Susky Near Harrisburg, 11-5-14

[HJS]

Its late fall and winter is approaching. I pretty much had quit the upper Susky for the year. But then along comes Dave’s (aka: Turtle135) most recent report about his successful smbass trip to the upper Susky. His report fired me up to give the Susky one more try before putting the river to bed for the winter. Wednesday’s weather and flow was excellent; overcast and near calm, although water temps were around 51F, a bit low for my liking.

So, I packed up and went fishing: November 5, 2014, 10:00am to 2:30pm. Fishing was definitely not fast, but to my surprise I managed to catch 6 nice-sized smbass, all in the mid-teens. My biggest bass of the day hit a surface plastic in the first 10 minutes. An epic battle ensued with long runs and a high jump. I managed to get it to boats-side and as I reached out to thumb-it the lure popped out and hitting me in the head… and the monster bass was gone. The water was very clear and I got a very good close-up look at the beast. Mustering up my most level-headed estimate, I’d guess it was 22”-23” long… a real brute. If indeed it was that long it would have been my personal best smallie ever for anywhere. I’da loved to have gotten that fish on my measuring board for verification of length and a photo op. Such is life, there is always next year.

Btw, I caught 2 bass with a condition known as “Black Spot” (see pics). PA fisheries does not consider black spot to be anything to be concerned about. I’ll attach a link to a PA Fisheries website that explains the condition. Anyone ever catch one of these black spotted smbass?

https://www.fish.state.pa.us/newsrel...bass-spots.htm

Susky, 11-5-14 A.jpg Susky, 11-5-14 B.jpg Susky, 11-5-14 C.jpg Susky, 11-5-14D.jpg

[YaknBass]

nice report!! glad you had a really good day. they are some pretty smallies! the one that got away...ya know what a way to end the season, to end in a draw in an odd way, kind of fitting, your personal best allowed you to have all the benifits of the hookup and ensuing battle on the the line but denied you the ultimate goal of capture. still a great day on the river. question if i may that part of the river seems very productive from the reports that have been posted...is the springtime fish equal to what has been posted about the fall fish. thanks!! tight lines always!!

[perchy]

Nice job! Those are some plump looking footballs. I hope you didn't get hit in the head with that shad rap...

[Turtle135]

Some nice healthy looking smallies in that set, nice work! Sorry about the big beast that escaped, those big ones are strong fish and they test tackle to the limit.

I have read that the black spot condition is more commonly encountered in cooler water times. I have caught them before and they seemed to be in perfect health. Here is a winter largemouth with some interesting artwork:

[Romo]

Very nice fish. I have caught bass with black spot in the Schuylkill, Delaware and Susky. Nothing gets my blood boiling more than reading about the failures of the PAFBC, EPA, DEP and the generally corrupt, immoral PA government when it comes to regulating waste in our rivers- particularly from energy companies with large lobbyist groups and deep pockets. I don't believe any of that BS about the black spots and I don't think anyone with half a brain or who has fished the major eastern PA rivers for more than 10 years does either. Keep in mind the black spots are a superficial thing but there is a lot of info on there about bass changing sex and being unable to reproduce in all of these rivers as well as the Potomac.

[HJS]

YakinBass - Oh so true, and well written. I'll be thinking about that monster all winter.

I only fish the upper Susky when the USGS flow drops below 4’. Optimum is 3.8’ or lower, and usually that doesn’t happen until mid/later summer. BTW, regardless of which section I fish, I always put-in and take-out at the same place. Waiting for low flows means I don’t have to paddle myself to a frazzle trying to work my way upriver. Therefore, I do not fish the upper Susky during the spring time. Besides, there is just too much other good fishing happening elsewhere during the spring, like shad in April and sunfish in May.

Something to remember for the upper Susky during the spring. The Susky is C&R for bass year-round from Sunbury Dam downriver 98 miles to Holtwood Dam. HOWEVER, fishermen are not allowed to target bass in the main stem from May 1 thru June 13 to protect spawners.

Percy – I have never caught a thin bass there, they are all footballs. The lure that bounced off my head was a 5” Bass Assassin rigged with a single hook… my favorite surface lure for the upper Susky. If it had been my other favorite, the ShadRap with 2 sets of trebles, the outcome might have been painfully different.

Dave – If I remember correctly, these are the first “black spot” bass I had caught in the Susky. They do seem to be present in many waterways in surrounding states. I’ve encountered several of them in the Potomac and in the Baltimore City reservoirs. The one shown in your reply kinda looks like misplaced spots on big drum.

Romo – Thems are some harsh words there. All I can say is that’s just how Humanity works, especially when there are too many people and not enough money to solve all the worlds pressing issues. And you gotta admit that saving fish is not the highest priority for government regulators.