stupid SMB fishing 11/4

[bulletbob]

Susquehanna River Tioga County NY.. I realize most reports on this river are from central and southern Pa.. However, some sections north of the Penn. border are stiff with bass. Some are muddy, and you couldn't buy a bass.. In any case, I started at 3 PM with various small jigs.. By 3:30 PM I had caught and released 15 legal size SMB.. Thats a keeper every 2 minutes!... Its slowed up some as it got darker but by about 4:30 I had caught and released 22 bass, all but one was legal size.. Also dropped a few, and "turned" a few... Color didn't matter nor did size or design.. they hit anything as long as it was barely moving or just sitting on bottom in the current.. That tells me the water is cooling off fast.. These fish tended to NOT jump as well.. We are getting into the 20's up here at night.. We don't get a winter SMB bite up here like the Pa. guys do . The bass are typically finished first week of Dec, depending on water temp..
I caught them until about the start of the 2nd week last year,, Its funny... They will hit, so they are still active in that icy water, but they are SO sluggish on the hook, and are so letahrgic they don't jump and swim away very slowly when released. I have never had much luck with these fish in the summer.. I catch tons of them spring and fall[ especially in Nov], but this section of the river stays a dark muddy brownish green in summer, and I don't even fish it anymore until fall... Just not enough action.. the fish have to be there, but man I can't even catch them with live sculpins, stone cats, crayfish or hellgramites.. Its been that way as long as I have lived here.. However, the fall SMB fishing here is nothing short of amazing.
btw, I caught all of todays bass fishing from shore , and never moved more than about 50 feet from the rock I started on.... all released of course... I was hoping for a Walleye to take home but it didn't happen today.. Typically when the bass are still biting this fast, its not yet peak walleye time up here... bob