Susquehanna River, Lancaster Co., 7/6/12

[dc410]

Stopped on the way home from work Friday afternoon and did a little "rock hopping" on the Susky below the Holtwood Dam. The air temp was about 95* and I only spent about 45 minutes fishing due to the excessive heat. I did manage to catch two smallies (my first Susky SMB on a fly) in the 10-11" range. Both fish looked good and fought extremely hard. I saw a decent number of SMB in all age classes. I even saw a few really nice ones in the 16" class. Unfortunately they were a wake going the opposite direction when I spotted them. I guess I looked like a big blue heron jumping from rock to rock to those bass. They don't get that big being stupid! Anyway, I included a few pictures and a scenery shot of the Lancaster Co. shoreline. I did not see any evidence of any diseased or dead smallies in the short time I was out there.

 

[Fishidiot]

Great report John. Glad to see some folks are seeing (and catching) healthy bass of different year classes in the lower Susky. My guess would be, in the morning or late evening, that area would have fished much better. Looking at your photo, one can see how much slack water there is just laying between ledge rock in the shallow river bed. This time of year, those slack spots just broil in the sun and can see temps well over 90 degrees. Nevertheless, find some current and you can usually find some willing SMBs.....even on a sunny, scorching hot day.
Good to see.

 

[Maurice]

If I ID'd the photo correctly that rock garden is on the York County side below the Safe Harbor dam. Above the Norman Wood bridge. The main current is a narrow 80' torrent coming from the hydro dam on the Lancaster side. The rock garden has almost no current.

I wonder if the OP say any eagles that day? there are a few nesting in the powerline towers down there.

 

[dc410]

Maurice,

I was in the "rock garden" above the Normanwood Bridge. You can actually see the bridge in the photo. I accessed from the York Co. side (Lock 12 area) but called it Lancaster County because the Lancaster/York county line is mapped as the western boundary of the river. It is actually below the Holtwood Power Plant. The Safe Harbor PP is further north near where the Conestoga River empties into the Susky. There is some gradient change in this area and some current is present in spots but it is very minimal. The bass do have many places with the type of structure out there to get out of the direct sunlight but there isn't many places for the fisherman to get out of it! I saw the eagle nests on the towers but didn't see any eagles. I would assume that the young ones (if they were there this year) have probably fledged by this time.

 

[Maurice]

Thats right...Holtwood...my bad. Try fishing those pockets from a distance. Plor your poppers over the rocks two or three pools away. This prevents spooking the fish. I've never done it there but know some who have and have had success with the bigg'uns.

 

[1wt]

great report, thanks so very much!

it's been a long time since i fished the susquehanna. i gave up and have been fishing a couple lakes and a couple trout streams.

i'll have to get the dust off of my 5wt and do a little wet wading.

this is why a fishing report with a couple pix is so wonderful! you, sir, have given me hope again!

 

[McSneek]

What's the deal on fishing below the dam? Probably not much of an issue right now but I have driven over the bridge in the late winter/spring on my way to Muddy Creek and the "rock garden" is completely exposed. Have gone back in the other direction a few hours later and the entire river below the dam is raging bank to bank. Would hate to get caught out there when they release water. Is there a posted schedule? I'm sure there are warning sirens. Nice to see a couple of healthy bass out of the Susq. White fly hatch is probably starting soon which makes me wonder if it is worthwhile to give it a try this year.

 

[iceyguides]

McSneek, you should be able to get a release/generation schedule at this # 1 800 692 6328. just always remember "this schedule is subject to change without notice", so be aware and never get yourself into a spot you can't get out of quickly. I fish below the conowingo dam and it's downright scary how fast the water can rise and how powerful the current can be.

 

[dc410]

McSneek,

Ddog pretty well hit it right on the head. There is very large signage displayed at the normal access points warning of dangers with discharging water. The signs describe the audible warning systems as well. The key point is to always keep yourself in a position to be able to get out of the riverbed very quickly. There are probably a lot of great spots to fish out there that this guy will "never" see. It's just not worth the risk. A little common sense goes a long way.

 

[dc410]

Sorry, in my last post I referred to Ddog, I meant to refer to the previous post by Iceyguides.

 

[wbranch]

I fished (the operative word is I tried to fish) the Susky today at Wrighstville. I saw the flow at Marietta was 7190 cfs but figured with my jet I'd be okay. Wrong! Put in at 5:30 p.m. and put the boat on plane then luckily saw I was in less than a foot of water so I backed down to just an idle speed.

Just terribly low! I tried to get up in some riffly water near the Rte 30 bridge but I just couldn't find a safe chute to et up. The bottom of the motor hit a couple of ledges and twice I was hung up on the bottom and had to shut off the motor and stand on the bow to lift the stern a little and drift into some ddper water.

There was just no flow and after less than an hour I was putting the boat back onto the trailer. I wouldn't try to use the boat again until the river at Marietta is at least 12,000 cfs.

 

[wgmiller]

Sounds like it's time to get the kayak out and go after 'em... I love drafting only a few inches with my craft! :-D

 

[hammertime]

by wgmiller on 2012/7/12 23:11:03

Sounds like it's time to get the kayak out and go after 'em... I love drafting only a few inches with my craft!

Thats why I like my craft.