I was out fishing twice since Tuesday. The first trip was above Harrisburg, Pa. and the second trip was below.
Josh and I fished north of Harrisburg, Pa. on Tuesday and caught 12 smallmouth on two different types of jigs. The hair jig was the big number lure of the day and the 2.5" tube came in a far second. We threw jerkbaits also without a single bite.
The weather was outstanding and the air temperature hit 63 degrees by mid-afternoon. I actually took my silks off after lunch and I wasn't even chilled by removing my shirt. There was a slight southerly breeze, but it had very little effect on any of our fishing.
The water temperature ranged from 44 degrees to 48 degrees and it had a very nice dark green stain to it. It was rather clean considering all the runoff from the snow melt.
Josh caught 8 bass and I had four from the back of the boat. We found that we would hit schools of similar size bass as we moved the boat from spot to spot. After about 4-5 hits, the spot would settle down and we would move... Typical for this area.
We met Mike Burton and his fishing partner at the Tuesday fishing hole and we did some running with him to show a few routes to and from another fishing pool. The water was at 4.4' in Harrisburg which made traveling a little less stressful among the rock gardens.
Thursday's fishing adventure found me doing another solo. I kept a close watch on the weather reports over the past week and it looked rather good to hit the water once more before all the rain set in. In fact, currently [river term :)], the river at the Harrisburg, Pa. gauge is predicted to hit the 16' mark or just one foot below flood stage by Monday!!
The weather was very nice on Thursday morning. The air temperature was in the upper 40's due to the overnight cloud cover. The water temp where I was fishing was 48 degrees in the morning and reached a 49.7 degree temp by 3:00 p.m.
The air temperature was 62 degrees when I came off the water and stiff southerly breeze had set in making it a bit difficult to trailer the boat. Thank goodness there was a shoreline angler who offered to assist me. You can always find good people on the river!
I caught 10 bass on plastics. The 2.5" tube worked well, as well as, the C.W. Delight with a flutter head jig. Two fish really "thunked" the baits. However, the other eight were mush mouthing the lures. The C.W. hook ups were barely even hanging on and the lure fell out easily once I got the fish to hand.
Here is one of the "cookie cutter" 14.75" smallies from Thursday's trip hanging on to a 2.5" mudpie tube from Thursday's trip.
I tried numerous lures on Thursday...
Lucky Craft 78
Lucky Craft 100
Lucky Craft XD
Homemade black hair jig
Homemade black hair jig with trailer (U2 Pork by Uncle Josh)
Floating Swim Bait
Sinking Swim Bait
Winco Drag Bait (new!)
C.W. Delight - Various Colors
3.5" Rite-Bite Tubes - Various Colors
2.5" Tube in Black/Red and Mudpie
I gave each lure ample time to see if the smallies would be enticed to bite. So, I probably spent a good 60+ minutes or more on each style of lure - jerkbait, hair jig, swim bait, and plastics.
As the afternoon wore on, the cloud cover and winds grew. The front was quickly approaching. The bite picked up some, but not as much as I would liked to have seen.
Now, the long wait until our beloved Susquehanna River returns to "boatable/fishable" levels. We may see the river surpass the flood stage before all is said and done.
dad
