We can't always have multiple 18 inch plus fish on the Susquehanna. Marty Mood and I grind, get a few shots at some bigs, and experiment with different brands of spin hooks on various crankbaits.
I've been doing my best Jeff Little impersonation by chasing smallies lately. Keep up the great content, you're inspiring many of us to try something new!
For over 10 years use to spend 3-5 DAW at the IL section of the Kankakee river in my relentless pursuit of smallmouth Then I stumbled on smallmouth fishing at the power plant discharges and those became my GT smallmouth spots for years Now because of environmental tyranny Im back at the Kankakee IL and IN Fishing is harder and fish are smaller but I still get a few every time.
Jeff I appreciate you telling it like it is when the bite is slow. I was out today. It was slow but was able to figure a few things out. Wacky senko to dodge the grass. I did change a few hooks on some crank baits to the spin hooks. that did produce. I want the top water bite to be there but way tough with the grass. Great video as always. Hope to see ya out on the water.
I feel like the river being up more than usual this summer has kept us from a lot of the topwater. That being said, sometimes you just need to throw it anyways and deal with that grass! If you get 25 feet of retrieve before the grass fouls it, then that’s what you got, and maybe they eat it at 23 feet!
Thanks John. I’ve got a newly Torqeedo rigged kayak to go run on a local lake to get speed & range data, then I’ll hang out with my wife and sons this afternoon. I might mess around with the next rod build too. Hope you have a good Labor Day too!
Wow ! That one Smally was beautifully marked! I really wonder why some are so different in the markings? Is it a male or female thing? Great stuff Jeff! I don’t know why but some days it seems that fish just come off no matter what you do? Lol. great work! Great info. Thanks for sharing it. You’re the best Brother!
George, the coloration changes depending on water clarity, what bottom substrate they are hanging out on, how amped up or stressed they are or if they are in shade or sunlight. Think of the movie “Predator” when the alien moves, you see it. When it sits still, you don’t see it because of the coloration camouflage. That’s a smallmouth. That fish was in swift water with rock and vegetation.
I've done well this year up here on the W.Branch this summer dragging big Smallies out of THICK grass using a gold colored Johnson Weedless Spoon w/ pork trailer (which I won't mention). PS- Don't forget to sharpen that dull ass hook!
Glad to see you in my neck of the woods! I have a camp spot about 2 miles up from where you pulled out. My friends and I like to float down to Riverfront campground from time to time. Makes a nice day trip for the guys in our group without motors. I was wondering if you ever found a correlation between where the power lines cross over the river seeming to having more fish or at least makes them more active? There are two such spots on that trip and the bite always seems to pick up a little at those areas. Those power lines create an electromagnetic field and I wonder if the fish can feel it. Any thoughts on that?
Another great fishful day- albeit less than super fishful. Thanks again for the insight. I assume that original hook setup you had they make a larger size, but you just didn't have the larger? Quads vs Trebles, or large vs small?
I think that the quad in size 3 is a great option. The Spintech treble has value. I just feel like the three that I missed probably took the entire thing in the mouth and I never poked them. That happens more frequently with the smaller hook, which the Spintech is. I am also considering a move from the medium moderate to a medium heavy moderate for the bulkier cranks. Longer casting distances may also be a part of the failure to poke ‘em good. The more line that’s out, the more likely there is to be some curvature and slack in the line that leads to poor pressure right at the moment they take it. That was certainly the case on that last fish. I cast a long distance across current.
The Bonafide RVR ranks high. But I prefer the inflatables for shallow draft, stealth and primary stability that lets you stand up and sight fish (have not had much of that this summer!)
Great stuff.. Had a question more so than comment. Have you ever used Z-Man Goat Toadz on Susqy or Juniata and if so what’s your thoughts on them. Wondering with the grass issues if this lure may be a option. Thanks.
They should be an excellent buzzbait substitute. I’ll try them and let you know. Last September was when I started using the 7 inch Scented Jerk ShadsZ as a topwater “don’t walk the dog” bait. I landed on that in response to all the grass coming loose. I will likely use the Billy GoatZ instead of the Goat ToadZ.
Jeffrey, I do believe that the bite is tougher during the day when there has been a full moon, but we weren’t there yet when this was filmed. When it did kick in the middle of last week, we had a rise. And a rise matter more (to the better) than a full moon or high pressure does to the detriment of “good fishing”. There are two types of anglers; 1. Excuse experts. 2. Those who nurture positive mental attitude. I like to assess went wrong ON MY PART. But blaming anything on the moon is counterproductive. If that’s your day to fish, fish with PMA!
Do you have a lot of gar on the Susquehanna? Was thinking maybe some of those lost fish may have been them. I've been getting annoyed with them hitting my hardbaits lately. Wouldn't be so bad if they would actually get hooked and landed.
