Is the Susquehanna still producing a decent amount of smallmouth bass? I thought I heard it was struggling a few years back. Also do its tributaries the Juniata or Lakawana have any numbers in them? If anybody can give me information on the Lehigh river I would appreciate it also. I just got back from Milford Maine where my brother and I hired a guide and had a couple of great days catching smallmouth bass so I have a need to find some more.
A fishing question about the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers.
- Thread starter SEPATOPTEN
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I’ll be fishing the Susquehanna early next week near Falls. Will report back.
Going out with a guide. He told me that the river level is a bit low but that we will catch lots of fish.
Yes it is. I fished the mile or so below the bridge for years wading as a teen. Always good numbers with an occasional nice fish thrown in. Please let me know how you make out. Good luck!
I love smallmouth fishing in rivers and streams. Used to fish the Delaware a lot but not recently. I don’t believe it’s as good as it used to be and it was never as good as the Susquehanna.
Have you ever fished Lake Winola? I'm renting a cabin there for a few nights and will see what we can pull out of the lake.
Yes I've fished it quite a bit over the years. It's tough fishing. Do you have a boat?
I know some friends that fish the Susquehanna near Harrisburg and get some nice fish. Call the guys at Susquehanna Fishing Tackle and they can hook you up with a guide or point you in the right direction if you want to fish that area. Lackawanna is mainly a trout stream.
Bass fishing is tough but it's full of 9 or 10 inchers. The fish commission had special regs at one point encouraging people to keep small bass because of overpopulation. Not sure if the regs still exist. The lake is full of trout as they stock it a few times a year. At this time of year, guys fish for trout at night and catch a bunch of them. A good place for trout at night is out in front of the Scranton Canoe Club. As for bass, it's a deep lake so you mainly have to fish shoreline. The pan fishing is so so. Enjoy!
Here you go. Complete with NEPA hey-na accent.
https://www.wnep.com/article/entert...nola/523-c3f92320-8dea-4ec8-a938-91e7ff30c116
The Susqy has been in decline in the last 4-5 years. There are many theories out there as to why, but the massive flood of May 18 wiping out the spawn is one of them. The ****ing Flatheads are not helping either. 50 fish days are long gone. It is hard sledding out there. More and more guys are heading north of Liverpool in order to catch a decent amount of fish. Harrisburg area has become essentially a boat rodeo. Dudes (and guides too) posting videos on Facebook has not helped. You will see trucks at the launch from all over. The water is low and really warm. There is good fishing to be had, but it is getting harder and no where near where it was 6-7 years ago let alone in the late 1990's.
Several years ago I went fishing for muskies on the St. Lawrence Seaway. We stayed in Clayton New York. Our guide said if we came back at the end of August, he could take us out and we would literally catch hundreds of smallmouth per day.
He was telling you the truth and they are huge.
https://m.bassmaster.com/best-bass-lakes/st-lawrence-river-named-best-bass-fishery-nation
Lehigh River is FULL of small mouths. You can catch 100 a day. The problem is most are in the 10-12" range. Once in a while you may get a 15" fish but it's not the rule. There is lots of access for wading and a kayak is fun. If you fish it use a water melon colored worm wacky rigged. It's a killer. Google the Lehigh Water Trail for more info.
The best Pa. smallie fishing for quantity and definitely for quality is in Lake Erie.
I had a cabin on the upper Delaware between Narrowsburg and Lackawaxen in Pa. and we would float that section. Decent smallies, some walleye, and an occasional trout though that is about the limit of trout in the downstream sections.
I had a cabin on the upper Delaware between Narrowsburg and Lackawaxen in Pa. and we would float that section. Decent smallies, some walleye, and an occasional trout though that is about the limit of trout in the downstream sections.
He pointed to the isles and banks on the Canadian side as to where he would take us.
I fish the river anywhere Clarks Ferry down to TMI and for the last month catching 2 fish in 6 hours is a good day. Lots of theories on what happened and it's probably a combination of many factors. I've been fighting with fish commission to close ALL fishing on the river from April 20th through June 15th in order to allow the spawn to be successful. Too many idiots fish the beds and by the time they land the fish and snap a few photos they're a quarter mile down stream and the bed has been wiped out by other fish.
The only way I see to restore the river is close it for all fishing during the spawn and make the penalty for violation extremely painful. Something like forfeiture of all fishing gear including any boat you may be fishing from, lifetime ban on PA fishing, and a large fine.
I'd also like to see a few years of no harvest or at least put a total harvest of all fish, except flatheads, to something reasonable like 5 fish per day per person, combined species.
I've had a camp there for almost 20 years and spend a lot of time on the water. US and Canada are both great, though there's normally less boat traffic in Canada. This year, we can't fish Canada yet because of the border restrictions. Was the guide you used Rich Clark?
I was not aware that there were flathead catfish in the Susqy. Flatheads and blue catfish belong in bigger waters like the Mississippi River. They both live a long time and can exceed 100lbs. They will eat anything that has protein that they can swallow which is most anything in the river from muskrats to frogs and any fish.
For catfish, channels are the best eastern river catfish, if you are going to feature catfish at all. We have reproducing populations in the Ct. River which has both freshwater species and anadromous river visitors like shad, stripers, herring, eels and an occasional atlantic salmon. Plenty of smallies especially in the upper reaches from Hartford to the Mass. border.
The Pa. Fish Commission should have left the flatheads down south.
For catfish, channels are the best eastern river catfish, if you are going to feature catfish at all. We have reproducing populations in the Ct. River which has both freshwater species and anadromous river visitors like shad, stripers, herring, eels and an occasional atlantic salmon. Plenty of smallies especially in the upper reaches from Hartford to the Mass. border.
The Pa. Fish Commission should have left the flatheads down south.
I'm not sure who that would be but I do know one guide that retired from there. What time of the year did you Musky fish? Did you catch any?
We went in June 3-4 years ago. You will remember the record high water levels that year. Tons of flooded docks and docks washed away. Not a great day, but I did catch one big muskie. It felt like I was pulling up a tire.
They fight like crazy. I've yet to catch a big one as I mainly fish for bass, but a guy that was with me caught one that was 51 inches with 8 pound test on a spinning reel in June 10 or so years ago. I was chasing it around with my trolling motor so that it didn't take all the line off his spool!
It was flooded like that last year as well. The best Musky fishing up there is in October-November if you're ever looking to go again.
The Lackawanna is an amazing trout stream. A portion is designated as trophy waters. I have heard 30” trout are not unheard of and not just in the trophy waters. The river has made an amazing comeback since the 70s when it still had raw sewage flowing into it.
It really has made a comeback. I have friends that fly fish it quite a bit. Unfortunately, right before it empties into the Susquehanna, it runs bright orange from mine acid.
Here's an interesting story about it.
https://www.flyfisherman.com/editorial/pennsylvanias-waking-giant-the-lackawanna-river/329427
I couldn't agree more with you. Maryland did the boat forfeiture route when they closed down Striper fishing. If I remember correctly if they busted someone with stripers in the boat, the boat was seized and sold at auction and all proceeds went back into the program. I also think they need to close the river to all tournaments year-round and not just during the spawn. Also, catch and release only on the river and tributaries
I was going to hold off on selling my boat until September, but am selling it now. New boat should be delivered in September hopefully. Not too fun for me this time of year when the water temp is in the mid 80 and the heat index is at 100degrees. Hit the water at 5am and off at 10am. (I have been doing well averaging 6-8 so its not that miserable).
This is a really sobering post on the deterioration of the Susquehanna. I grew up fishing the same section you describe and routinely caught bass after bass. It was a world class bassery. I moved away 30 yr ago and have been hearing the bass population was troubled. I fished it circa 2000 and witnessed hundreds of bass fry whirling about and dying and knew then something was afoul. Later I saw an article about whirling disease caused by some unknown factor which mysteriously disappeared so I figured it was on the rebound. By your account I guess not. With all the invasive species and pollution from runoff of farm and industry I am not so surprised that the river has struggled. It is a f’n shame that is for sure Look no further than the yet to be understood impact of the rusty crawfish in the Susquehanna watershed.
Have you seen this article? Again, I'm in NEPA and the fishing is still fine up here, but you guys would know best, spending time on the water.
https://www.post-gazette.com/life/o...sylvania-smallmouth-bass/stories/201908080030
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Mystery solved: Susquehanna River smallmouth bass are back
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LNP Lancaster Online
AUG 8, 2019
8:00 AM
A college laboratory is credited with solving a maddening mystery: What killed so many smallmouth bass in the lower Susquehanna and Juniata rivers, beginning in 2005?
The answer, which came as a surprise to some Pennsylvania and federal investigators, is largemouth bass virus.
At the time, several environmental problems were impacting the river, in particular a mystery disease that left sores and open wounds on young smallmouths. Scientists couldn’t agree on its source for more than a decade. But now the disease has virtually disappeared.
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“Like it never happened, but it did,” said Darrell Franks, a Greensburg fisherman whose family has fished near their camp in York County since the 1960s. “A lot of guys still won’t fish the Susquehanna because of the disease, but that’s their mistake. The fishing is better than ever.”
John Hayes
New research into puzzling smallmouth mortality on Susquehanna River
Mr. Franks and his brother caught and released 11 smallmouths in the 15- to 19-inch range in about four hours near the islands off Wrightsville last week.
From its branches in New York and northcentral Pennsylvania, the Susquehanna bisects the state, rolling nearly 465 miles through Harrisburg to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is one of the oldest rivers on Earth, older even than the Appalachian Mountains. Its 27,500-square-mile watershed drains nearly half the state, including many waters fished by Western Pennsylvania anglers. The Juniata River, Little Juniata, West Branch Susquehanna, Yellow Breeches Creek, Penns Creek, LeTort Spring Run, Pine Creek, Spring Creek and tributaries reaching as far west as Indiana County feed into the Susquehanna River.
The disease that impacted the smallmouths is common among largemouths and cannot infect humans. When well cooked, afflicted fish are safe to eat despite the ick factor. Investigators knew early on that the disease was present in Susquehanna smallmouths but it had been ruled out as the cause of the lesions. Scientists believed it couldn't hurt them.
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It turned out that largemouth bass virus can be lethal to smallmouths when shallow water near river banks, where young bass generally live, becomes stagnant and warm. In that environment, the virus does not kill but causes lesions and sores where bacteria and fungus enter the fish’s body, eventually killing them.
Science, conservation and politics didn’t eliminate the disease. As some researchers had always expected, nature healed itself. Mr. Franks said there have never been so many big bass in his neck of the river.
The mystery was solved by scientists at Michigan State University who injected smallmouth bass from a Pennsylvania fish farm with the virus. Their experiments proved that mortality increased when the fish were in summerlike warm water.
Either the current generation of Susquehanna smallmouths have built an immunity to the virus or it has mutated in a way that no longer impacts bronzebacks. A catch-and-release regulation on 98 miles of the river, and nearly 32 miles of the Juniata River, seem to have given the fish the space they needed to survive. Fishing for smallmouths has rebounded since 2017. Some anglers say it is as good today as in the early 1990s.
John Hayes
50-pound flathead catfish caught on Susquehanna River sets Pa. record
"The thought is [the virus] has kind of run its course, for the most part," said state Fish and Boat Commission biologist Geoff Smith. "We've seen low levels of the disease since 2012 and reduced mortality."
Nevertheless, Mr. Smith has several concerns.
The virus may erupt in other Pennsylvania smallmouth fisheries under warm-water and low-flow conditions. Climate change may increase that likelihood, Smith says. And while Susquehanna smallmouths may have built up a resistance, the virus could mutate and come back with a vengeance.
The river’s other big problems still worry Fish and Boat staff.
"We'll never know how much of the mortality is from largemouth bass virus alone," said Mr. Smith. "All that could play into additional stress, but we're not sure how at this point."
Agricultural runoff continues to increase the stress level among Susquehanna fish, and bass with both male and female sex organs continue to turn up with no defined cause.
"In the course of this investigation, we've uncovered a lot of other not-so-nice things in the Susquehanna that need to be cleaned up," said Mr. Smith.
Biologists are concerned about a class of chemicals known as endocrine disruptors that can interfere with hormone systems. Possible sources could be pharmaceuticals flushed down toilets that end up in sewage plants, runoff of herbicides and pesticides from farm fields and suburban yards, as well as unwise disposal of household chemicals.
But Fish and Boat’s electrofishing sampling has shown smallmouth catch rates similar to what they were in the early 1990s. And even before the harvest ban, more anglers were practicing catch and release than ever before, so more big bass are out there.
“If we keep things going the way they're going, we should see that for quite some time unless something like this virus crops up again," said Mr. Smith.
Mr. Franks said he’s conflicted about whether to spread the news about the return of the Susquehana smallmouths.
“It’s nice to have the whole river to ourselves,” he said.
Post-Gazette outdoors editor John Hayes contributed to this story.
First Published August 8, 2019, 8:00am
Not all the Susky is in bad shape. If you are on FB or just Google Reel River Adventures you will see a guide service and pictures of the bass they catch. Amazing! He averages about 50+ a trip and most are 16" plus.
The branches are holding up pretty well. It is Duncannon to Wrightsville that is going to shit.
Can the guide...get a bunch of pumpkinseed twister tails, 1/8 or 1/4 ounce jig heads...find some fast water and have a ball.
Maybe a thousand times! Fished at nite for my entire childhood and teen years at nite for trout....had a blast. Never did bass fishing, did a truckload of spring trips for calico and perch...great lake. Very deep and cold, but I hear the cabin people with the speed boats that are allowed have made summer fishing tough.
Fish the Susquehanna once a week for smallies, sometimes more, near Wrightsville/462 bridge down through the rocks above the islands. Like others have said, that section of the river is still good for smallies but the production is nothing like it was in the 60's and 70's and early 80's. Quality and quantity have severely dropped off since that time frame. Additionally, up until about three years ago a high percentage of the smallies caught had a lesion or multiple lesions on their bodies. Haven't seen any lesions for the past 2 or 3 years. Hopefully that illness is gone. As far as size, most are in the 10-15 inch range with an occasional 18 or 19 inch thrown in. Never caught one but we saw a huge flathead floater last week in rocks above the islands. That thing had to be in the low to mid 40 inch range and had a mouth that you could stick a volleyball in. Huge fish!
Thanks but I think some of these guys are way more familiar with the fishery than I am. I do know more folks are fishing further up from Duncannon and that seems to be where the guides head.
I am curious, has anybody fished the Juniata or Penns Creek below the town of Penns Creek for Bass? Low and warm but little pressure if at all. Every time I drive across 104 and look at Penns down there it has to hold fish.
winola can be frustrating but rewarding. Hit the back side trenches with live minnows and can pull out some beautiful rainbow trout. If looking for bass or crappie move across from the golf course club area. There’s a deep hole about 50 yards out and hit the edge lines. Never had much luck pounding the shoreline but can get a occasional pig skipping docks.
