SFM Hints & Tips Issue Now Online!

The Susquehanna Fishing Magazine October/November 2010 Hints & Tips Issue is now online and available for free download via the SusquehannaFishing.com website.

http://susquehannafishing.com/

Check out Bryan Wilhelm's "Black Bass Lure Selection Matrix", Nathan Follmer's "Five Knots You Need to Know", and select Hints & Tips which will improve your angling skills!

Susquehanna Fly and Spin Guide Service Fishing Report; Mid-October 2010

Well you can tell its fall as football season is here once again on the Susquehanna River as many football shaped Smallmouth Bass have been making their way to the boat for my anglers this week. Congrats to some of them as these were some of their chunkiest smallies they have have ever caught. Some double hook ups were had as well. This is a great time to experience the smallmouth bite and to get bent and sling some string with us!

Until the next report, tight lines!-----<*)}}}}}><
Your Susquehanna River Fishing Guide, Steve Hancock
http://susquehannaflyandspin.com/

KOINONIA GUIDE SERVICE: SUSQUEHANNA FISHING REPORT 10/16/10

Hi Gang,

The river was at 6.1 with 54,700CF of flow and 64 degrees at the beginning of the week and at the end of the week we had 4.4 with 21,900CF of flow and 56 degrees. The BP was 30.20 and falling.

1. Trip #1 – Guide Scouting Trip – This was on Monday evening and we fished from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM and we boated 11 Walleye, 1 Channel Cat and 1 Bass. The largest Walleye was 20”, the Bass was 14.5” and the Channel Cat was 24”. We caught them on Stick Baits, Rattle Baits and Jigs. Three of the Walleye were legal. We had 5.1 – Muddy – Steady – 34,500 CF and 60 degrees. It was clear we had a BP of 30.00 and steady.

2. Trip #2 – Guide Fun Trip – This was on Tuesday evening and we fished from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM and we boated 10 Flatheads. The larges was 41.5” long and weighed 38.05#. This is the largest one we have caught to date. We also had several this night over 20 pounds. We caught them on live bait and cut bait. We had 5.1 – Steady - Muddy - 34,000 CF and 60 degrees. It was cloudy skies and we had a BP of 30.20 & falling.

3. Trip #3 – Guide Scouting Trip – This was on Wednesday and we fished from 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM and we boated 2 Bass. The largest was 14”. We caught them on YUM Craw Papi’s. We had 4.7 – Steady - Muddy – 26,300CF and 58 degrees. It was clear skies and we had a BP of 30.30 and falling.

4. Trip #4 Guide Trip – This was a half day Saturday PM Trip and we boated 20+ Flatheads. The largest was 28# and we had several citation size fish. We caught them all on live bait. We had 4.4 – Stained – Steady - 21,970CF and 56 degrees. It was windy and we had a BP of 30.20 and falling.

5. Trip #5 – Guide Trip – No Trip

6. Trip #6 – Guide Trip – No Trip

7. We got blown off the water on Thursday and Friday.

8. The cooling water temperature is making the bass fishing better and the Walleye fishing should continue to build as well.


9. Please write the Fish and Boat Commission and express your concerns to them. We can provide you with email addresses if you need them.

10. There is an article today in the Republican Herald news paper. This article is based on an outing that we took Doyle Dietz on and it can be seen at www.rpublicanherald.com. Go to sports and then outdoors and click on the article.

11. Last Tuesday we had Commissioner Bob Bachman out on the river with us and this Tuesday we will have Executive Director John Arway out with us. We will continue to express our concerns to them about the Bass situation, the walleye creel limit and creating a Flathead slot limit.


HAVE A GREAT WEEK AND LUV THE TUG………REB

PA Fish & Boat Proposes Susky/Juniata C&R Regulations

From today's Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission's press release:
http://www.fishandboat.com/newsreleases/2010press/bass_cr.htm

"Following years of declining numbers of smallmouth bass in the Juniata and lower Susquehanna rivers, the Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) today moved to protect the fisheries by placing catch and release regulations on sections of the two waterways which are currently regulated under the Big Bass Program."

"The Board of Commissioners voted at its quarterly meeting, held today at the Genetti Hotel, to approve the publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking containing the proposed regulations. Pending a final vote by the board at a subsequent quarterly meeting, PFBC Executive Director John Arway signed a temporary emergency order which allows the changes to take affect Jan. 1, 2011."

Check out the linked press release for specifics...

Fly Fishing For Monster Trout Seminar with George Douglas (10/6/2010, Harrisburg, PA)

Harrisburg, PA — Hall of Fame author, fishing guide, filmmaker and publisher of Kype Fishing Magazine, George Douglas, will be in the Harrisburg area on October, 6th. This free event will be held at the Gander Mountain Sports in Harrisburg from 6:30 to 8:00pm.

This should be a fantastic evening for those of you who are interested in becoming a better angler and perhaps looking for a fishing adventure, as Douglas will provide his recommendations for your next trip. He will be showing variety of fishing footage on an eight foot screen that features some of the best fishing in the country for trout, steelhead and salmon. Douglas will be speaking on strategies and techniques for trophy fish, and will shine light on solutions to common mistakes.

After the films and seminar, George will be signing copies of his new book titled, "Fish Like A Guide.” He explained that Professional Fishing Guides produce consistent action for their clients, and it is not done by luck--there is a science and a discipline behind the results. His book goes far beyond how to catch a fish by revealing the formula that leads anglers to success through planning, preparation and advanced thought process that will consistently place an angler in high percentage fishing situations.

This free event is sure to improve your knowledge base and get you ready for this fall season. More information is on his website at KypeMagazine.com

Electric Kayak Fishing Revolution (SFM, May 2010)

From the May 2010 issue of Susquehanna Fishing Magazine:
http://susquehannafishing.com/

By Jon Shein


The Ocean Kayak Torque’s Minn Kota propulsion system

Kayak fishing is exploding across the country as it finally starts to penetrate into freshwater. It’s ironic because most people think of kayak angling as a freshwater sport, but the majority of its growth and the use of kayaks for fishing have been in saltwater. Many of us got started because we became tired of watching stripers and blues blitz beyond the range of our casts. Kayaks allowed us to catch those fish. Kayak fishing is growing in leaps and bounds and that was with very little growth in freshwater. That’s all changing now and it makes sense. There are very few environments a kayak can’t fish. Still one of the limitations that prevented the sport from being as popular as it could be was many fishermen weren’t interested in providing propulsion. They weren’t interested in the exercise. You either had to paddle or pedal a kayak, until recently. Now there’s another revolution in the sport that’s going to alter it considerably. That change is the rise of the machines, like in Terminator, but these machines aren’t robots, they’re electric kayaks (EK). For years the regional Ocean Kayak rep and I tried to get the company to make an integrated electric motor model. That’s because the parent company, Johnson Outdoors, also owns Minn Kota. This past summer they finally did it and introduced the Torque. It wasn’t the first production EK though. Legacy Paddlesports introduced the Volt a few months earlier. However the two kayaks are very different. I’ll discuss all the options available and different models along with features later in this series.

Putting an electric motor on a kayak isn’t new. Cobra kayaks and later on Malibu kayaks have offered motor mounts for years. They allowed one to attach a standard trolling motor. Also anglers would build their own mounts and attach a motor. While writing my book, Kayak Fishing, I spent seven months in the Everglades and there were three anglers who built a rear mount that functioned nicely. All these worked but they weren’t near what a proper integrated system could be. Every now and then I’d see a neat system on the various internet forums where someone with far more mechanical and engineering skills than most of us would build a really cool setup. However most of us are not capable of such things, and unless we knew someone we weren’t going to have one. Things took a significant turn for the better when an aftermarket company called Bassyaks started doing the same and offering them to the public. Bassyaks has kits for all the popular kayak models and they’ll design one for any kayak. A buddy of mine got one a couple years ago and could spend all day on the water without needing to use his paddle.

I’m a big fan of EKs, but I often hear people say if you want a motor just get a boat. There are a lot of reasons why I would much rather have an EK. For starters it’s still a kayak; the motor just replaces muscles with electricity. So let’s take a quick look at kayaks and why they’re such good fishing vessels.

First they’re inexpensive, relatively light, easy to transport and incredibly versatile. I don’t know of another craft that can float down the Susquehanna and then the next day launch through the Jersey surf. You can put the kayak on a set of wheels, called a cart, and wheel it into a remote section of river or a lake nestled back in the woods. These are places that you may only have been able to previously fish from shore, or via an inflatable or a float tube. A kayak can be customized to your needs and allow such places to be fished in a manner they may have never been before. There’s a lot a kayak can do and an EK allows it to do more. More next month…

Jon Shein is a veteran kayak angler. His recently released book, Kayak Fishing, can be purchased at the following website:
http://www.kayakfishingbook.net/

Fly Fishing Egg Patterns (SFM, April 2010)

From the April 2010 issue of Susquehanna Fishing Magazine:
http://susquehannafishing.com/

By Jim Kukorlo

The “Incredible, Edible Egg.”

Fish know what we know about the food value of an egg. It is a high-protein, high-fat and high-energy food.

Spawning season in the Susquehanna Region runs from late August to late May. This cool water period is when insect activity is in decline, and fish are looking for a high protein food source. It is instinctual for fish to eat fish eggs and is a great time to fly fish egg flies. You will find success fishing egg patterns throughout this cool water period.

The most popular colors are white, pink, dark pink, and orange. Carry an assortment of sizes from one eighth to one quarter inch. Smaller ones seem to be more effective in late summer and low water conditions. Larger ones are a good imitation of egg clumps or clusters. Eggs don’t swim, they roll along with the current on or near the bottom.

A drag free, dead drift is the most effective way of fishing eggs patterns. This is to fish the fly without imparting any additional movement while keeping the lure moving in the current. Add a split shot eight to ten inches above the fly to get down where they feed. If you are not getting hung up occasionally, you are probably not fishing deep enough.

Cast quartering upstream and hold your rod high, keeping most of your line off the water, to get your fly down on the bottom with little drag. Having a drag-free drift is important. This is much like nymph fishing.

Try using two flies with a bead head nymph as the first fly. Attach 12 to 18inches of 3x tippet material or 4 pound mono filament at the hook bend of the first fly, then tie on your egg. Add split shots above the first fly and between the two flies depending on the depth and speed of the water.

Often, fish will gently take the egg fly and it is difficult to detect the strike. Using a strike indicator will increase your chances of success. When fishing a strike indicator, it should be moving along with or more slowly than the bubbles on the water.

Low-water summer conditions call for a different approach to fishing eggs. Again, you can use two flies, but, use a dry fly on top. A Hopper pattern floats well and is a great choice with this method. Attach the egg dropper fly in the same manner as before, but make the drop lead longer to reach the bottom. Whatever the depth is, one and one half times that is a good starting length for the drop leader. The Hopper will be your strike indicator as well. When it stops…set the hook.

Try tying your own egg flies. Mc Fly Foam works great for egg patterns. Use egg hooks in size 14 to size 10. The most popular colors have been listed… yet, be creative. Try different colors and fish them in different water conditions. In your selection of egg patterns you should also have some sucker spawn flies. Sucker spawn is tied simply by looping yarn and tying the loops to the hook to look like a sucker fish’s egg sack. White, pink, yellow are the popular colors for sucker spawn flies.

Fish eggs are a prized high-energy food source in rivers and streams of the region. Fish know this and now, so do you. Give them a try!


Lisa Kamerzel, 19 inch bow on an egg.

Jim Kukorlo has fly fished Fishing Creek near Bloomsburg, PA and surrounding waters for over 40 years. He is a skilled angler, fly tyer and a fly fishing guide, who enjoys taking photos of fly fishers and their catch.