Chunky Smallmouth caught on a Winco's Specialty Smallmouth Spinnerbait
I hit the Juniata River with my son and a friend to enjoy a day of smallmouth fishing. We had a great day swapping stories, poking fun at each other, AND catching some smallmouth bass. We landed over 30 smallmouth between the three of us during the trip. the biggest fish was caught by my friend. We estimated the size at about 18 inches. Unfortunately, as I was paddling down river to get a picture the fish made a few strategic “flops” and was able to escape my buddies grasp! ..now that’s a smart fish!
Weather Conditions
We had sunny blue bird sky all day. Temperatures ranged from 78 degrees in the morning to almost 90 degrees during the warmest part of the day.
Water Conditions
River gauge readings were about normal for this time of year. Water levels have been fairly consistent for the past week or so. Visibility was about 3 feet.
Comments on Patterns
Active fish were holding in deeper areas in and around current. The best pattern was current breaks in 3-4 feet of water with medium to medium fast current. The fish were definitely actively feeding in these areas.
The second best pattern was short deeper pools (4+ feet deep) with good current leading into them. They produced the best smallmouth bass. Fish were positioned at the head of these pools.
Deeper longer pools with little current were by far the least productive areas.
Baits and Presentations
Top producing baits in order where:
1. Winco’s smallmouth specialty Spinnerbait (Blue glimmar Hollagram Grub trailer)
2. Winco’s baby stickworm (3 inch)
3. Blue Glimmar Hollagram Grub on 1/16 oz jig head or white twister tail grub
Presentations for all baits where critical today because the bites were tough to come by. Since the spinnerbait caught the most fish I’ll comment on that presentation. The most productive presentation was bringing the spinnerbait from a current shoot upstream then crossing over into a current seam/eddy. If you weren’t doing this, your chances of getting bit were slim to none. Also, paralleling behind the shoals or ledges in the “nervous water” was a very productive presentation.
Sounds like a great trip! This (and fall) is my favorite time to fish the river. The smallies are doing exactly what they should be in this heatwave – sticking to the current.
Good to see Al Winco’s lures mentioned – he really does produce some great products!
Nate, ya we’ve been doing really well with numbers and decent size. I’m going to make an effort for the next couple of weeks to focus on more “big fish patterns”. My numbers will go down but hopefully I can put 1 or 2 18+ inch fish in the kayak on each trip.
I’ve been throwing Xraps into current and twitching them down, it’s producing numbers, but small fish. You can rule that out
I’ve been working lakes more this year, but this time last year I can remember getting some pretty big fish on Dual Tail Grubs on 1/8oz. football jigs. Surprisingly enough, most of my biggest smallies were found in the shallows in less than 2 ft. of water, just need to find the swift current.
Good report, Juan. Those spinnerbaits are really doing the trick for you this summer! Seeing your son sitting sideways in the SOT reminds me of how I used to cool myself during those hot summer float trips. Thanks for the report and pics!
Nathan, you are right. Big fish will typically be in shallow water this time of year if they are “hunting” That is typically my pattern for big fish.
Tom, thanks for stopping by my blog and the comment. kayak fishing it tons of fun. I had the pleasure of being on my first real river jet boat a few weeks ago. It was a G3 and man did we get through some SKINNY water! Definitely a fun way to fish too! …but I like being up close and personal in my kayak