Susquehanna River, Lancaster County 8/4/22

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riverwhy

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Kayaked with a buddy from Bainbridge to Marietta Riverfront Park. Took us about 5 hours. Water not as clear as I thought it would be Bainbridge but seemed to clear a bit as the day went on. Could just be the areas we focused on were shallower but with structure. I only managed three but missed a bunch as I had pinched down all the barbs on the small minnow plug I was using. Hard to hold them when they jump which they all did! Buddy got 9, couple on a Whopper Plopper and Chartreuse twister. The one on the whopper plopper was 18. I managed a 22-inch Channel Cat under the railroad bridge in fast water. That was fun on an ultralight and 6 lb. test. Glad I had all the barks pinched because he took both trebles.
Sorry, this wasn't fly-fishing. We did see two guys fly-fishing near the first riffles up from Marietta. They road their bikes up from the park. I didn't see them catching any, but they looked like great casters! Seemed like they were fishing dries, maybe damsels of which we saw a bunch at certain places and that was where the fishing was best. Not many risers but I would have liked to swing a large olive nymph or bugger in those areas.
Avoided the politics of the Bainbridge Hotel like I do on this site and had some nice brews and burgers at McCleary's. Exhausting but fun day with some great exercise especially paddling some of the slow water above Marietta. Saw tons of Lantern Flies on the water. I saw tons in Hershey last year but none so far this year. Hope that continues!
Jay
 
Someone needs to create a fly that mimics the "Plopper" or the classic Jitter Bug
 
Hey Riverwhy,

That was my buddy and I. Were you the dude I talked to in the parking lot before heading out?

We had a great day. Fish taking sparkling minnows and some on top. At this point in the summer most of the fish are in moving water/riffles.

And thanks for the comment on our casting 🙂 I use a 6/7 fiberglass Steffen Rod that I love. I think it's helped me become a better caster, honestly. Especially throwing Boogle Bugs on it.

I've actually had some really great days on the Susquehanna. Yeah, it ain't what it used to be, but if you find the spots the bass are in, you can have a lot of fun. Just takes some exploring.

- Michael
 
raftman said:
Hey Riverwhy,

That was my buddy and I. Were you the dude I talked to in the parking lot before heading out?

We had a great day. Fish taking sparkling minnows and some on top. At this point in the summer most of the fish are in moving water/riffles.

And thanks for the comment on our casting 🙂 I use a 6/7 fiberglass Steffen Rod that I love. I think it's helped me become a better caster, honestly. Especially throwing Boogle Bugs on it.

I've actually had some really great days on the Susquehanna. Yeah, it ain't what it used to be, but if you find the spots the bass are in, you can have a lot of fun. Just takes some exploring.

- Michael
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You spoke to the guy I was fishing with. I probably got there a few minutes after you headed upstream on the bikes. He mentioned talking to you. Glad you had a great day! It was fun getting out and wading the riffles. I was not familiar with that stretch but had walked the path down to rifles below Bainbridge once last year and caught a few. Miss the good old days rock hopping out at Falmouth. I would love to get back out again but a pinched nerve (my kayak was pulling to the left) that flared up the next day and the start of the school year will probably prevent any more trips out. I have two more years until retirement so looking forward to lots of fall fishing then! Good luck out there the rest of the year!
 
I am also curious about the Steffen rod. I use a 7 weight St. Croix but mainly on the Swatara. I would think a fast rod would be best for tossing most smallmouth flies.
 
I am new to smallmouth fishing in the Susquehanna and I have only been having success in deeper water with a heavy crawfish pattern. It's such a large river it's hard to figure out where the fish are. I usually only fished for Smallies at night back in Connecticut but my current job I have fishing time between 8:30 and 2pm m-f. I got one smallmouth under a bridge on top. I got nothing fishing mid-depth flies like streamers. I am mostly focusing north of Harrisburg.
 
mtelesha said:
I am new to smallmouth fishing in the Susquehanna and I have only been having success in deeper water with a heavy crawfish pattern. It's such a large river it's hard to figure out where the fish are. I usually only fished for Smallies at night back in Connecticut but my current job I have fishing time between 8:30 and 2pm m-f. I got one smallmouth under a bridge on top. I got nothing fishing mid-depth flies like streamers. I am mostly focusing north of Harrisburg.
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You fish smallies at night in streams or lakes?
 
Fish Sticks said:
You fish smallies at night in streams or lakes?
Click to expand...
Both Riversand Lakes. Rivers you need to fish a few times in the daytime to know the river well enough to be safe. It really isn't that difficult to know the characteristic of a river. Then I focus on banks and structures that hold bait in shallow water because the fear of birds is gone. Black-colored everything works well.
 
mtelesha said:
Both Riversand Lakes. Rivers you need to fish a few times in the daytime to know the river well enough to be safe. It really isn't that difficult to know the characteristic of a river. Then I focus on banks and structures that hold bait in shallow water because the fear of birds is gone. Black-colored everything works well.
Click to expand...
I night fish 30-50 trips a year depending on the year for mostly brown trout. Always wanted to give stream smallies a try at night. Guess I will have to.
 
I have always wanted to night fish for trout and I never have. Guess I will have to. Any resources on night technics besides wets and streamer?
 
riverwhy said:
I am also curious about the Steffen rod. I use a 7 weight St. Croix but mainly on the Swatara. I would think a fast rod would be best for tossing most smallmouth flies.
Click to expand...

Yeah, a fast rod would be more efficient, but I really love the feel of my Steffen and the glass rod makes me slow down and be more focused on my casting. It's thrown every fly I've needed it to so far. 115C3564-41FB-4087-86C0-6CFE7888F07B.jpegIMG_3038.JPG

It's also landed some real nice channel catfish as well. I've been catching a ton of them this year, which has been a lot of fun.

I'm heading back on Monday for my 13th year...congrats on being so close to retirement. Hit me up if you ever want to explore some water!

- MG
 
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