Finally got out on the big river this afternoon - haven't been able to get out on the rivers as much as usual this summer. Conditions were good, fishing was sub-par.
WEATHER: Sunny skies with a high around 90 F; medium breeze.
WATER: Bone low summer level: 3.2 at the H-burg gage; clear. Water temp was 85 F confirmed by thermometer in two spots. Easy wading (by Susky standards - always bring a wading staff & sturdy foot gear with cleats. I wear knee pads). Very few people out; had the river to myself and could look a mile up and down and not see anybody. Well developed river grass beds in the usual spots.
HATCHES/FORAGE: No bugs to speak of (I didn't roll any rocks). Crayfish extremely numerous in shoreline areas, which is is typical and quite a few out in mid river channel; some schools of small minnows; YOY hogsuckers were extremely numerous. No feeding activity was visible.
I fished from 3:30 to 6:30 from the west side. I usually don't expect good fishing on blue bird days with a high sun, especially after a few days of storms. Nevertheless, it just felt good to get out on the water in the sunshine. With the low water conditions, I was able to wade all the way to the middle of the river and was rarely deeper than mid-thigh. If you want to fish the Susky by wading, now is the time to do it. I had some luck on poppers, all small fish, but overall fishing was slow. Things may have improved later in the evening but I wasn't able to stay. Better day for birding.
Reminder: if you head out on the big rivers this time of year under a bright sun, make sure to pack more water than you think you need to drink. You'll need it.
On a bright note, there seems to have been a good spawn this year. I saw a lot of YOY bass. They were much more numerous than I expect to see. In some places as I was wading I was driving schools of dozens of them, mostly about 2" but some were over 3 inches. Out of the hundreds I saw, I counted only five with lesions that I could see.
Will have to see if this pattern is noticeable at other spots later in the summer, but what I saw today was auspicious.
WEATHER: Sunny skies with a high around 90 F; medium breeze.
WATER: Bone low summer level: 3.2 at the H-burg gage; clear. Water temp was 85 F confirmed by thermometer in two spots. Easy wading (by Susky standards - always bring a wading staff & sturdy foot gear with cleats. I wear knee pads). Very few people out; had the river to myself and could look a mile up and down and not see anybody. Well developed river grass beds in the usual spots.
HATCHES/FORAGE: No bugs to speak of (I didn't roll any rocks). Crayfish extremely numerous in shoreline areas, which is is typical and quite a few out in mid river channel; some schools of small minnows; YOY hogsuckers were extremely numerous. No feeding activity was visible.
I fished from 3:30 to 6:30 from the west side. I usually don't expect good fishing on blue bird days with a high sun, especially after a few days of storms. Nevertheless, it just felt good to get out on the water in the sunshine. With the low water conditions, I was able to wade all the way to the middle of the river and was rarely deeper than mid-thigh. If you want to fish the Susky by wading, now is the time to do it. I had some luck on poppers, all small fish, but overall fishing was slow. Things may have improved later in the evening but I wasn't able to stay. Better day for birding.
Reminder: if you head out on the big rivers this time of year under a bright sun, make sure to pack more water than you think you need to drink. You'll need it.
On a bright note, there seems to have been a good spawn this year. I saw a lot of YOY bass. They were much more numerous than I expect to see. In some places as I was wading I was driving schools of dozens of them, mostly about 2" but some were over 3 inches. Out of the hundreds I saw, I counted only five with lesions that I could see.
Will have to see if this pattern is noticeable at other spots later in the summer, but what I saw today was auspicious.
