Allegheny Trib smallies

[sleyth]

Its mid July, the dawn of the dog days. Although, it feels like we’re already there. This was my first time out after a week on family vacation, things and habits are ever so out of order. I got on the water later than I wanted but still early - the creek wasn’t in full sun yet.

7/15/2026 - 9am-4pm

Water Temp @2:30pm - 82 Degrees F

Started with a popper/dropper with no luck - switched over to a tandem streamer rig to dial in color and retrieve. Medium dark jig streamers low and slow were the ticket, the water was still up and a little cloudy from rain earlier in the week. Most of the fish were sitting in deeper troughs in the shade - but there were still a few in the riffles.

After prospecting for a bit longer, I started getting into a few bigger fish schooled up in a deeper hole. In the middle of a deep swing, something heavier than the rest of the pack bit down hard my streamer. It bullied me hard within a foot of my backing and made my 6 weight feel like a wet noodle. Seriously - does anyone use an 7 or 8 weight for smallies?!?! Anyway, he (or she?) measured against my net at around 18-19 inches which puts it solidly as a new personal best. Something about these river run smallmouth make them a lot tougher than the lake runs in Erie. More muscle and yinzer spirit must be it…

Luckily it was a rare day of quality and quantity, fish kept being where they were supposed to be. I spooked another nice one and missed a few more but that first big fish had already made my day. I called it quits before the wildfire haze completely took over the sky but I don’t think the fish seemed to mind

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear sleyth,

Nice fish! I have fished a 6 weight in smaller tributaries to the Susquehanna, but It's not a good choice in this heat. I won't fish anything smaller than a 7 weight for smallmouth, especially in 82-degree water, and often use an 8 weight. Just because bass are more tolerant of warmer temperatures doesn't mean they are immune to stressors in the Summer. I've watched people over-play smallmouth and release them only to see the fish drift listlessly by me downstream.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[sleyth]

Dear sleyth,

Nice fish! I have fished a 6 weight in smaller tributaries to the Susquehanna, but It's not a good choice in this heat. I won't fish anything smaller than a 7 weight for smallmouth, especially in 82-degree water, and often use an 8 weight. Just because bass are more tolerant of warmer temperatures doesn't mean they are immune to stressors in the Summer. I've watched people over-play smallmouth and release them only to see the fish drift listlessly by me downstream.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

Tim,
Thanks! Glad to know about the heavier rods - do you have any favorites with lower swing weight? I’ve got a 10ft 7wt Echo Ion XL that I use for indicator fishing Erie Steelhead but its definitely not something I wanna throw streamers on all day.
I was definitely trying to get fish in to net quick but even the smaller ones can be uncooperative… Do smallmouth have an upper water temp limit like trout? I feel like they were still very active and swam off strong despite water temperatures being relatively high. I honestly assumed they could handle just about any temps being native and all but I guess the weather hasn’t been super typical recently 🙃

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear sleyth,

My brother comes out from CO twice a year to smallmouth fish on the Juniata and Susquehanna Rivers. He usually uses an Echo Ion 9' 7weight rod and he really likes it. Maybe the extra foot of length on your 10-footer makes it feel a little awkward when casting more often, especially with larger or wind resistant flies. I know I have an older Sage RPL 796 that I bought for steelhead fishing many years ago that I have used for smallmouth. I've replaced it with a 9' 7 weight because I left the longer rod felt a little tippy due to the length. It helps with drifting subsurface flies and mending but I feel that for me the shorter rod allows me to punch out casts with larger and heavier flies more easily.

I believe I have seen that the upper limit for smallmouth is around 88-degree water temperature, but I can definitely say that I've never fished in water even close to 88 degrees. Once it gets in the low 80's I get uncomfortable and leave the fish alone unless early in the morning or around dark.

If you use heavier tippet, like 10 or 12# test and play fish aggressively to shorten the fight you should be OK at 82 degrees. My typical smallmouth leader ends in 1X which translates to about 10 or 12 # test depending on the brand of leader/tippet. But fishing 6# tippet and playing the fish longer shortens the odds for fish survival. If you are asking about possible issues, I can tell that you care and I'm sure you can figure out how to have fun and have the fish be able to swim off safely.

Good luck!

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[Solitariolupo]

Any waters over 80* can kill any fish out there including bass. Overplay them and they may not make it.

IMO all river fish fight harder. 😉