Crossing Paths... 10/09/14

Hello Folks,

I took an enjoyable drive yesterday with my youngest son, Zach, who is now twenty-five years old.We decided to take a drive to the Susquehanna River and to see how Fall was moving in on the river hills. So, we hit the road just before noon and headed to the Pequea Boat Launch down Rt. 324 S.

There were two trailers and tow vehicles parked in the Pequea Launch parking lot. As I walked with my son towards the "courtesy dock" to show him how one has to be very careful while using it because the metal parts were not protected, a older green hull center console G3 1756 with a smaller Yamaha jet pulled into the parking lot. I made my way over to the driver and we struck up a "fishing" conversation.

He was going to be fishing Lake Aldred on October 19 with the "Lancaster County Bassmasters". He was preparing yesterday by pre-fishing the Lake Aldred. I always enjoy these types of conversations because I consider Lake Aldred my home waters since I've live in The Village of West Willow for the past twenty-six years.

My son walked off on his own to explore the area while I spoke with the angler. We shared stories of fishing and especially fishing this particular lake. I "broke down" (LOL) and shared one of my all-time favorite Fall fishing holes with him. It lies near the Urey Islands just north of the York Furnace Launch near Otter Creek.

 Safe Harbor and Holtwood Dams were holding Lake Aldred at about 168' yesterday which is actually a very good level for exploring. At 169', the lake water spills over the Holtwood Dam's flash boards.

This particular favorite fishing spot of mine has won several club tournaments for me back in the early 1990s thru the early-2000s. It's a staging area for smallmouth as they start to move during their Fall migration into deeper waters. What makes this lake little more difficult to fish this time of year is to determine whether the fish have started their yearly migration from the Safe Harbor Dam south and into the deeper sections of the lake.

My suggestion to him was to hit the Urey Islands area first thing at daybreak and only spend about 30 minutes or so there on that upcoming Sunday morning. If the smallies are not hanging on the drop-off, then he should leave and make the run to the Safe harbor Dam and hope that the dam has started generating and moving water.

The fish in this area behave very similar to tidal-water bass. They respond to the flow(s) from both the Safe Harbor and Holtwood Dams. The trick is being in the right place at the right time.

Often, on Sunday mornings, the Safe Harbor Dam doesn't generate the very first thing in the morning. It gives the boating angler the opportunity to toss topawaters... Mine being the buzz bait, for sure. But I have seen Tiny Torpedoes be successful during the low-light hours of the morning.

It was nice talking to a tournament angler from my era. He was familiar with many of my friends including Mike Burton. He also fished the "Susquehanna Fishing Tackle's Fall Bash" that launched from Long Level about six seasons ago (2009) and before they closed the Long Level area of the river for any weigh-in and release tournaments. This area is still allowed to have paper tournaments like NASS, Lancaster County Hawg Hunters, and River Hills Club hold for club members.

We reminisced over the RiverPro boat that sank during the second (2010) "SFT Fall Bash Tournament". Although I didn't participate in any of the tournaments after the first one (October 25, 2009) when Josh Kreider and I came in 7th place among 37 teams... Not bad for two ole' hillbillies.

The SFT Fall Bash has now moved to Septembers out of Anchor Marine on the Upper Chesapeake Bay.

To the angler... "Thanks for taking the time away from your pre-fishing and talking with me."

Take Care and Be Safe!
Dad