Hit some of my favorite shoreline spots today in the middle and lower sections of the river. Here's what's up:
WEATHER: Partly sunny with highs in the 50s - very nice day.
WATER: Fairly clear with a bit more than 2' of visibility; about 5' at the Newport gage; 44 degrees confirmed at two spots by thermometer. Light fishing pressure but some boats were out (also visible on the Susky at the predictable spots).
HATCHES/FORAGE: A few very small bait fish in the shallows. Very heavy little brown stonefly hatch. In some eddies, they were so thick that a dozen flittering bugs could be seen within a square foot of water surface. Dense little stone hatches are common on the Juniata this time of year but do not interest the bass... they're just happy stuff for a FFer to witness.
With the mild late winter many of us warm water insurgents are eager to kick off the pre-spawn bass season. When I got the water temp of 44, I was especially optimistic as this is well above the level where I expect to see early river bass wake up and start to eat consistently. Nevertheless fishing was slow. I picked up some mid-teen bass, all on black Clousers, but the action was not what I expected. My two favorite eddies that are highest confidence for me this time of year didn't produce a bump. It's still early and I usually expect the bite to start a week or two from now.
I'm confident in saying, however, that barring a return to severe winter weather, we can conclude that the early spring bass season has kicked off. Get out if you can.
WEATHER: Partly sunny with highs in the 50s - very nice day.
WATER: Fairly clear with a bit more than 2' of visibility; about 5' at the Newport gage; 44 degrees confirmed at two spots by thermometer. Light fishing pressure but some boats were out (also visible on the Susky at the predictable spots).
HATCHES/FORAGE: A few very small bait fish in the shallows. Very heavy little brown stonefly hatch. In some eddies, they were so thick that a dozen flittering bugs could be seen within a square foot of water surface. Dense little stone hatches are common on the Juniata this time of year but do not interest the bass... they're just happy stuff for a FFer to witness.
With the mild late winter many of us warm water insurgents are eager to kick off the pre-spawn bass season. When I got the water temp of 44, I was especially optimistic as this is well above the level where I expect to see early river bass wake up and start to eat consistently. Nevertheless fishing was slow. I picked up some mid-teen bass, all on black Clousers, but the action was not what I expected. My two favorite eddies that are highest confidence for me this time of year didn't produce a bump. It's still early and I usually expect the bite to start a week or two from now.
I'm confident in saying, however, that barring a return to severe winter weather, we can conclude that the early spring bass season has kicked off. Get out if you can.
