Schuylkill River Smallmouth

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springer1

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I've been striking out on fishing in the Schuylkill around Valley Forge & nearby upstream from there for smallmouth. If someone would want to give a reply or PM on a area they have found productive I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
 
Not being a Skuke regular, I'd defer to the opinion of those who fish it frequently. It is my understanding however that that section of the river doesn't have a lot of bass and that some folks blame predation from flathead catfish.
I'd be interested in hearing Mike's take on this one.
 
Not a regular, but I've got into good fish below the Norristown Dam and in the Phoenixville/Royersford area. Good access in both sections.

Fish brown/roange buggers and baitfish patterns.
 
Here's a post with some good info on this subject from the past:

http://www.paflyfish.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=4632&forum=2&post_id=43411#forumpost43411
 
Thanks all, I'll checkout accesses near Royersford for riffles & moving water. Thanks !!!
 
Springer: It's not you. We boat electrofished for an hour yesterday from just above the Perki mouth down to about a half mile below Valley Creek. While we did not concentrate on SMB habitat, we shocked plenty of it anyway and only saw or captured one SMB.
 
How does this compare with past results for smallmouth in surveys of this section?
 
Mike, what did you find in that section - anything big?
pawlings bridge and the old dam would be intersecting to know whats there, as I'd considered them the worthwhile spots to concentrate on.
 
Mike wrote:
Springer: It's not you. We boat electrofished for an hour yesterday from just above the Perki mouth down to about a half mile below Valley Creek. While we did not concentrate on SMB habitat, we shocked plenty of it anyway and only saw or captured one SMB.


Thanks for the info Mike. I've fished that section for SMB for quite a few years now, and fished just above there last week. I've posted about the lack of fish there more than a few times on here. It's good to know that it's not just my poor fishing or poor luck when I don't catch fish (smallies). Thanks for reporting the good stuff as well as the bad stuff.

Any theories as to why the SMBs have disappeared?

Also you wrote in your post, "we did not concentrate on SMB habitat, we shocked plenty of it anyway and only saw or captured one SMB." What species of fish were you studying?

Thanks again.
 
I've never fished that stretch, but it's hard to believe only one bass came out of there. I'm curious to see if any Muskies came out of there. Never caught one, but had some follows in the Perk in two different areas...
 
This post is from 2008:


Afishinado wrote:
Very interesting stuff Mike (and Bassbert). My experience fishing for SMs in the Schuylkill reflects exactly what you wrote about a good last years YOY crop. I’ve been catching many dink SMs this summer, with an occasional larger fish mixed in.

As far as fishing the VF area, the park area section above Valley Creek is marginal water, but the section just below where Valley Creek enters the River has ideal current, cover and depth to hold SMs, yet the SM population seems to be very low in the area. This is especially puzzling given how good looking the water appears to be. Mike’s advise about where SMs hang out should be heeded, there are many sections of the River that are devoid of fish because of lack of good habitat, but the section described above in the VF area seems to break the rule. I have noticed that the River is cooler just below where Valley dumps in, but I would think the cooler water would attract fish in the heat of the summer. I will keep trying the area since the water is nice and access is easy.

Mike, I keep reading about anglers catching huge flathead catfish in the Skuke, could this have an effect on the SM fishing?
 
Very interesting stuff, sounds like an ideal situation for a university class or graduate student or some group to make some objective ecology studies on.

The west bank below where Valley Creek empties into the Schuylkill does indeed appear very fishy, but that's exactly where I have struck out. I even went back with ultra light spinning tackle because I figured it was my fly fishing at fault but I had the same result.

I was then told by a local tackle shop that Valley Creek has been found to be seriously poluted from the Rt 23 bridge to the river which is why fishing is not allowed in that stretch - I wonder if that has anything to do with the situation in the Schulykill.
 
Mike wrote:
Springer: It's not you. We boat electrofished for an hour yesterday from just above the Perki mouth down to about a half mile below Valley Creek. While we did not concentrate on SMB habitat, we shocked plenty of it anyway and only saw or captured one SMB.

I think I caught that one fish last Friday :lol:
 
Was searching for shad - none found. Caught a few 24-26 inch channel and flathead cats. Saw others of the same size that "got away. " Results for SMB were the same as in the past in that stretch. We have done much better on cats when the water is higher. The only half-decent SMB habitat appears to be along the embankment above and below Valley Creek and in a couple of holes upstream, but the habitat is generally poor and featureless (no structure). Only saw a few other species...quillback, common carp, white sucker, and one satinfin shiner. Not even a sunfish. I was surprised by the absence of shiners. In the Reading area (below Reading and its sewage/urban runoff) it is still loaded with shiners.
 
Speaking of shad, I ran across a ten inch shad on a rock at the York Haven dam yesterday. A relative of mine also caught one above the dam in the Susquehanna this weekend.
 
I used to see tons of large shad on the susq, as well as stripers, walleye, and bass back when the bass were still around. I'd share the location, but a now deceased friend swore me to secrecy (seriously).

Anyway, are they still doing well in the river? I haven't been there since the smallies disappeared.
 
Now that things are really warming up I was wondering if anyone is seeing any better SM activity on the Schuylkill. I'm planning to hit it sometime over the long weekend for the first time this year somewhere between Reading and Pottstown.

And I definitely won't be doing any more wet wading for a long long time after reading/seeing some of the potential issues this may cause.
 
I haven't had any luck and I've also read many fishing reports and comments that the SMB fishing on Skuke is really bad this year, so far anyway. Give it a try and post a report.
 
I fished the Skuke on 7/4 for a couple of hours just up from Birdsboro (Berks county) from 9:30 (about 3 hours later than planned) until 11:00. The water level is on the lower side (2.5’ on the Reading gauge) and about as clear as it gets this time of year. No air/water temps were checked. I managed to land one very healthy looking SM (about 8”) and hook up to three more about the same size all on a chartreuse/orange hopper. Also caught several rock bass and some sunfish. It was a fun time, but there’s a lot of walking involved to get to decent water and it was getting hot by the time I left. Will definitely have to try again except much early.
 
I have not fished the Schuylkil in a few years. I used to fish in Oaks. I have a relative that does fish counts all over the state and he told me the last time they shocked Black Rock Dam it was loaded with Flathead Catfish. I am sure the Bass have found safer habitat, we just have to find it.
 
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