Juniata River WW JAM! August 2 - 4, 2024

[Dave_W]

Okay, back from the WW jam and first report. . .

The best part, as usual, was seeing old and new faces. Thanks again Josh for your hospitality.

Fishing was a mixed bag as of Saturday afternoon. Speaking for myself, the river was off and fishing was below average (as is often the case with PAFF jams). Wade fishing on Friday evening was pretty good for some of the crew, but I struggled to get three or four little bass. Did manage a big rock bass on a stonecat fly. Right at dusk (8:34pm according to my watch) after most of the crew was back onshore, the white flies emerged very suddenly and it was fast and furious for me for about 30 minutes, including three fish in the mid-teens that came to hand. All of these fish were on a #12 white wulff.

On Saturday morning, doppler radar looked ominous so we scrapped the plan to do a float and wade fished before lunch and the forecast arrival of the storms. I managed few small fish, mostly on poppers, but it was pretty slow. After lunch, I headed home. Aside from some distant clouds and a few sprinkles, the skies were sunny so I decided to stop at one of the access sites off 22/322 and launch my boat - fished a couple hours and couldn't buy a fish. Talked to some FFers who were taking out after a morning float of several miles and they reported slow fishing. I saw no significant storms until I was almost home in the evening in Adams County.

Anyway, for those of you still hitting it - good luck!

 

[jifigz]

First of all, thanks to everyone who showed up. I thought that we had a good atmosphere and, overall, the fishing was the best it has ever been for our warm water jam. Here is my recap of the weekend.

Friday: I arrived early to greet the guests and relax. With help from guests, I assembled the much needed 20x30 tent. I ended up fishing only the evening that night I do believe, but I caught quite a few fish getting down deep with a heavy, tungsten beaded golden retriever type fly. The fishing was actually quite good on Friday evening. Then there was a good time talking under the tent until about midnight.

Saturday: A few guys showed up on Saturday to grace us with their presence: NLansberry, HopBack, and Tim Murphy. The fishing in the morning wasn't great. We all scratched fish, and I know that Saltemose slammed his PB smallie (way to go, Scottie), but overall, the fishing in the morning was rather lackluster. We returned to the tent, ate lunch, talked and relaxed. The radar was iffy, but it kept blowing by us. Around 3:00 pm or so, many of us suited up and headed back to the river. Now, cloudy and stormy looking, the river fished great. HopBack and I fished down the far bank and had phenomenal fishing. The bass were crushing streamers. They were aggressively trying to eat them, causing boils of water on their attack, etc. The fishing was exciting and the quality of the fish was pretty dang good. It started getting nasty, and we beat-feet out of there. Sure enough, we got caught in a downpour that lingered and lasted for an hour or two, and we got some serious rain. We all waited it out and, once the rain stopped, we headed back to the river at about 6:00 pm. Lars, Hopback, Saltimose and myself made our way WAY upriver to above, or at least near, a trib that was pumping dirty water in. Here, there is a fantastic bit of water that often holds nice fish. Hopback pointed out that he saw a bass corralling a baitfish, and he was right. He tipped me off, and that was all she wrote there. Fishing was fantastic. The bass were working together and chasing bait, and a minnow pattern was getting hit almost every cast. I failed many hooks and only landed maybe 8 or so, but wow, what a thrilling evening.

Sunday: We were beat. People left. We talked, ate bagels, drank coffee, and relaxed.

All in all, the fishing was fantastic at times on both Friday and Saturday. I think we caught more quality fish this year than ever, and at times, the bite was on fire. The company was good. I think that it was an enjoyable experience.

Thanks again folks. See ya again in the future.

 

[jifigz]

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear Board,

I know all of you newer members think I am the nicest and most polite person on this board. Older heads would tell you different, but that is neither here nor there.

If you have an opportunity next year or the year after to come up for this just do it. I saw old friends from long ago, people from 3 months ago, and met new people too. But my main point is this, Josh is really proud of his local river, and he is a really gracious host. He will do everything he can to make sure you enjoy it.

Don't miss the opportunity!

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[NLansberry]

I echo what the great Tim Murphy said. Josh was a fantastic host, and even though fishing was slow when I was there, I can’t emphasize enough how awesome it was to hangout with these guys for the day. If you’ve never done a Jam, I suggest you find a way to make it to one, it is phenomenal.

P.S. Josh - good job getting pictures of your fish, as I learned according to Tom, if you don’t get pictures, they don’t count 😂😂😂

It was a pleasure getting to meet those of you there, and I look forward to next years WWJam, and hope to make the Jam in the spring.

 

[HopBack]

Josh pretty much summed up my fishing experience as well. It wasn’t the best bass fishing I’ve ever had but it was the best I have experienced at the warm water Jam.

The most impressive part of the whole jam experience is I think the setting and of course the people. It was great to make new friends and see old ones as well.

Thank you Josh for being such a generous host as always!

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear Hopback,

Those blue skies must have been on Friday. 😉

I drove home Rte 103 to Rte 333 to Mifflintown yesterday. Coming up Rte 322 from Lancaster and the 'Burg you'd never think there was even a road on the south side of Juniata but there is one and it's pretty twisty in spots.

You'd never know there is a big wide beautiful valley like you show in your pictures. I was about an hour or so from home and I had never set foot in Josh's territory in my lifetime. Just seeing it, even in a driving rainstorm was impressive!

It was a good time!

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[HopBack]

Dear Hopback,

Those blue skies must have been on Friday. 😉

I drove home Rte 103 to Rte 333 to Mifflintown yesterday. Coming up Rte 322 from Lancaster and the 'Burg you'd never think there was even a road on the south side of Juniata but there is one and it's pretty twisty in spots.

You'd never know there is a big wide beautiful valley like you show in your pictures. I was about an hour or so from home and I had never set foot in Josh's territory in my lifetime. Just seeing it, even in a driving rainstorm was impressive!

It was a good time!

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

All of those picture were taken on Saturday. It stopped raining I guess around 5:30 and really was very pleasant. It was a beautiful evening.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

Thank you Josh. I much appreciated the hospitality. I floated two days and yes, during the monsoon rains of Saturday afternoon. The rains was not the biggest problem. It was the 20 mph winds blowing in our face and blowing us upstream right before the heavy rains, faster than Chris or I could row. For maybe an hour we had in inch our way down, anchoring occasionally. Your fishing experience this weekend depended on it you fished on top or not. Float fishing both days were mediocre. This was because the top water fishing was poor- where floating really shines. Few fish were taken on top and all were smaller. You had to fish underneath deep, which is better done wading. Anyway, good to meet new guys and reconnect with others

 

[linwood]

I also thank you Josh for being such a generous host!

The fishing there is always fantastic, and this year, the catching was great.
Good to see everyone,

 

[krayfish2]

The radar scared me but decided to run above Duncannon around 6 last night. Fished for 2 hours and landed 1 measley fish. Rolled 3 nice ones but they came unbuttoned. Sounds like you guys had a good time. Had a guide trip Saturday but it was a late cancellation due to the weather forecast so that messed everything up

 

[Nymph-wristed]

Thank you, Josh! And @nymphingmaniac thanks for the workout and several invigorating showers/baths on Saturday's float.

I heard @lars yelling about a nice fish on a white fly on Saturday night, but it was too dark to see his good fish, so a couple guys did get into that same white fly bite again on Saturday night. I messed around with a "level leech" under an indicator that night, and caught probably 20 bass from 6 to 15 inches on Saturday night. Just an experiment, but the first test was quite promising!

Fishing was pretty solid both Friday and in the evening on Saturday. The float was tough, obviously, but quite a story to tell the grandkids someday.

Good group of guys. Just sorry I missed Tim Murphy! Like Josh, I was pretty pleased with the size of fish, even though the dinks were ravenous. A few pics. With all the rain and wet wading, the camera mostly stayed packed away...

 

[Wild_Trouter]

Thank you, Josh! And @nymphingmaniac thanks for the workout and several invigorating showers/baths on Saturday's float.

I heard @lars yelling about a nice fish on a white fly on Saturday night, but it was too dark to see his good fish, so a couple guys did get into that same white fly bite again on Saturday night. I messed around with a "level leech" under an indicator that night, and caught probably 20 bass from 6 to 15 inches on Saturday night. Just an experiment, but the first test was quite promising!

Fishing was pretty solid both Friday and in the evening on Saturday. The float was tough, obviously, but quite a story to tell the grandkids someday.

Good group of guys. Just sorry I missed Tim Murphy! Like Josh, I was pretty pleased with the size of fish, even though the dinks were ravenous. A few pics. With all the rain and wet wading, the camera mostly stayed packed away...

View attachment 1641237116

Nice chunkers 💪

 

[Nymph-wristed]

I found a couple more decent pics. One of the line-up on Friday night. And why were there soft plastics in Josh's tent, I wonder 😕

 

[lars]

I heard @lars yelling about a nice fish on a white fly on Saturday night, but it was too dark to see his good fish, so a couple guys did get into that same white fly bite again on Saturday night.

I did manage a nice chunker close to dark when what was being called white flies were pretty heavy above the water. I don't think they were the Ephoron leukon fly. I think they may have been cahills, though they did look white in the air, probably a size 14.

As far as the Jam goes, a better host can't be found. This was my second of the last three after wimping out on the rains last year. Nice to finally put some faces with names. Thanks again to Josh!

 

[KeviR]

Thanks, Josh for sharing your beautiful place with us! I brought a raft to float, but ended up wade fishing close to base. That was OK, we had a great time. I'm new to the WW game, but I got a solid start and had a good time meeting many new folks.

 

[afishinado]

Thanks to Josh, the greatest of hosts and nice to see all the guys at the J-Jam.

Great time had by all.

The fishing wasn't that good for me but I heard on Friday..."should have been here earlier" and now on Saturday "should have been here later".🤔

I suppose if I gave in and used Josh's soft plastics I would have done better, but I remained pure.....

 

[jifigz]

Thanks to Josh, the greatest of hosts and nice to see all the guys at the J-Jam.

Great time had by all.

The fishing for me wasn't that good for me but I heard on Friday..."should have been here earlier" and now on Saturday "should have been here later".🤔

I suppose if I gave in and used Josh's soft plastics I would have done better, but I remained pure.....

Actually Tom, the best fishing was, by far, after you and Dave left on Saturday. I had two fantastic sessions where the bass were aggressive and willing to crush streamers. THAT was the best fishing of the weekend.

 

[lestrout]

Over the decades, I've had many great hosts and hostesses around the world, but Josh sets a higher bar. The ambience apart from the angling component was a lot like Napa Valley except everything was green. The main reason I came was to hang out with PAFFers, old and new, and that was more than fulfilled. This will be a yearly event for me. Thanks to all, but most especially Josh.

 

[Nymph-wristed]

Actually Tom, the best fishing was, by far, after you and Dave left on Saturday. I had two fantastic sessions where the bass were aggressive and willing to crush streamers. THAT was the best fishing of the weekend.

Tom, if it makes you feel better, Joe and I both missed that bite while rowing into a driving rain for 4 hours and bailing water out of the Flycraft. And our ears were ringing as they made fun of us back under the tent. Josh may have even sent a text, as if he was checking in to make sure we were safe...

Everyone had a little "should have been there" it seems. Joe and I did rally and drag our wet, tired, middle-aged butts to the river again for that evening bite, which was totally worth it. Although the dinner we skipped was certainly up to Les Young standards of excellence it seems.

Don't tell Joe, but he lost a 20 incher. He broke it off on the hookset, and I saw it leap afterwards to throw the hook. Probably the biggest of the weekend...

I am sure a few dudes felt the "should have been Josh" vibe, too 😉 Dude caught some fish!