbob

Used to catch a ton of walleyes for many years but they have totally disappeared from this section of the river... I have caught 1 in the past 2 years.. used to catch up to 10 or 12 on a good early evening, once caught 26 standing on the same rock at 3 in the afternoon on a sunny september day... The bottom was covered with 9-10 inch young walleyes I called "spikes".. We used to catch them by the hundreds... Used to get disgusted and leave they were so thick and aggressive.. they started disappearing maybe 12 years ago, and once the spikes were gone, each year there were fewer and fewer adults, until today when the river seems totally devoid of them... It is what it is.....

Flathead candy?

[bulletbob]

You know I though about that...The flatheads have not come into this section of the river {NY} that I am aware of..There may be a dam or some other impediment, or the winters might just be too cold for them to like it very much... the walleyes started falling off probably 15 or so years ago and it just got worse each year... I have talked to NY DEC Fisheries about it.. They were going to do a river survey this past fall, but we had non stop rain and the river was so dangerously fast, high,and muddy that they could not do it... Maybe this year I hope...bob