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I’ve been an avid fisherman in the state of Pennsylvania since the age of 6. I now have almost 40 years of fishing experience in this state. My passion is kayak fishing for smallmouth bass and largemouth bass. That being said, my specialty is fishing for river smallmouth bass. Pound for pound there is no better fighter..in particular when your doing battle from a kayak! When I’m not chasing smallies, I fish for a variety of other gamefish in the waters of Pennsylvania and beyond such as walleye, crappie, perch, pickerel, muskellunge, and various types of trout. Fishing is my passion and I enjoy sharing that passion with others through my blog! 
Juan,
Thanks for the tips. I hope to try both spots before I head to Texas.
If you’re ever near Montgomery AL, fish the Coosa River–between Jordan Dam and the city of Wetumpka. About 8 miles of isolated river with five “class one” rapids (just enough white water to keep all the big boats out). Most of the year (but especially in June, October and Dec/Jan) if you don’t catch at least one 4-5 lbs spotted bass it’s been a poor trip. The scenery is always worth it though.
Thanks again. v/r, Will
Will thank for the tips on the stretch of river. You never know I may make it out there some day! I was just in San Antonio, Texas a couple of weeks ago..work related though
Also, thanks for serving your country, I’m sure I speak for many others when I say I appreciate all you do.
Congrats! You’re joining these Pro Staff’s here left and right
I’ll have to check out the site and see if I can win me a kayak!
congrats juan! you’re making me want to buy a kayak and hit up these rivers with you!
Thanks for the the props. Kayakbassfishing.com is a great site and resource. I hang out there at least once a day.
If you get a kayak, I’ll definitely get you on some fish. Just say the word BTW, how did the last tourney of the year go? Did you get angler of the year?
I don’t want you to give away your sweet spot, but where are you finding these largemouth in the Juniata?! Down here in Lewistown, the only place I could find largemouth, was in the canal at the locust campground. Do I need to move up or down river
I got 2 fish for 3.5lbs.. tough day.. Both were largemouths.. i ended up in 4th place @ the tourney.. winning weight was 10lbs (5 beautiful Smallies)
I joined the club 3 tourneys into the year so no AOY for me this year.. hopefully next.. I think I got rookie of the year though if that counts. haha… i think i ended up in the Top 10.
Rookie of the year..not too bad for a late start!
Fall on the Susquehanna – trophy fish, frustration, ecstasy, changing weather – all in the same day, sometimes. Nice fish and nice post.
Wolfy
Wolfy, all this can be true! We experienced some changing weather conditions and water conditions but the trick is to stay focused and keep working at it. ..AND be ready when the bite finally comes!! Slow presentations are best this time of year..and I do me S-L-O-W.
Nice fish Juan, the week before last has seen good activity for the larger smallies. Fishing near the 322 bridge produced several fish like your lunker. Nice to see you down this way. Although the bite had changed from dark tubes to Humpback in perch with the orange belly. Mike
Mike, The big boys are on the feed but the presentation needs to be slow. Funny, your not the first person to tell me that a “perch” pattern is working. I’d like to get down that way at least one more time before the river ices over!
Hey Juan how’s it been going? Hey if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to add a tip as well. What I found out this year is another way to organize your soft plastics. I took and bought medium sized carabiners. Since the original bags come with a hole in the top, you just put all of your baits together. (1 clip for senkos, 1 for brushhogs, etc.) I have found this to be very effective as well!
Jimmy, thanks for the tip man!! that’s a good one that I am definitely going to give that a try!
I just read your blog post. I didn’t realize you were pursuing a degree in physical therapy. That’s excellent! It’s a great profession. Good luck and stay in touch!
Great tips! I have too many soft plastics and not enough space. This kinda goes along with what your saying so I have 1 more tip to add:
- make sure you keep your plastics as straight as possible when storing them. I’ve ruined the action on some swimbaits because they get a slight bend in them. This casues them to twist in the water. You can sometimes boil them for a few minutes and pull them back into shape, but that’s too much work :p
Thanks for the blog update, I’ve been dying for some content here hehe
Thanks for adding some info. That’s a good tip too. You are correct about the baits bending and deforming. It can ruin the action. Thats one of the reasons I lke the zip locks and using the original bags. The bags can lay flat in the zip lock. If you put plastics in divider boxes and you store them on end in your kayak crate, the bait will bend and deform over time. thanks for the added tip!
Sorry I haven’t been posting more. I’ve been doing some writing for a magazine and planning some kayak fishing seminars for the spring. I’ll let you fella’s know when the mag article is out and I’ll post up the seminar sched too.
heck yeah Juan. I’ll definitely try and make it to one!! How’s that video comin?!
I have a meeting on Monday regarding a couple of the seminars to nail down dates. Video/slide show of the season is almost complete.
Wolfy, fall can be great fishing. Late fall can be very difficult! Weather has a profound effect on fish activity level and locationin late fall.
How do you like that droid? I love mine! Look for an app on the market called creelcard (may be spelled a little different) it tracks gps coordinates and photos of the fish you catch. Great app!
Love the mobile version of the site, a lot better navigation for phones
Nate, thanks for the complement on the new mobile view. It definetly makes browsing The site on any mobile device a lot easier and faster.
The droid is great! I’m actually managing the comments on it right now from a special app that interacts with my site! I’ll check out the app you mentioned!
Great idea! I’d love to go to a seminar like this as I really want to get into kayak fishing, but Bellefonte is way too far from me. I’m in Harford County, MD and was hoping it’d be closer to York.
Jimmy, That would be a long drive to central PA! I may be doing some others in the near future. I’ll definitely post them up on my site. Thanks for visiting the site. If you want to get email updates automatically when I post new articles/information just click on the “email subscription” link at the top right hand side of the site. I use feedburner (google) for my email subscriptions. It’s a great service and I won’t spam you!!
Great point on waiting to feel the fish before trying to set the hook. My buddy and I were fishing lilly pads, we were using a moss boss top water plastic spoon and just out of reaction of seeing a bass go for your lure, you react and go for the hook set. Since then I use a count down, after a bass grabs my spoon, I start to lower my rod counting down, 3, 2, 1, and set the hook. This method has worked for me every time I use top water lures.
Joseph
Good tip! Thanks!