Juniata River, Perry County, 07/06/11

[Fishidiot]

Finally got out for an evening of bassing on one of my favorite rivers this summer - the lower "J." Although the river looked good, the fishing was slow and the evening popper bite did not materialize. I managed a few bass and panfish, including one very hard fighting fish of 17 inches. Water level was 3.4 on the Newport gage and stained. Air temp was 90 degrees and water temp a very summerish 86 (no trout were caught 🙂 ). In the slower sections, river grass is pretty heavy making topwater presentations just about the only game. I did try streamers and nymphs in some runs and around rock structure but all the fish I caught were on poppers. I enjoy rock rolling and insect collecting: the "J" is just loaded with big hellgrammites (see pic). I was also pleased to see some rock bass on redds. Many old, local river hands feel rockies are greatly diminished in the lower Susky and lower sections of the Juniata. Nice day but not the best fishing.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

wow nice looking fly!

 

[Fredrick]

WWI for life YO 😛int:

 

[bam]

Nice outing. I'd ask for the helgrammite recipe if I thought I could tie it in under 10 minutes!

 

[Fishidiot]

Thanks fellas. I've posted the recipe for this fly here on PAFF before but don't remember where - might be findable with a search. In short, it's an articulated nymph and does take some time to tie. The key with hellgrammites, I think, is to get the colors right. Most helgy patterns are black but here in PA, as can be seen in the photo, most helgys are olive/brown bodies with darker heads/thorax. Helgys swin in short bursts with a strongle wiggle - no wonder olive wooly buggers are such killers on bass and river sunfish. 🙂

 

[DaveS]

Dave,
I don't mean to derail your thread, but is your pooch wearing a life jacket?

I love the hellgramite pattern. I'm a top water guy myself. If they don't want a popper, I will just enjoy the uninterupted fly casting! I might have to try copying that one for a few friends and maybe even leave on top of my toolbox at work!

Thanks,
Dave

 

[evw659]

The helgys in the allegheny near my camp are pretty much all black.
What causes this? are they somewhat different types of hellgrammites? the ones in the allegheny also appear much larger than the ones fishidiot has shown. just curious as to why the colors would differ so much. any thoughts?

 

[afishinado]

evw659 wrote:
The helgys in the allegheny near my camp are pretty much all black.
What causes this? are they somewhat different types of hellgrammites? the ones in the allegheny also appear much larger than the ones fishidiot has shown. just curious as to why the colors would differ so much. any thoughts?

Hellgrimmites vary in color depending on the river/stream and also depending on their stage of development. They range from a slate/black, dark brown, lighter brown, olive brown, olive.

When they close to the hatching stage (to dobsonflies), they change to lighter color.

As FI says, they do swim or undulate in the water. Catch one and check it out. Also, when they ride the current they often form a "C" shape position.

I find an olive, brown or black wooly bugger is a great imitation for them. Also, tying rubber legs on your WB adds more movement to the fly.

 

[PaulG]

fishidiot or anyone

What are your favorite color poppers?

PaulG

 

[Fishidiot]

evw,
As far as I know, they're the same insect across the state. As Afish pointed out, their coloration can vary and it wouldn't surprise me that ones in your neck of the woods would be different colored, perhaps due to water chemistry. I've never fished the Allegheny and do my river bassin in the Susquehanna and Potomac watersheds where the ones I've collected appear like those in the pic. The helgys in my photo are about 3" long.

Paul,
I really don't think popper color matters much. I paint all my poppers, usually using bright colored heads in orange, light green, or yellow with some black stripes or something. White with a red head is good too. Sometimes I'll use black at night. "Pencil" style poppers with an elongated body and cupped face are my workhorse smallie flies.

DaveS,
Benny loves swimming (definitely got some otter in his genes) but I find that a little doggie PFD sometimes helps keep him upright and allows him to relax and float without constantly kicking.

 

[greenghost]

FI,

Cool report. Nice bass... That is indeed, a terrific looking pattern. I assume it is as effective as it looks? I was a little surprised to hear water temps were so high. Around here (southwestern PA) I don't think they've gotten out of the upper 70s yet. And that's on a warm day.

 

[Squaretail]

Dang Dave. Some of your flies are as nice as your art.

 

[volcanomil]

nice report and fly

 

[Fishidiot]

greenghost wrote:
FI,
That is indeed, a terrific looking pattern. I assume it is as effective as it looks? I was a little surprised to hear water temps were so high. Around here (southwestern PA) I don't think they've gotten out of the upper 70s yet. And that's on a warm day.

Thanks for the kind words. This helgy pattern does indeed work very well for me - esp during the early summer months when helgys seems to be more active. As for temps, I too was a bit surprised. It was a very hot day, well into the mid or upper 90s, with a bright sun. This was also down near the mouth of the river in a wide, slow stretch. I would assume other sections of the river might be cooler due to the many tributaries upstream. Broadly speaking, though, big river temps are indeed exceedingly high lately, esp with the recent heat wave this week. I hit the Potomac River one morning a couple days ago and was stunned to get a 85 degree reading at 7am! I normally like warm water for summer bassin but I'm not sure about these temps. I think we could use some cooler nights on the bass rivers

 

[greenghost]

Fishidiot wrote:
I normally like warm water for summer bassin but I'm not sure about these temps. I think we could use some cooler nights on the bass rivers

FI,
I hear you. I think we can all use those cooler nights now. I was on the lower Yough last night and water temps were definitely into the 80's. Just caught a few dinks before the skeeters and black flies chased me off the water (left my repellant at home -- yet another senior moment -- this morning, I look like a leper !)

 

[troutbert]

When does the white fly hatch usually come off on the Juniata River? And does it vary much between the lower, middle and upper river?

 

[jdaddy]

PaulG wrote:
fishidiot or anyone

What are your favorite color poppers?

PaulG

Any color as long as its black.

 

[Fishidiot]

troutbert wrote:
When does the white fly hatch usually come off on the Juniata River? And does it vary much between the lower, middle and upper river?

I'm not sure on this one and will defer to folks with a better grip on the issue. To be perfectly honest, I'm not a big fan of the white fly hatch so don't keep close tabs on it. The lower J does get a blizzard of a white fly hatch and this is usually around this time of year (right at dusk). I would assume it moves upriver with time but I haven't paid close attention to the timing.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Paul,back in the day,I tied white poppers. Worked great around lilly pads.
Nice report Dave.

 

[Biggie]

When that white fly hatch in on, you can't even open your mouth, it's that heavy, but just about any dry fly twitched alittle gets bit. Also check out the general forum for my post on the Juniata River from today.