Fly-Swatter
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2014
- Messages
- 1,357
My buddy Dave and I floated from Liverpool to Clemson Island starting around 11 AM, ending before 8 PM. We were in search of fish focused on cicadas. Due to the spotty nature of the emergence and the relative paucity of intel, we decided to take an educated guess at where we should fish. We stayed north of the Juniata because we figured it would make the bog river turbid.
This was the first time either of us fished the main stem of the Susky. Expiration was definitely a goal. So, even if there was no cicada action, we would enjoy checking out a new river.
It was sunny and breezy with gusts that were a bit difficult. Water clarity was good on the west third of the river, but less than a foot on the east side. The river was not low, according to Blue Mountain Outfitters (our shuttle service), but it was pretty shallow most of the way across. The topography and geology in this section are very different from what we are used to on the north branch between Laceyville and Falls.
We found the east side unfishable due to the turbidity. There were a decent amount of cicadas on the water, but no one was eating.
We headed back to the west side and hooked up within minutes. I saw this guy cruising slowly about twenty feet from the boat in less than two feet of water. I flipped a cost over, twitched the cicada fly once, and was hooked up!
This is my first flathead! It was a good battle on my 6 WT.
I also hooked and lost a big bass that was in the 18"+ size range. I also saw one really big bass (20"+) porpoise on a cicada one time, then disappeared. Action was much better starting around 1 PM when the sky became overcast.
We saw some rises and caught some smaller bass, average 12". We probably landed a dozen bass plus the catfish. Some were caught on cicadas, some on crayfish patterns. Given the decent amount of cicadas on the water (2-4 visible at any given time), we did not see very many fish eating them. We were also surprised by how shallow most of the river was. If we do this float again, we will cruise through the shallow parts and focus on the deeper runs and pockets below rocks and ledges.
I'd call it a mostly successful trip. We fished the cicada hatch, landed a new species, and saw a new section of river.
This was the first time either of us fished the main stem of the Susky. Expiration was definitely a goal. So, even if there was no cicada action, we would enjoy checking out a new river.
It was sunny and breezy with gusts that were a bit difficult. Water clarity was good on the west third of the river, but less than a foot on the east side. The river was not low, according to Blue Mountain Outfitters (our shuttle service), but it was pretty shallow most of the way across. The topography and geology in this section are very different from what we are used to on the north branch between Laceyville and Falls.
We found the east side unfishable due to the turbidity. There were a decent amount of cicadas on the water, but no one was eating.
We headed back to the west side and hooked up within minutes. I saw this guy cruising slowly about twenty feet from the boat in less than two feet of water. I flipped a cost over, twitched the cicada fly once, and was hooked up!
This is my first flathead! It was a good battle on my 6 WT.
I also hooked and lost a big bass that was in the 18"+ size range. I also saw one really big bass (20"+) porpoise on a cicada one time, then disappeared. Action was much better starting around 1 PM when the sky became overcast.
We saw some rises and caught some smaller bass, average 12". We probably landed a dozen bass plus the catfish. Some were caught on cicadas, some on crayfish patterns. Given the decent amount of cicadas on the water (2-4 visible at any given time), we did not see very many fish eating them. We were also surprised by how shallow most of the river was. If we do this float again, we will cruise through the shallow parts and focus on the deeper runs and pockets below rocks and ledges.
I'd call it a mostly successful trip. We fished the cicada hatch, landed a new species, and saw a new section of river.
