Healthy Juniata River Smallmouth Bass caught on a chartreuse and pumpkin Yum Dinger.
Smallmouth were the targeted specie of the day and the few rock bass we caught were a fun diversion. Two hours of fishing yielded 9 smallmouth bass and several rockies. I started by throwing a 2.5" Yum Craw and later switched to a Case hellgrammite. I threw the craw the majority of the time. The fish were biting very lightly and we missed quite a few. I thought the smaller baits would help but all they really did was attract smaller bass and more rock bass. I ended up landing 3 smallmouth between 10 and 12 inches.
I spent most of my time helping a young fisherman who came along with us. He ended up catching one smallmouth and several rock bass. Its funny how we can get carried away with our pursuit of certain species of fish but for this youngster any fish was a good fish.
My fishing buddy started with the 5" Yum Dinger and never changed over. This turned out to be the best bait of the day. He landed 5 fish with the largest being 13.5".
Pattern
We started by targeting the head of holes however the fish were definitely located in the tail end of longer stretches of deep slower moving water so that is where we focused our efforts. The Smallmouth we caught came from "relatively" deeper water. They were holding on larger piles or clusters of chunk rock that created a current break. Locations fished were primarily at mid river.
Weather
Mix of clouds and sun. Occasionally overcast. Air temps in the 60's. A cold front seems to be moving into the area which is probably contributing to the fishes slight case of lock jaw.
Water Conditions
slightly stained but very good visibility in about 3 feet of water. River level about normal for this time of year. Water temps in the 60's
2 comments:
hey, how were you fishing the baits?
Tex-posed rigged with a split shot about 8 inches up from the bait. We basically just let the bait drift with the current keeping a high rod tip and lifting slightly to keep that bait from hanging up.
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