Biggest SMALLMOUTH in a long time!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 18 вер 2024
- Too many anglers throw around the term "A Fiver Pounder" without actually knowing what five pounds is by weighing a bass. The Susquehanna River through central Pennsylvania has plenty of upper three to lower four pound range fish - a really hard pulling fun to fight fish! But clearing five is rare. I haven't done it in years. In this video, I fish the rise with my buddy @JakeHarshman and we find a few good eddies that have concentrations of smallmouth bass, including the 5 lb 2 oz beast on the thumbnail of this video.
Hey Jeff, stumbled on the video. I see that you are still the "big fish" guru. Great. I really miss those river smallies, although fishing bays in SoCal for Spotted Bay Bass, and an occasional halibut, is an alternative. 'Spotties' share some Smallie attitude characteristics, but are generally smaller. I still smile when I think of my kayak fishing lesson with you. That was quite a day; and I haven't forgotten what I learned. (For starters don't use a shovel for a canoe paddle.) Just passed my 88th and although moving slowly, still trying to keep the boat afloat. Tight lines. Bob Gilkison
Good to hear from you Bob. That was a wild day!
Another great video Jeff. I agree with you that the river is on an upswing on fish sizes, seeing more 18-20"ers from a lot of anglers.
It’s similar to 2013/14.
Great day! Congrats! We need some of that water in the UP.
John, most of the precipitation has run north this year: PA and NY. Some in MD. Little to no rain down into Virginia. I’ve done quite well on the Rappahannock when it super low like it’s been. But you really work for it! You go for a wading hike instead of a float trip!
A whole lot of great fish, but that 5 pounder- what a MONSTER. Glad your new rodwork is meeting your expectations. It has to come with a great deal of pride to know you personally put together that rod and then put it to use. Another great video.
Thanks Colin. I might make a few to sell.
Congratulations Jeff
You earned it!
Thank you Dave!
Beautiful fish Jeff a river monster its been an awesome year for big fish
Thank you David! It is trending up on bigs.
Man I gota tell ya this video really helped change the way to fish. I am new to river fishing just for information 9/16/23 Saturday I drove 2 1/2 hours up to Tunkhannock the river was high and looked like Chocolate Milk a big big turn off for me sadly I did not fish. Your way of fishing will help the next time I come up and come across this kind of situation.
Thank you very much. Fish on Tight lines.
God Bless
I’m glad it’s helping you Curtis. Dig through all the videos in the “September” and “October” playlists before you go next time. That’s how to be prepared for the patterns that are about to happen.
Hi Jeff... Congrats on the big. Great video. I'd love to hear more about the switch from the chatter bait early in the video to the better-than-a-jig rig end of video. What was the thought process (progression of degression) that caused you to slow down and go silent/still instead of noisy/moving?
I watched all of the video, but I may have missed the answer given in the video. I apologize if I overlooked it.
I didn’t really address it. Sometimes you have places where you think that there are fish in a general area, and sometimes you know “If there is a fish, it will be right here” The second case was the situation under the ledge eddy foam pockets. That called for a jig presentation. It was a deeper pinpoint presentation
Great Little stuff. I am looking forward to getting out on a rise. Looks like you beat Jake that day.
There’s one tomorrow!
Wow what an outstanding day! I found your channel a couple weeks ago, I am hooked (pun intended). Were you anchoring at all in that current? I fish out of an old town pdl, Not sure I could have held for long in that fast water. Bruce in WV
Hey Bruce, I was mostly using the Torqeedo Ultralight with foot control steering to hold position.
Wow what a great day that was Jeff! You seem to do so well with that jackhammer. I mostly fish the tributaries off the Susquehanna and have yet to catch a fish with my golden shiner jackhammer. What trailer/size would you recommend? Feel like I’m doing something wrong.
How many casts can you do in an hour with it? Part of the success is that I am on that motor constantly while fan casting until I find a group of them. Part of power fishing in keeping moving. They will eat it. They tend to eat it better in stained or muddy water.
Maybe that’s the problem. I’m fishing it in very clear water. I should give it a try when the creeks I’m fishing are rising and muddy. Thanks Jeff!!
That was better than a good day, that was an awesome day. Catching the 5 pounder was the highlight. You and Jake are a great duo together. Looks like the Hundo beat out the el jefee reel. Was going to ask which you preferred but I see the Hundo won out. Thanks for the awesome video Jeff.
I love them both, but the Hundo is the more advanced product.
Really hard not to crash the good spots the first time you’re on a particular section of a river….at least for me.
It takes time to figure out what you’re looking at. Getting stopped helps!
@@TheLittleStuff fantastic catch btw and incredibly high value educational content as well!
Congratulations on a great fish!
I remember being scolded by you for crashing an eddy on the New. The was no video evidence, though.
Stealth is lost on too many of us. I think about it a lot and still know that I suck at it. High water masks so many of our blunders.
And I stayed home that day. But made-up up for it the last 2 rises.
There was another today!
Yep, Sunday and today were on fire.
Jeff, since you have fished smallmouth all over the country, I am curious, in your opinion what is the best trophy smallmouth river in the US?
The Susquehanna is special. Numbers of 4 lb fish is incredible, but maybe not the best if you are swinging for a 6. I got a 6-10 out of it once. The New and James have 6 and 7 potential. The Columbia River on the Washington and Oregon border is also special in terms of numbers of 4’s, and the potential for bigger. The upper Mississippi is somewhere I have yet to fish and need to!
But if you are looking for a river smallmouth freaky giant, the chances are best where most people aren’t fishing. Overlap with trout, especially stupid stocked trout can create small river juggernaut smallmouth. I won’t name such rivers, but if you watch enough of my Smallmouth playlist, I’ve been on two that fit that bill. I’ll go back to both again. They are small rivers that have the potential to produce freaks. 7 lb plus river smallmouth.
I do believe that the Susquehanna is ripe to produce more 5’s and potentially mid 6’s again in the next two years. A high water event is your best shot. The 5-2 in the video was likely only 4-11 two days prior. It was gorging!
So are the fish getting bigger on the Susky or is it cause I'm watching all your smallie videos that I'm catching bigger fish? I was giving you the credit! I'm just a weekend warrior and really only fish one small chunk of the river but starting last year I've been catching a lot of 18"+ fish. This past Saturday I landed my second 20 1/2" smallie of the season! A 3/8 oz. Gold Shiner Jackhammer with a 4" scented Jerk ShadZ in Beer Run has been a very productive bait for me. I need to start weighing my fish. What scale are you using or recommend?
I use a Boga Grip.
Since you custom build your rods, I would suggest trying the North Fork Composites (Gary Loomis) blanks. Always on the cutting edge of technology and by far the best blanks for the money and USA made. Also, maybe try spiral wrapping your baitcasting rods. 👍
Great breakdown. Thanks for the visuals.
I’ve never done a spiral wrap. Are there any guide placement plans out there for that?
Any luck finding those punch weights(skirt weights) in 1/8 or 1/4oz sizes?
Not in Tungsten. I can pour lead and make them. Do-It has that mold.
@@TheLittleStuff I just need to pull the trigger and buy everything to start making my own lures!
It must be the bait wash ,on the rise ,that triggers that fish bite. They find a place to sit at the buffet going by them, until it gets completely blown out?Great Stuff Jeff
Yes, that increase in flow dislodges food. It also muddies the water, so the areas where they can ambush prey change from areas where they hide behind an object to pretty much everywhere. It’s like playing hide n seek in the fog. Lots of opportunities to eat! The extra flow also concentrates the fish. They become less spread out.
What type of fishing life jacket do recommend for a guy that wears 3XL shirts bro?
The NRS Chinook adjusts for big paddlers.