Five Locks area from the canoe ramp upstream for 300 m at least is very shallow in summer and, as such, is poor habitat for adult SMB. That specific stretch of shoreline was one of the official Schuylkill R SMB YOY annual assessment sites, so I have seen that area frequently in July, but I am talking about the entire width of the river there as well.
As an aside, you will also find Chain Pickerel near-by, as YOY CP were captures with the YOY SMB with some frequency. The area is a pretty spot, but just does not have great summer habitat at least in the specific stretch that I have described.
Our next sampling site upstream was at Port Clinton, above and below the confluence of the Ltl Schuylkill, but on the opposite bank below and on the same bank above. Much better habitat and the adult fish we saw while sampling YOY supported that.
The next site below Five Locks was down from the Cross Keys bridge. Another spot with good habitat and decent adult populations.
Below, that was the River Road site. Good for adults sometimes, not so hot other times. I used to fish it a lot there. While there you may want to try the Class A BT pop in Laurel Run Park, which is right along River Rd. It is a short limestoner and loaded with BT up to about 11 in. Or you may want to try for Muskellunge. Great, and I mean great in spots, in the stretch from Cross Keys Rd down to Rt 12, Warren St Bypass.
The data show that SE Pa now has some of the BEST muskellunge and LMB populations in the state, but for some reason LMB get almost no attention in this forum.
This should get you started. Good luck.
