This little guy measured 14.5 inches but he was a hard fighter!
The fishing mojo was working against me today but I still made it to the river! I got a really late start because my vehicle battery finally bit the dust and I had to make a quick “pit stop” to get a new one installed. It’s tough to find a place to get a battery at zero…dark…thirty! On the river though, it was all business today. I ended up landing 42 smallmouth bass.
Due to my misfortune I didn’t make it to the water till 9 a.m. so I completely missed the morning bite. I fished till about 2 p.m., took a break, and fished from about 4:30 till 7 p.m….again missing the evening bite because I had a prior commitment.
Weather Conditions
- Morning fog but very sunny the remainder of the day
- Air temperatures, 75-80 degrees
Water Conditions
- 3-4 feet of visibility with just a little “stain” to the water
- Water levels normal for this time of year
- Water temperature, 70 degrees
Baits Used
- Crankbait, shallow runner 0-3 feet
- 3 inch stickworm, green pumpkin
- Slamm’n Beaver (not on market yet)
Fish Caught
- 42 smallmouth bass
- Largest fish, several were in the 14-15 inch range
Comments on Pattern
The water on the Juniata was a little murky but visibility was close to 4 feet in some spots. ..so I fished right through the heart of the day and sun.
The biggest smallies I landed were 15 inches. No big boys again today. The biggest fish came on cranks. I used soft plastics mostly. I’m field testing some baits for a buddy (Slamm’n Beaver).
I fished ledges, chutes, and pronounced deep points caused by rock formations. Due to the time of day, the fish were deeper for the most part. On all spots, I basically found that the fish were holding in around 4 feet of water give or take a foot…depending on water clarity.
I rigged the soft plastics two different ways so that I could effectively fish the deep and shallow water. When fishing shallow water (1-3 feet), I rigged the soft plastics on a circle hook. I either nosed hooked them or in the case of the stickworm, wacky rigged it. I also fished these same baits on a 1/8 once jighead. Nothing fancy here. This rigging enabled me to get my bait down to depth.
I also found some of my target structure in the shade, which meant the fish were up shallower. I caught a lot of 10-12 inch fish. I started catching the bigger fish toward evening on the crankbait but unfortunately, I had to go… DANG!
Juan
The photo of the river you have above looks nothing like the river us marylanders fished last week. We started in Lewistown and finished in Port Union, way too long a paddle to fish (that’s another story) !! The river ran next to highway 322 the whole way. Scenario was fair to poor. Fishing conditions were poor. Water quality was fair to poor. Many more power boats than I ever would have dreamed of.
What were we missing?
Bill, sorry to hear that you trip didn’t produce for you. You were definitely on one of the better stretches of the river. You went through the narrows (adjacent to 322). That is known as a really good stretch of water. Do you mean that you floated to “Port Royal”?? You mentioned you’d be fishing on that stretch. I didn’t realize you meant the entire length. That is an incredibly long float. If so, that’s more like a two day float (and that’s even a stretch when fishiing). That is a 16 river miles. Typically fishing your looking at covering one river mile per hour. I typically average about 1.5 hours per river mile so a 6 mile float can be an all day affair.
The week before, I fished part of the stretch of water you were on (similar water conditions). I landed over 30 smallmouth on a 6 mile float. I think two things happened.
1. You’re float was way too long to have time to slow down and fish good spots
2. I’m assuming you started your float early a.m. but that would put you on the water during the mid day which during sunny humid weather makes the fishing tough…but not impossible. Typically, you have to fish deeper once the sun is high in the sky. I target shade, deep boulder, ledges…places where fish go to hide from the sun. AND if fish appropriate baits for those situations.
Mid day fishing on the Juniata is tricky and it takes a different approach. Boat traffic does effect fishing but doesn’t make it impossible either. The picture I took was one side of an island in the middle of the Juniata. When I took the picture, all the wading fisherman, tubers, and swimmers had moved off the water. I caught over 10 smallies just out of that section of river…with all that going on. It’s tough to figure out exactly what you needed to do differently. A lot of fishing on the river is day to day situations and patterns. Don’t give up on that river though..it produces some excellent fish. I’d recommend looking at fall if you want another crack at the river. The big boys really go on the feed during October. It’s always tough for me to hear about “not so good” fishing trips. I’ve had them myself..you drive hours expecting to catch tons of fish only to catch a few or non. I’m actually thinking about starting a guide service on the Juniata and some other less known waters in PA. I’d like to help folks who travel a long way to catch fish have a little better shot at being successful at it.
Juan, I have been following your blog since the beginning of july when I discovered it. I bought my first kayak on july 3. I’m from Lewistown (mifflin county) and have been mostly fishing small lakes in the area. I’ve also been on the juniata river a couple of times. I’ve caught a couple of small bass on the river but find that I spend most of my time trying to keep my kayak in position and very little time actually fishing. I have better luck on the lakes. According to your posts you got your kayak close to the same time as I did. Obviously, you are having a lot of success fishing in it. Obviously you’re a much better fisherman than I, but I don’t understand how you can keep control of your kayak and fish at the same time while the river’s current is pushing you past the hotspots. I would appreciate any advise you can give on this matter.
As for your blog, keep it coming. I enjoy reading every post you make.
Hi i just moved into the city of williamsport and i am attending pct. im an avid fisherman in new jersey but am yet to hit the water here. im not really sure where to go or what the local baits are that they use around here. Im lookin for some good smallie or largemouth action so if you could help at all thatd be great. thanks
Bmxrider, You in luck! you have a number of waters fairly close by where you can catch some nice smallies. Here’s a quick rundown:
West Branch, Susquehanna River- smallmouth bass
Pine Creek – smallmouth bass
Pine State Forest, there’s a lake in the park- smallmouth and largemouth
You can find out more about these waters here: http://www.fish.state.pa.us/mpag1.htm
Pa, Took the day off work to break in my new fishing rig. A Esquif Heron canoe with Spring Creek stabilizer floats. Water was stained pretty good yet put the smallies were hitting a rebel wee craw in chartreuse and orange. Got my first 19″+ this year on a yum big show craw, boy did he hit that thing hard.Hoping to get out Saturday for the whole day.Got a good feeling the big ones are going to start hitting more regularly.
Well talk to you latter and GOOD LUCK AND GOOD FISHIN
Dave, that’s great!! 19 incher….that’s a “C” class smallie in Pennsylvania!! I like Yum baits a lot. Fish really hold on the the bait a long time due to the scent enhancement. A new rig too. Wow…let me know how you next tip goes. Thanks for posting a comment!
42! That’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more!! Now that I’m done channeling Popeye, I’ve got to ask….what am I doing wrong? I’ve kayak fished from Granville to Lewistown 8-9 times this summer and the best I’ve done is 11 bass. Typically I’m just drifting the whole way and don’t stop to focus on any “fishy” looking spots. I’ve put an anchor trolley on my yak, so that will let me linger in some of those areas. Am I wasting time fishing the whole way down and not just paddling through? Should I stop & fish, drift 50 feet or so, and repeat? Do I ask too many questions??? Seriously, I’ve learned alot from your blog and appreciate the time and thought that you put into it. As far as guiding, I wouldn’t even care if I fished, I’d be happy to get educated watching you.
Thanks,
ramcat
Ramcat, Thanks for the complements but I’m sure there are better fisherman than me out there. I do though have and advantage. I’ve fished since I was 6 years old in rivers and creeks for smallies. I now fish an average of 3 days per week. One of those days is almost always a sun-up to sun-down trip. I fish from March till December. Last year I got skunked one time. It was on December 22nd.
Why do i say all this…well. I fish in a lot of different water and weather conditions. When you fish from sun up till sun down you also get more in tune with hour to hour patterns and you learn how fish position and mood can change throughout a day…bottom line…I FISH A LOT. I fish more than a man should be allowed to but it helps me catch more fish.
First, I’d be REALLY careful about anchoring in moving water. I don’t do it because I’ve seen too many bad thing happen. You can sink your kayak in seconds. I’ve never felt like I need an anchor to hold position.
Now to your questions. I’m going to offer one suggestion because you are more than likely doing a lot right. Try doing a “single access” trip. What I mean by this is pick a access point where you can paddle about 1/2 or 1 mile up stream and you have a good idea that there is a decent population of fish. Once your on that section of water..slow down and pick it apart. throw your bait at ever fishy looking target you can find. Almost every trip you see posted on my site is a single access trip or a combination of two or three single access fishing sessions in a day. One other tip on the single access trip. Fish your way up stream. Use eddies, shallow spots, and gravel bars to hold your position. Your kayak will also hold position nicely if you make sure it is pointed up stream as you fish. Once you’ve fished your way upstream and run out of water..turn around and fish back down. Sometimes I’ll fish upstream with soft plastics then just run cranks when I”m coming back down..of course unless there tearing the soft plastics apart. bottom line…cover less water but COVER IT.
If you do floats, don’t be afraid to stop on a spot and get out of your kayak. The day I reported 42, I probably caught 10 of those fish off one rock point. I beached my kayak on the point..got out and threw a few different baits at them till they stopped biting. Several weeks ago, I stopped on a gravel bar to cast to a 5X5 divit carved out in the midst of a weed bed. I caught about 15 smallies out of that one little honey hole.
Hope this helps!
Went and scouted my float for Saturday,going to fish about a 1 1/2 mile stretch of water about 10 times yes the same body of water. water is still a little high and stained hard. Looking to work cranks and some soft plastic. Going to float a live crawler for walleye and cats through the day while I’m floating
let you know how i make out GOOD LUCK AND GOOD FISHIN
Got my trip in today all and all a good day. The stretch of water I was on I never fished before, and always wondered why I never seen hardly anyone else fish this area.And after today I still wonder the same thing. Only boated 4 fish but it was the size of those fish that will bring me back to this stretch of water. Water was lite muddy/stained cranks weren’t getting the job done but a yum craw papi did get me into the fish. Looking foward to learning more about this body of water, one can never have enough places to catch NICE SIZE SMALLIES!!!
GOOD LUCK AND GOOD FISHIN
Dave, Your right. It’s always good to have one or two “big fish” spots! That crawpapi has been doing a job for you lately! I like many of the Yum line of baits. I don’t want to let too much info out too early but I’ve been asked to put together a “river kit” for the Centre Sportsman. One of the baits will be VERY similar to the craw papi but I think the new bait we’ll be putting in the kit has a little better action because of the design.
Pa, what type rod length action ect. And what type reel do you use for your dinger/stick bait lures any info would be appreciated
Thanks Dave
Dave, I’m using a medium power/fast action IM8 graphite spinning rod. 6 feet long. The rod is rated fro 8-15 lb. test. I like a fast action rod because it has a little more backbone to set the hook if I texpose rig the bait. I’ll toss the 3″ stick baits with this rod as well. I load it with 8lb-6lb mono test depending on the water’s I’m fishing. I throw the bait wacky rigged, texposed, and nose hooked with this rod.
I use an Enticer spinning reel from BPS. Based on the design of the reel, I’d say that it was made by Pflueger for BPS. The size reel is rated for 6-10 lb. test.
If I had to change up one thing, it MIGHT be the length of the rod. I think a 6.6 foot rod would give me a little more casting distance with the smaller baits and I could work the fish around the nose of my kayak a little better when fighting the fish. On the flip site the shorter rod has better casting accuracy. I find many times bait placement is critical..so i usually error on the side of a shorter rod…but that’s just my personal preference…nothing more.
My son and I fished just above Lewistown river bridge today. In 3 hours we caught 10 nice smallmouth. They all were caught on a small (2 1/2″) tube in pumpkinseed color. All were on the midstream bars (less than a foot of water).
Mark, great to hear you caught some smallies!! I like fishing that area. It’s fairly easy to access the water. Pumpkin colors are a great color during typical summer water conditions!!Smaller presentation seem to be working well. I see a lot of baitfish in the water aroudn2-3 inches. that may have something do do with it. Keep me posted on how you guys are doing on that section of the Juniata!
John W. I like your question. I’m actually working on a small “article” to address it. I think the answer to your question could help a lot of the reader of my blog. Again, thanks for the question!!
Pa, Thanks for your feed back on the rod and reel question.I appreciate it. GOOD LUCK AND GOOD FISHIN
Juan. Thanks for the article in answer to my question. It is very informative and I’m sure it will help many new kayakers fishing the river.