From The Daily Item:
By Ken Maurer For The Daily Item
The Susquehanna is finally looking more like our usual summer river, even though it is September.
A lot of anglers, myself included, have struggled at times to catch smallmouth. There were times when it seemed as if there were no fish. Now that the river has stabilized, you only need to drift through a quiet stretch at dusk to get an idea of how many fish are out there.
I have spent several evenings on the lower West Branch and it is amazing how many fish are actually there. You can see them in the evening when they rise to sip insects from the surface. There are quite a few fish out there. The problem with catching a ton of them is that they have a lot of food. There are crayfish everywhere and a good assortment of minnows. Throw on top of that a wide variety of insect life in various stages, and you have quite a buffet of food for the fish.
Catching them consistently is tough on many days. One of the things I like to do to improve my odds is to be quiet. The less clanking around and rocking the boat, the better. Making long casts helps, too. Get that lure away from the boat.
Everybody is always looking for that “magic bullet” lure that will catch fish on every cast. I’m not sure if it exists. Right now, a small green pumpkin tube or twister fished on a light jig head will often catch a fish you see rise.
They can be picky. One trick is to fish downstream. This keeps the line off the water, away from the upstream-facing fish. Senkos are another good bet, as are any of the smaller topwater lures. At times, the less movement you give to a topwater lure, the better. Dead-drifting a small rebel or rapala minnow lure works. A slight twitch now and then is all the action you need to give it. As the sun goes down, the fish get a little less spook-easy and a little more aggressive.
The off-colored water of the North Branch and the east side of the main river is different. The fish there seem a little more aggressive. Crankbaits in crayfish patterns and more aggressively worked topwater lures get a better reception. Tubes again are a mainstay there, with the darker greens and browns working best.
We are coming into one of the best times of the year to go fishing. There will be less fishing pressure over the next few weeks as many sportsmen turn to hunting. Smallmouth fishing, especially for the larger specimens, gets better and better as we get into the fall season. Depending on the weather, late October and November can often produce some of the best action of the year for trophy smallmouth.
Walleye time is coming, too. Late September, October and November are usually the best months of the year for Susquehanna walleye. The walleye fishing can be phenomenal at times. The guys who put their time in are there when the bite gets hot.
The countdown to archery season has begun. Some areas are still pretty much devoid of deer, but many areas have stabilized at certain numbers, and some areas have come back, though not quite to yesteryear numbers. It takes some legwork in many areas to find deer. If you haven’t already, now’s the time to get permission to hunt and to find new areas. Food sources change from year to year, and the deer do, too.
-- Ken Maurer, Herndon, is a licensed fishing guide and a regular contributor to the Outdoors section. Contact at kenrose@tds.net
DailyItem.com, September 12, 2009:
http://www.dailyitem.com/0200_sports/local_story_255133728.html
