Conowingo Fisherman's Park to Lapidum 11/16

[SuskyStripers]

I put in at Fisherman's Park last weekend and fished/yak'd down to Lapidum. My lady picked me up there. First time I have ever done it. Exhausting as I was constantly paddling to dodge rocks but caught some nice fish. There were some keeper stripers in the pools below the mini waterfalls caught on Poppers and then caught some nice Smallies on Tubes all over the river. Actually caught about a 25" Flathead on a Tony. Has anyone ever made this trip? Wondering if there is a better way to navigate as I was pretty much in the middle the entire trip down and constantly bumped/ran over boulders an inch below the surface. The water seemed fairly low so maybe that was it. It took a total of 6 hours and was quite the adventure.

[HJS]

The flow graphs for Conowingo on the 16th shows the dam released minimum flow all day. So yeah, negotiating down river during minimum flow can be a chore in some areas.. but as you found out it can be worth the effort. That's when fishing can be very good for smallies and stripers. At low flow you really need to be in a stealth mode since these species will be on high alert and will be easily spooked. You could have made it a little shorter by taking out at the mouth of Deer Creek.

At higher flows fishing can be difficult too depending on how many generators are working. Things can get very dicey at full generation.

[SuskyStripers]

Thanks for the reply. Not sure I am going to make that trip again in the Fall/Winter. I was literally sitting on top of rocks a few times and almost rolled over. I think it would be a lot more fun in the summer when getting wet is fun rather than dangerous.

[corey866]

the amount of shallow rocks there can get quite annoying very quickly, but worth it for some of the nicer smallies I've pulled outta there

[HJS]

Thanks for the reply. Not sure I am going to make that trip again in the Fall/Winter. I was literally sitting on top of rocks a few times and almost rolled over. I think it would be a lot more fun in the summer when getting wet is fun rather than dangerous.

I had the same stranding issues during summer low flow on the Susky upriver at Harrisburg. But after you do the same stretch of water many times you will find out where all the good water is located and all the good routes to get from good pool to good pool with the least amount of aggravation. And yeah, being able to step out into warmish water and wade through the extra shallow spots makes it a little easier.

[Skidsteer]

That looks like a great float. I'll have to try that next summer. Thanks for posting.

[echo5oscar]

I have fished that area quite a few times. It is a good area to fish. I wouldn't shy away just because of the rocks. Once the weather gets warm again, take the same trip a few times. After that, you will be able to spot the rocks under the water a ways in front of you just by reading how the water is flowing. In that area, rocks are part of the game. But there are fish to be caught if you don't mind them, just as you experienced!