I am a shad guy, so the tidal Susquehanna is very familiar. It is now 9/18 and I am usually in Maine, They won't let me in this year. I use a kayak for mobility in the lower areas. VFW and Deer Creek. The last 5 years have been a struggle to catch anything. I was down a month ago and caught 3 or 4 rock @ 12'' but no perch or smallmouth. The flow is at minimum now so I will probably try tomorrow 9/19. Just curious if anybody else experienced the glory days with clouds of caddis in the evening, perch every cast or a good smallmouth and perhaps a 24'' rockfish at dusk? Even paddling upriver it is rare to see anything but channel cats and no fish chasing bait. The folks at the dam are collecting flatheads by the truck load. Anyway I will give it another try! Pete
Susquehanna below Conowingo
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larkmark
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The lower Susquehanna certainly has seen better days. Even as recently as 5 yrs ago I enjoyed catching nice Rockfish right below Conowingo. Two years ago I caught my last decent one and it was covered in open sores. As you know fishermen would line up on that shoreline below the dam and do well. Now it's almost exclusively Flatheads. I fished it back when the catwalk was open and you could launch boats and go right up onto the tailrace. Small mouth, perch, Rockfish and some very nice Largemouth were taken by my boys and me back in the 1980s. It is a damn shame what has happened to the entire lower river.
HopBack
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Yes, it would be schoolies technically but the fight from a 30 inch 8lb striped bass is good enough for me. You can go below the 95 bridge and catch the cows if you want to contend with the boat crowds.
There are plenty of perch, largemouth and smallmouth to be caught as well as snakeheads, flatheads, blue cats, carp and channel cats. They even reported blue crabs at the dam this year as well.
Water starts to boil in July and is no good for anything until about now.
Shad runs were very strong this year as well.
There are plenty of perch, largemouth and smallmouth to be caught as well as snakeheads, flatheads, blue cats, carp and channel cats. They even reported blue crabs at the dam this year as well.
Water starts to boil in July and is no good for anything until about now.
Shad runs were very strong this year as well.
HopBack
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I’m tired of all of your doom and gloom lark. No, you can’t go above the bridge and catch a hundred smallmouth anymore, not sure you ever could To begin with but there is plenty of good bass fishing to be had 20 miles north or south. Things change, nothing stays the same. Pollution on the river is a problem and it has had an impact on the fish populations but damn you make it sound like you shouldn’t even bother fishing in the state of Pennsylvania.
Furthermore wild brown trout fishing is better than it ever has been. Get out there and have some fun instead of sitting on the couch and dreaming about the good old days.
Furthermore wild brown trout fishing is better than it ever has been. Get out there and have some fun instead of sitting on the couch and dreaming about the good old days.
larkmark
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Hopback- I went out quite a lot this year in a lot of areas of the lower river. My experience is different than yours. I went to other parts of the river way up and had better success. I believe the lower river has some very big problems which have been getting worse for a while now. I do not see the glowing reports of good fishing below Conowingo like I saw even 5 yrs ago. Friends and I who have fished it for 35 + years see a decline. We just don't do as well. I fish 3 states. I never said people should not fish?
larkmark
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Here is something from a a recent article about eating fish and pollution in upper bay and lower river. Looks like our Susquehanna is source for at least one major form of pollution.
Almost half of all game fish in the Chesapeake Bay’s freshwater lakes, rivers and streams may be unsafe to eat, because of high levels of mercury, according to a recent study by the United States Geological Survey.
The most contaminated fish caught and consumed by anglers, and often found on menus, were striped bass or rockfish, followed by walleye, largemouth bass and flathead catfish. Trout seemed to be safest.
The totals varied widely by location, suggesting that local conditions play a large role in the contamination. The Chesapeake Bay watershed stretches from Virginia Beach to Cooperstown, New York.
Locally, Maryland’s fresh water fish fared far worse than Virginia’s. Throughout the study, fish sampled from northern bodies of water had more contamination than those farther south.
The highest concentrations of methylmercury — the most toxic type of mercury for humans — were found in fish in the Susquehanna River, where more than half the basin’s freshwater areas were in the most-polluted tier. The Susquehanna River flows from New York through Pennsylvania and into the Chesapeake Bay in northeast Maryland.
Coal-fired power plants and trash incinerators are the largest source of mercury in the Chesapeake, according to scientists.
In the Potomac River, 18% of its waters ranked in the most-polluted group.
By contrast, at least half of the water bodies in Virginia’s James, Rappahannock and York watersheds were in the category with the lowest mercury levels.
Striped bass (sometimes called rockfish) — Maryland’s state fish — had the most mercury in its meat, with a typical concentration of 0.31 parts per million. The Environmental Protection Agency set a consumption level for mercury of 0.3 parts per million, according to the Bay Journal, which first published the USGS study.
Almost half of all game fish in the Chesapeake Bay’s freshwater lakes, rivers and streams may be unsafe to eat, because of high levels of mercury, according to a recent study by the United States Geological Survey.
The most contaminated fish caught and consumed by anglers, and often found on menus, were striped bass or rockfish, followed by walleye, largemouth bass and flathead catfish. Trout seemed to be safest.
The totals varied widely by location, suggesting that local conditions play a large role in the contamination. The Chesapeake Bay watershed stretches from Virginia Beach to Cooperstown, New York.
Locally, Maryland’s fresh water fish fared far worse than Virginia’s. Throughout the study, fish sampled from northern bodies of water had more contamination than those farther south.
The highest concentrations of methylmercury — the most toxic type of mercury for humans — were found in fish in the Susquehanna River, where more than half the basin’s freshwater areas were in the most-polluted tier. The Susquehanna River flows from New York through Pennsylvania and into the Chesapeake Bay in northeast Maryland.
Coal-fired power plants and trash incinerators are the largest source of mercury in the Chesapeake, according to scientists.
In the Potomac River, 18% of its waters ranked in the most-polluted group.
By contrast, at least half of the water bodies in Virginia’s James, Rappahannock and York watersheds were in the category with the lowest mercury levels.
Striped bass (sometimes called rockfish) — Maryland’s state fish — had the most mercury in its meat, with a typical concentration of 0.31 parts per million. The Environmental Protection Agency set a consumption level for mercury of 0.3 parts per million, according to the Bay Journal, which first published the USGS study.
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That report makes a lot of intuitive sense, based on where the fish species mentioned typically live in a watershed. Pollution flows downstream. Higher cumulative concentrations in the fish species you typically find the furthest downstream (in the biggest parts) of a watershed. Striped Bass being the worst. Trout, generally being found the furthest upstream, being the cleanest.
Saturday 9/19 I went down, put in just above the VFW at about 1:00. Water at minimum flow with high tide about noon. Paddled up river to a spot that was always a productive area. I do most fishing there trolling until I find fish. Big streamers (4-5") and small at about 1". I realize I am just fishing the top 6" trolling. I do cast to some areas but with a floating line it maybe gets down 2'. Fished until 5:00 with nothing, no hits or misses. The cormorants were there but just sitting on the rocks. No eagles or ospreys even looking and no surface feeding seen. Blame it on a bright day and clear water? I will not give up, waiting to get there when the bait is coming down. JUst not sure if I will see the water boil like a bluefish blitz with perch feeding again? I also started fishing there when the catwalk was open and 24 hour access and big smallmouths in the corner. Times change! Pete
