Susquehanna River - Perry/Juniata/Snyder - 7/5/2026

tjsingle

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Hey all-

Fished the Susky yesterday morning until early afternoon. My buddy got a new drift boat and it was its maiden voyage on a river. We floated a stretch we did once before, but with the water being low and previous heat wave we didn't know how well it would fish. Driving through Lancaster County up that way you could see how bad the storms were from the 4th. Plan was to be off the water by 4PM, just in case of the passing thunderstorms.

Flow: 8200CFS @ Harrisburg
Water Temps: Not sure but felt like mid-70s
Weather: Cloudy with some sun, increasingly stormy looking. HOT

We started out using the typical white streamers and moved a couple but no hookups. Water was shallow so poppers seems like a good idea to avoid snags. Picked up a 14-15" smallie on the 6wt Eagle Claw glass rod which was a blast:

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Continued the float with not much success. We moved some fish here and there but nothing consistent. Saw bald eagle, which was fitting for the weekend:

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Oddly enough, as the sun got higher and it got hotter, the bite started to turn on. Most of the fish we moved were in the fast water, which made sense. Caught a few small smallies. Rigged up another popper rod, and on the first cast I nabbed a good one. Not sure on size, but we measured 18"-19" on the net.


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Action started to wane, around 230P, and by that point it was already getting dark from nearby storms. Overall a solid day with a handful of SMB to hand. Hoping with the weather cooling down a bit that action will be a bit more consistent.

Tom
 
Hey all-

Fished the Susky yesterday morning until early afternoon. My buddy got a new drift boat and it was its maiden voyage on a river. We floated a stretch we did once before, but with the water being low and previous heat wave we didn't know how well it would fish. Driving through Lancaster County up that way you could see how bad the storms were from the 4th. Plan was to be off the water by 4PM, just in case of the passing thunderstorms.

Flow: 8200CFS @ Harrisburg
Water Temps: Not sure but felt like mid-70s
Weather: Cloudy with some sun, increasingly stormy looking. HOT

We started out using the typical white streamers and moved a couple but no hookups. Water was shallow so poppers seems like a good idea to avoid snags. Picked up a 14-15" smallie on the 6wt Eagle Claw glass rod which was a blast:

Continued the float with not much success. We moved some fish here and there but nothing consistent. Saw bald eagle, which was fitting for the weekend:

Oddly enough, as the sun got higher and it got hotter, the bite started to turn on. Most of the fish we moved were in the fast water, which made sense. Caught a few small smallies. Rigged up another popper rod, and on the first cast I nabbed a good one. Not sure on size, but we measured 18"-19" on the net.



Action started to wane, around 230P, and by that point it was already getting dark from nearby storms. Overall a solid day with a handful of SMB to hand. Hoping with the weather cooling down a bit that action will be a bit more consistent.

Tom
Glad to hear a positive report! All those fish look healthy and well fed - I’ve had similar days when the bite is during the hottest sunniest part of the day(?) - thanks for the update 😎👍🏼
 

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Funny how the fish sometimes behave counter intuitive to what fisherman tend to think!
I remember way back in the early 2000's, when the Susky was in it's absolute prime, I'd have consistent action right through the afternoon, with the sun beating down. I'd just fish the deeper water, where the sun wasn't getting down into as much.
 
Great report - thanks.

I'll second the thoughts about mid-day fishing. The conventional wisdom is that the popper bite tends to be best in low light conditions, especially evening. I agree with this. However, many of us river rats have seen this common exception to the rule: mid-day bite is best and often from bigger fish, and on poppers to boot.
 
Great report - thanks.

I'll second the thoughts about mid-day fishing. The conventional wisdom is that the popper bite tends to be best in low light conditions, especially evening. I agree with this. However, many of us river rats have seen this common exception to the rule: mid-day bite is best and often from bigger fish, and on poppers to boot.
YUP!
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Funny how the fish sometimes behave counter intuitive to what fisherman tend to think!
I think it’s a Pavlovian conditioned response - mature Smallmouth lecturing smaller age classes: “dont eat the surface food at dawn or dusk! Bad things happen … look for those injured minnows about midday - they’re safe to consume …”

Me: “keep tellin’ them that!”
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