Floated the middle J. with Afishinado yesterday (hey, we mods need a break yuh know). . .
WEATHER: Unseasonably cool - around 70 degrees F. in late afternoon; partly cloudy; post cold front.
WATER: 3.8' at Newport; didn't get a temp; clear in most of the river but some areas were stained. Saw more cars and trailers in the PFBC parking lots than I have ever seen and I've fished this section for nearly 40 years. One spot had people parking on the grass. In spite of this, to our surprise, there were only two jet boats that we encountered and a a couple armadas of yaks and paddle boards; there were times when I could look up or downriver for a mile and saw nobody. I guess our timing was lucky. Good grass beds this year.
INSECTS FORAGE: A few damsels and mayflies but no activity on 'em. Minnows in the shallows were scarce, but prevalent in riffle areas and around willow grass (this is typical). We took out around 7pm, might have seen more bugs later in the evening(?).
Fishing was below average.
Post frontal conditions don't make me optimistic and I've found that bass can be very lethargic and just seem to disappear in these conditions. This is what we observed on this trip. The lower/middle Juniata can also really get pounded by anglers in summertime and sometimes I think this can affect fish activity as well.
Anyway, excuses aside, we got a few bass, mostly good sized (Afish caught several fish in the 12-16" range), but we floated several very good pools without even seeing a fish. I expect to see lots of small bass in predictable areas, but not this time. Saw one cattie and one carp. The fish we did get were all in prime areas near shoreline cover and all but one took subsurface with Afish having most of his luck on a large, dark, wooly bugger.
WEATHER: Unseasonably cool - around 70 degrees F. in late afternoon; partly cloudy; post cold front.
WATER: 3.8' at Newport; didn't get a temp; clear in most of the river but some areas were stained. Saw more cars and trailers in the PFBC parking lots than I have ever seen and I've fished this section for nearly 40 years. One spot had people parking on the grass. In spite of this, to our surprise, there were only two jet boats that we encountered and a a couple armadas of yaks and paddle boards; there were times when I could look up or downriver for a mile and saw nobody. I guess our timing was lucky. Good grass beds this year.
INSECTS FORAGE: A few damsels and mayflies but no activity on 'em. Minnows in the shallows were scarce, but prevalent in riffle areas and around willow grass (this is typical). We took out around 7pm, might have seen more bugs later in the evening(?).
Fishing was below average.
Post frontal conditions don't make me optimistic and I've found that bass can be very lethargic and just seem to disappear in these conditions. This is what we observed on this trip. The lower/middle Juniata can also really get pounded by anglers in summertime and sometimes I think this can affect fish activity as well.
Anyway, excuses aside, we got a few bass, mostly good sized (Afish caught several fish in the 12-16" range), but we floated several very good pools without even seeing a fish. I expect to see lots of small bass in predictable areas, but not this time. Saw one cattie and one carp. The fish we did get were all in prime areas near shoreline cover and all but one took subsurface with Afish having most of his luck on a large, dark, wooly bugger.
