Juniata River, Pennsylvania fishing report
Posted by PA-Smallies at 10:32 AM. Filed under: Fishing Reports, Smallmouth Bass
Today was on of the warmest and sunniest days so far this spring. The smallmouth responded helping me complete one of the best “quality” days I’ve had on the river. The numbers were fair but the size of the fish was just flat out FUN! I landed 22 fish and lost about 5 during a four hour stretch of fishing. Only two of my fish were under 13 inches and the largest was 17. Two of the Smallmouth I lost would have pushed the 20 inch barrier!. Oh, and it gets better. The remainder of the fish were like cookie cutters falling in the 14 to 16 inch ranger. Yes, before you doubters start. All the fish were measured by my trusty de-liar..you know, my tape measure. Feel free to read on to get the details!
Time of Day
- 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Weather Conditions
- Sunny, with a brief afternoon rain shower
- air temperature around 80 degrees
Water Conditions
- Little higher than normal (per USGS data)
- water clarity about 4 feet
- water temperature approximately 65
Baits
- Wild Eye Shiner, 3 inch, chartreuse
- Yum Dinger, 4 inch, pumpkin/chartreuse
- Slug-go, 3 inch, color: albino shad (white)
Fish Caught
I know I sound like a broken record but this was an excellent day of smallmouth bass for quality. Two fish under 13 inches, one 17 inch fish, and about 18 smallmouth falling into the sweet spot of 14-16 inches. Most of the “sweet spot fish were around 15-16 inches. It just doesn’t get much better than that!
Comments on Patterns
I was wading so my mobility was limited in the higher than normal flows. I focused on current breaks that offered four feet or more of dept. One fish was caught on a Yum Dinger, one fish was caught on the Wild Eye Shiner, and the remainder fell pray to the deadly 3 inch Slug-go. I fished the Slug-go along the current break popping if 2-3 times then just letting it “dead drift” for several seconds. The fish hit in as it drifted in the fast majority of the cases. They definitely responded best to this slower presentation. I did try working the bait faster but it drew virtually not strikes when worked this way.
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May 29th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Sounds like a fantastic day on the water. I am hearing some very promising reports from the Juniata and Susquehanna so far this year.
May 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
It was definitely a good day. With the water levels fluctuating recently the USGS water gage data really helped me locate the best section of the river.
Also, the fish were really in a “chasing mood” which allowed be to use one my favorite smallmouth baits..the Slug-go.