Susquehanna River, 8-21-16, Dauphin County

[krayfish2]

River was clear with a temp around 80. Flow in the 9000 cfs range. Thick cloud cover and as the weather forecasting mentioned....a 5mph south wind. Well, the wind was South....at a sustained 15 with gusts close to 30. Showers were scheduled to hit us later in the afternoon as the front passed.....or, they'd hammer us for 3/4 of the float. Lol.

Fishing started surprisingly slow with the overcast conditions. We did get things going about the time that the deluge hit us. Lots of bass in the 8" - 16" range. Right after the front passed, the sun popped out and the fishing died. Floated from 7am until 5pm.

Highlights:
Found a pocket that has given up flathead catfish on several occasions. They are willing to smash crankbaits so I'll try to get one to blast a sex dungeon next float. My nephew caught his first catfish ever and almost shiit himself. Lol. As that one was released, I hooked up with an absolute monster catty (15-20 pounder) but the hooks ripped out. I'll be back to look for him.

Between the lines of showers, we'd get dead calm conditions and were able to find BIG bass and possibly some musky chasing bait in the flats. We got 2 dandy bass, lost several other big ones and had some follows by beasts I'm assuming we're huge cats or musky.

Got soaked, was exhausted from rowing in the wind but it was good fun.

 

[McSneek]

If you fished and rowed a drift boat through the kind of wind and rain I played my last three holes of golf in yesterday you're even more hard core (or crazier) than I thought. lol

 

[evw659]

Nice report, you really did find some BIG smallies. Both of the ones you have pictured look around 5 lbs. Sounds like a really great trip overall, even though the forecast didn't pan out as expected haha.

 

[krayfish2]

McSneek,
DaveS has the most floats with me and will confirm that I'm hardcore and/or not wrapped to tight. Lol. He's spent a few days with me on the Delaware that would have killed some guys. Fishwagen questioned if this was something we should be doing. Um, who wouldn't want to row a boat 9 miles into a 15-30 mph wind. I'd also like to add that we fished anywhere we wanted to....not another boat in sight.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.....right? See ya in the ER !!

 

[albud1962]

what did you catch the smallies on?

 

[krayfish2]

Plugs and tubes......yes...... I'm a dirty spin fisherman (for bass)! I toss the fly rod around with streamers but if there's any wind, I put it away and bust out the cheater gear. LOL.

FWIW, spinners, twisters, senkos, poppers, plugs, spinnerbaits, etc. ALL work well. Just gotta find the critters and you'll be in business.

 

[Dave_W]

Good stuff.
I usually expect fast fishing and aggressive bass when a frontal system is passing over. The weather can be tough to tolerate but it's usually worth it. It's notable that as soon as the sun came out and the front passed over, the bite turned off. Typical.

Also interesting note on finding the bass. I think river SMBs in summer really prowl around a lot and can be hard to pattern. Another interesting note on the cattie hotspot - will be interesting to see if it continues to produce.

It's only a matter of time before you nail a muskie or two. Switch out those soft plastics and try hucking some bigger minnow plugs or blade baits. 🙂

 

[Sylvaneous]

krayfish2 wrote:
Plugs and tubes......yes...... I'm a dirty spin fisherman (for bass)! I toss the fly rod around with streamers but if there's any wind, I put it away and bust out the cheater gear. LOL.

I'm the same way. The last 4 years haven't been great for bass. When I came back to NW PA, I flyfished Joom divers in yellow and white for LMB almost exclusively and did OK to pretty well. Now, I wish I could catch the same fish on conventional gear. I fished the Allegheny wading with a fly rod for SMB then as well, but not now. Don't know why but I don't see the nice fish hanging around the shallows like I used to. Like saltwater guys, when the fishing gets good on conventional tackle, then I'll switch over to fly.

Everyone would rather catch fish on a fly rod.

Syl

 

[afishinado]

Plugs and tubes......yes...... I'm a dirty spin fisherman (for bass)! I toss the fly rod around with streamers but if there's any wind, I put it away and bust out the cheater gear. LOL.

FWIW, spinners, twisters, senkos, poppers, plugs, spinnerbaits, etc. ALL work well. Just gotta find the critters and you'll be in business.

:roll: get real, Kray. Why not just golf...instead?

http://www.uglystik.com/UglyStik-ugly-nation.html

 

[krayfish2]

Tom,
You watch, I'll nail one of these giant flatheads on a streamer. I gave up on the quillback quest as I'm not going g to spend 8 hours chasing fish that spook if a butterfly farts a mile away. Might do it this weekend actually. What's a good color to entice catfish? Lol.

 

[krayfish2]

FAIL ........My tendonitis is so bad, I made 3-4 sink tip casts and had to tap out.

 

[Dave_W]

krayfish2 wrote:
FAIL ........My tendonitis is so bad, I made 3-4 sink tip casts and had to tap out.

Ouch!
Don't give up on that spot or flatheads. If you're consistently getting flatheads on lures in that spot, it's got to be possible to nail one of those guys on a streamer. Fun quest!

 

[krayfish2]

We worked it pretty thoroughly today, no whiskers for the first time in a few floats. We'll get them next time and I'm thinking cortisone shot is in order or I won't be able to cast for the Catskills trip in a few weeks

 

[afishinado]

krayfish2 wrote:
We worked it pretty thoroughly today, no whiskers for the first time in a few floats. We'll get them next time and I'm thinking cortisone shot is in order or I won't be able to cast for the Catskills trip in a few weeks

Few things excuse fishing with a spin rod....but injury is one good excuse.

Lay off your shoulder or arm. That's really the only thing that will help it to heal.

I had a shoulder injury and switched to casting with my other arm. It's a challenge, but it works.

You'll liable to get strung up or a the very least, your boat will be rammed if your caught feeshing plugs on the D river, so heal fast.....:lol:

Be well...stay well.

 

[Swattie87]

I always knew kray was a spincaster!

 

[PhilC]

afishinado wrote:

krayfish2 wrote:
We worked it pretty thoroughly today, no whiskers for the first time in a few floats. We'll get them next time and I'm thinking cortisone shot is in order or I won't be able to cast for the Catskills trip in a few weeks

Few things excuse fishing with a spin rod....but injury is one good excuse.

Lay off your shoulder or arm. That's really the only thing that will help it to heal.

I had a shoulder injury and switched to casting with my other arm. It's a challenge, but it works.

You'll liable to get strung up or a the very least, your boat will be rammed if your caught feeshing plugs on the D river, so heal fast.....:lol:

Be well...stay well.

Either that or go the other route at find appropriate PT exercises. I did this with some tendinitis in the shoulder from fixing an old sink followed by a Catskill jam...just grab the wife's dumbells and a few exercises here and ther and its pretty much gone (for now)

 

[krayfish2]

Phil,
You trying to lend me your wife or her dumbbells? Lol. I've done some reading and have been trying antiinflammatories, massage and compression. I'll know better in 2 weeks how it's progressing.

 

[afishinado]

From the interweb (so it must be true...

How Is Tendinitis Treated?

Initial treatment of tendinitis includes:

Avoiding activities that aggravate the problem
Resting the injured area
Icing the area the day of the injury
Taking over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs or using topical anti-inflammatory gels
If the condition does not improve in a week, see your doctor. You may need more advanced treatments, including:

Corticosteroid injections. Corticosteroids (often called simply "steroids") are often used because they work quickly to decrease the inflammation and pain.

 

[Swattie87]

afishinado wrote:
Corticosteroid injections. Corticosteroids (often called simply "steroids") are often used because they work quickly to decrease the inflammation and pain.

If you're on the juice when you catch a 30" Brown does it still count?

 

[krayfish2]

We have pee tests every morning. That's why I'm hesitant to get the shot. Well, I'm afraid my new found power might get the boat on plane and sending 2' rollers to the banks which would ruin everyone's fishing.